WWE planned on having Lars Sullivan wrestle matches against John Cena and Brock Lesnar had everything not gone so wrong.
It was revealed this week that WWE quietly released Lars Sullivan, perhaps even as far back as the tail end of 2020. Unsurprising that WWE let go of the wrestler, but somewhat shocking that it decided to do so without even issuing short "future endeavors" statement that normally accompanies a release or firing.
A number of incidents that snowballed over the course of the past two years led to Sullivan's time with WWE coming to an end. It started shortly after his call-up to the main roster. Incredibly offensive remarks Sullivan had made on a bodybuilding forum years before were unearthed resulting in his removal from TV and a $100,000 fine. That was followed up by the discovery of an adult film Sullivan had starred in prior to his wrestling career.
Sullivan suffering a serious knee injury that took more than a year to heal certainly didn't help. Screenshots of messages, allegedly from Sullivan, harassing a woman online appear to have been the final nails in his WWE coffin. That last twist came shortly after Sullivan has returned to TV back in October of last year, at which point it seemed as if WWE had moved past his other troubles and was ready to push him to the moon.
In fact, according to Fightful Select (via What Culture), Sullivan was set to have two huge matches, the first of which was penciled in for this year's WrestleMania. Bouts against John Cena and Brock Lesnar were apparently in the pipeline. It's unclear whether Sullivan would have won those matches, although Vince McMahon probably doesn't know that himself this far ahead of when the matches would have happened.
If WWE really did intend on having Sullivan wrestle these two men, the former Superstar has thrown away a bigger opportunity than he might ever realize. It also sheds a little light on the futures of Cena and Lesnar. Cena recently revealed there is no way he will be at this year's WrestleMania, while Lesnar's status with WWE and whether he will ever return remains a mystery.