10 Times Major SummerSlam Plans Changed

7. Mick Foley vs. Dean Ambrose – SummerSlam 2012

This is an interesting one as WWE actually began doing angles for this match, although they were never put on television. Mick Foley was meant to be the first opponent for Dean Ambrose in WWE. In a world without a Shield, Ambrose would have faced Foley, blaming the Hardcore Legend for his influence on young wrestlers who could never be him.

They did early work on this with Ambrose confronting Foley at WWE Axxess and going on Twitter tirades but Foley was soon told he would never be cleared to wrestle again. As such, the match never happened and Ambrose formed the Shield later that year.

---

6. Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam 2014

Everyone remembers when Brock Lesnar squashed John Cena at SummerSlam 2014. What a joyous memory it is. However, that was not the original plan. As Daniel Bryan had won the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania XXX, he was the one in line to drop the title to Lesnar. He would have if he didn’t get badly injured early in his reign.

While Bryan’s injury is in no way a good thing, this change has a positive impact on the match. Lesnar would have squashed the beloved Bryan just as he did with Cena but that wouldn’t have had the same effect, would it? Seeing the dominant Cena get decimated made the match. Seeing the same thing with the smaller, underdog Bryan just wouldn’t have been the same or as effective.

---

5. Chyna Becomes WWF Champion – SummerSlam 1999

The 90s were a weird time for wrestling. The wrestling war between the WWF and WCW caused both companies to throw everything at their collective walls and see what stuck. Such was the case in 1999. Chyna had gained popularity as a woman who could wrestle men and the company had plans to make her the first female WWF Champion.

She won a number one contenders match and would have faced Steve Austin at SummerSlam. However, plans changed and Austin faced Triple H and Mick Foley in a Triple Threat match instead. To date, no woman has ever been WWF Champion.

---

4. Bret Hart vs. Hulk Hogan – SummerSlam 1993

Hulk Hogan’s time in the WWF was coming to an end in 1993. It was clear the lay of the land was changing and the larger, slower wrestlers like Hogan were going out of style. Hogan had one last run with the WWF Championship in 1993 and the plan was for him to pass the torch to his true successor, Bret Hart.

In a totally unforeseen twist, Hulk Hogan pulled the political card. He said he wouldn’t wrestle Hart because of his smaller size and dropped the title to Yokozuna at King of the Ring, leaving the company. Yokozuna defended the title against Lex Luger at the event but we were still robbed of this colossal match.

• Daniel Bryan
• shawn michaels
• SummerSlam
• wwe

Share this article with friends