5 Times WWE Changed Their WrestleMania World Title Match Plans

WrestleMania 36 will go down in history for all kinds of reasons, most of them owing to the times we presently live in. It now marks the rare WrestleMania in which a challenger to one of the World titles backed out of the event in the eleventh hour, although Roman Reigns has perfectly understandable reasons for doing so.

Instead of vying for Goldberg's Universal Championship, Reigns is bowing out of the event due to concerns regarding his previous battles with leukaemia, which increase his potential vulnerability to the coronavirus. This is an unprecedented turn of events as far as WrestleManias are concerned, but again, it's wholly understandable - safety above all else, and hopefully Reigns continues to remain in good health going forward.

While Reigns' case is a unique one, it's not the first time that a planned world title match for WrestleMania underwent a drastic change, for one reason or another. And while these cases are certainly far different than Reigns' scenario, they each boast their own historic notability.

WrestleMania 36 will go down in history for all kinds of reasons, most of them owing to the times we presently live in. It now marks the rare WrestleMania in which a challenger to one of the World titles backed out of the event in the eleventh hour, although Roman Reigns has perfectly understandable reasons for doing so.

Instead of vying for Goldberg's Universal Championship, Reigns is bowing out of the event due to concerns regarding his previous battles with leukaemia, which increase his potential vulnerability to the coronavirus. This is an unprecedented turn of events as far as WrestleManias are concerned, but again, it's wholly understandable - safety above all else, and hopefully Reigns continues to remain in good health going forward.

While Reigns' case is a unique one, it's not the first time that a planned world title match for WrestleMania underwent a drastic change, for one reason or another. And while these cases are certainly far different than Reigns' scenario, they each boast their own historic notability.

5. The WrestleMania 4 Tournament Final

While it wasn't the most exciting of WrestleManias, most fans would not change the finish, in which Macho Man Randy Savage grinds his way through four matches in one night to win the vacated WWF world title, the crowning moment of his legendary career.

The original plans, however, were not for Savage to win the tournament, but rather eventual runner-up, Ted DiBiase. When the brackets for the tournament were first configured, it was set up so that DiBiase would defeat Hulk Hogan in the finals via countout (with the aid of Andre the Giant) to steal the belt.

Plans changed when IC champion The Honky Tonk Man refused to drop the gold to Savage earlier that year, and the WWF, needing one babyface champion, altered the brackets and set it up so that Savage won it all.

4. Hulk Hogan Vs. Ric Flair (WrestleMania 8)

This one you've surely heard of - the dream match to end all dream matches. The Apter magazines of the eighties often pontificated on what would happen should the WWF's Superman tangle with Jim Crockett's braggadocios playboy to determine the superior wrestler.

When Flair brought the "real World's title" to the WWF in 1991, we were one step closer to that very dream match. And we got said dream match, just not at WrestleMania.

There are many different versions of the story (some even saying Flair-Hogan was never planned for Mania 8), but between Hogan's impending exit from the company that spring, and the pair's house show matches not drawing to company expectations, plans changed. Instead, Savage got Flair, and an outbound Hogan faced Sid Justice.

3. The WrestleMania 2000 Fatal 4-Way

The match ended up an overbooked mess, but one with a silver lining - through his 20 minutes of participation, Mick Foley could say he finally competed in a WrestleMania main event, something a man of his work ethic, talent, and countless sacrifices more than deserved.

But apparently, Foley's position in the match (coming five weeks after his blaze-of-glory retirement bout) came at the expense of one Chris Jericho. WrestleMania 2000 promotional material had Y2J's mug, not Foley's, originally slotted with The Rock, Triple H, and Big Show.

Alas, the McMahon-in-every-corner gimmick played out with Foley getting his overdue bite at the WrestleMania main event apple. Jericho just had to wait two more years to get his.

2. Triple H Vs. Randy Orton (WrestleMania 21)

This one seemed to write itself: Orton wins the World Heavyweight title, Evolution boss Triple H turns on him, ends up winning the belt from his ex-protege, and then Orton chases him into WrestleMania, where revenge is his, his, all his. That was the plan, anyway.

Somewhere along the way, thanks to an ill-fitting face turn and rather hackneyed booking, Orton's cool factor diminished drastically, and by Christmas, "The Legend Killer" was in need of a jump-start.

WWE opted to remove Orton from the world title plans in order to patch him back up, while slotting in fellow Evolution underling Batista (whose face turn worked *very* well) as choice of Hunter's conqueror.

1. The WrestleMania 30 & 31 Main Events

Viva la fan response! For two consecutive years, overwhelming negative reaction from vociferous viewers forced the hand of the E, resulting in two unpopular choices of world title matches being rewritten to the liking of the populace.

In 2014, it was Daniel Bryan, hero of the working class, that was eventually riveted into the forced Randy Orton vs. Batista World title bout, one that Vince McMahon reportedly thought was going to be the biggest 'Mania main event ever.

A year later, with fans sour on the rise of Roman Reigns, it seemed inevitable that Romanmania was going to run wild on Brock Lesnar in Reigns' personal coronation. That is, until a briefcase-toting Seth Rollins turned the match into the Triple Threat people didn't even know they wanted.