Hulk Hogan versus Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-8, Hogan versus Ric Flair at WrestleMania VII, and Randy Orton breaking The Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania 21 are some ideas the WWE scrapped over the decades but could have been great bookings. Ideas are turned down all the time in the WWE, just ask anyone who works there. The WWE also has gone ahead with certain ideas and decided to change them at the last minute.

We decided to share with you a list of 15 great ideas that were scrapped by WWE creative and Vince McMahon. You may ask yourself how we obtained these scrapped plans and the answer is simple, interviews. Whether it’s a writer or wrestler, people like to talk about scrapped ideas in the wrestling industry. It’s playing the “what it could have been” game when fans discuss how the direction of the WWE could have gone if they went ahead with a scrapped idea.

Some of these ideas are huge and could have had major implications in the WWE Universe. Other ideas on this list that are just fun and quirky to think about. The WWE turns down countless ideas every day but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it.

15 15. Chyna Winning The WWE Title

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Vince Russo will be the first one to tell you that he would throw out the craziest ideas while working as a writer for the WWE. Most of those ideas were beyond terrible, however, he would get a few to stick from time to time. We can argue about Russo’s impact in the Attitude Era for years but you can’t deny he did play a role. Russo would tell of one idea he had that almost became a real thing.

In 1999, D-Generation X member Chyna was briefly booked to win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1999.

Her opponent would be none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. The plan was stopped due to creative believing she wasn’t skilled enough in the ring to hold down a match of that caliber and with Austin's unwillingness to lose to a female. It would have been an Earth-shattering event if Chyna did win.

14 14. Nexus Wins The 7-on-7 Elimination Match At SummerSlam

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Before The Shield and Wyatt Family made waves in the WWE Universe, there was Nexus. In the summer of 2010, eight rookies who participated in season one of NXT made their thrilling debut in the big leagues together. On an episode of Raw, the faction would raise hell and attack several characters, including the two of the hottest names in the business at the time, CM Punk and John Cena.

Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield (Ryback), Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and David Otunga would make their mark in WWE history that night and would become white hot. SummerSlam was just around the corner and WWE creative decided to book a 7-on 7 elimination match featuring Nexus and a team led by Cena. Nexus would end up losing, however, Barrett has publicly stated that Nexus was supposed to go over. Nexus was told they were going to win a week prior to the event, but when they showed up the day of the event, Vince McMahon decided to put over Cena due to John objecting over the NXT team getting the win.

13 13. Jericho's Highlight Reel Intended To Put Over Young Stars

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There is only one person in the world that cares more about lists than The Sportster, and that’s Chris Jericho. At 47 years young, Jericho is still making the headlines around the world. His match with Kenny Omega at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 was epic and we don’t see him retiring anytime soon. In 2003, Jericho’s first episode of the Highlight Reel would be broadcasted around the world.

The original plan was to have a segment where Jericho would put over young talent as revealed on Talk Is Jericho.

WWE creative decided to nix the idea and his first guest was non-other than Bill Goldberg. We understand why WWE wanted Jericho’s segment to feature top stars (because it’s a great program) but it still would have been awesome if Jericho used it for the young lions trying to make a name - unfortunately, Jericho's idea was brushed aside.

12 12. Dean Ambrose and AJ Lee Hook Up 

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The WWE has always given AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose a normal look, however, their personalities are screaming out with psychotic tendencies. Both Superstars have started from the bottom and worked their way up to the top in the WWE.

A former member of the WWE creative team, Kevin Eck, claimed in 2012 that the WWE wanted to pair the two.

What would be the reason for these two unlikely characters to team up as a psychotic Bonnie and Clyde? That would be a mental institution. Although the WWE has made both characters act a little crazy, it seems they had always kept them back from going “balls to walls Brian Pillman” crazy. A pairing of the two with the backdrop being a mental institution could have been a great idea to let them unleash their craziness.

11 11. Kevin Nash as Raw's Anonymous G.M.

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The "Anonymous General Manager" storyline wasn’t bad at the start of its run as fans were genuinely interested in who it could be back in 2010. From June of 2010 to July of 2011, a person would control the Raw brand with total anonymity. No one knew who it was until an episode of Raw in 2012 when Hornswoggle was revealed as the former GM.

It was a big letdown when fans never found out who it was in 2011, it was even more of a letdown when they threw Hornswoggle out there as a joke in 2012. The original plan was to have an actual person, other than Hornswoggle, show up as the anonymous GM in 2011. Some of the names that almost played the role were John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Triple H, and Kevin Nash but those plans were scrapped.

10 10. Luna Vachon's 1998 Women's Championship Run

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After a failed attempt to bring back women’s wrestling in the mid-90s, Vince McMahon decided to bring in female talents with more glitz and glam instead of in-ring skills. In 1998, the WWE Universe was on fire, especially when it came to the female managers. Sable and Sunny are just two that made everyone’s jaw drop when they entered the ring. Although Sable was a terrible wrestler, the WWE decided to give her a Women’s Championship run.

If any female talent could wrestle in the WWE at the time, it was Luna Vachon.

She didn’t have the looks, but as a second generation wrestler, she had all the skills to be the best in-ring female wrestler in the industry. WWE planned on giving her a championship run but when Sable balked at the idea of losing to her, Vince McMahon went with steaminess over skills.

9 9. Booker T Beats Triple H At WrestleMania XIX

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If you’re a huge fan of the FIVE TIME!, FIVE TIME!, FIVE TIME!, FIVE TIME!, FIVE TIME! WCW Champion, then you may know about his rocky past with the law. Booker T wasn’t a perfect guy growing up, and his run-in with the police is well documented. WWE decided to make it a point to include his real-life story in a World Heavyweight Championship match with Triple H at WrestleMania XIX.

Millions of fans around the world witnessed a touching and personal promo leading up to the contest, giving him an incredible underdog tale. Booker T was white hot at the time and arguably more over than Triple H. Allegedly, Booker T was supposed to go over but politics stopped it from happening. Triple H would interfere in the booking and asked Vince McMahon to change the outcome of the match.

8 8. Muhammad Hassan Becoming WWE's Youngest Champion

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Muhammad Hassan may not be known to the young fans of today but his story should be told. Maybe the fans of the WWE Universe weren’t ready for a character like Hassan. Or maybe Vince McMahon and creative weren’t ready for the love Hassan was getting. Don’t get us wrong, Hassan was a heel from head to toe, however, people loved to hate him. In 2005, Hassan was white hot as a heel wrestler and had the momentum to win a championship.

He was originally booked to defeat Batista and win the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2005.

His career would come to a halt when the London Bombing incident took place in July of that year. Due to his foreign heel character (he’s Italian by the way), WWE decided to scrap the push and released him shortly after - a decision most fans hated.

7 7. Hulk Hogan And The Rock Closing Out WrestleMania X-8

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In front of 68,000 plus fans at the SkyDome in Toronto Ontario, Canada, and millions more watching at home, the WWE Universe witnessed arguably the greatest match in WWE history at WrestleMania X-8. It was a clash of generations as Hulk Hogan would battle The Rock in an electrifying match. The majority of fans agree it was the pinnacle of the night and the match that stole the show, however, it wasn’t the main event.

Allegedly, the match was booked to headline WrestleMania but family politics got in the way of that. Triple H would be in a feud with Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship and he pulled some strings so he could go on last. Vince McMahon and the rest of the WWE team probably regretted the move because the fans were vocally tired after witnessing one of the greatest clashes in wrestling history.

6 6. Big Show Assaults Alberto Del Rio's Father

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The Big Show is on his last run in the wrestling business and the man has had a storied career. You may think he had it easy in his career because of his size but that just isn’t the case. From the start, Big Show was pressured to fill Andre the Giant’s shoes in the wrestling industry. Not only that, he was put into the main event of WCW after a short stint in training at the Power Plant.

That’s a ton of pressure for a young man and it’s safe to say he filled Andre’s shoes. In 2013, Big Show was in a feud with the babyface Alberto Del Rio. There was a plan for Del Rio’s father, legendary luchador wrestler Dos Caras, to be involved in the storyline. The idea was for Big Show to assault Del Rio’s father but Vince McMahon declined to go through with it.

5 5. Ted DiBiase Wins WWE Title At WrestleMania IV

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Randy Savage would win the vacant WWE Title after participating in a grueling 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV. Savage would win the championship for the first time and would go on to become immortalized in professional wrestling that night. We’re not saying the booking was bad but there was another plan that night, a plan that involved Ted DiBiase.

Vince McMahon originally planned for DiBiase to win the championship at WrestleMania IV.

Savage wasn’t even supposed to be in the tournament but rather in an Intercontinental Title match with the Honky Tonk Man. McMahon booked Savage to win the IC title once again, however, Honky Tonk Man rejected the idea of dropping the title. McMahon then had to scramble and gave Savage the biggest prize of them all. DiBiase would be awarded the Million Dollar title as an apology from McMahon. DiBiase may not be as great as Savage, however, he was deserving of a championship run.

4 4. Hulk Hogan Passing The Torch To Bret Hart

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The year was 1993, the World Wide Web was born at CERN, Jurassic Park fever was running rampant, and The Cranberries released their debut full-length album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? Not everything was peaches and cream, especially in the WWE Universe. The company was at a crossroads that year. WWE was still recovering from a steroid scandal and wrestlers who pushed the company to new heights in the 80s were becoming a step slower.

The writing was on the wall, and Vince McMahon knew he had to change things. One of those changes was a new figurehead and hero to lead the locker room and company into the next decade. That man was supposed to be Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan was supposed to “pass the torch.” Hogan was booked to lose the title to Hart at SummerSlam 1993, instead, he balked at the idea and McMahon caved in. Hogan would drop his title to Yokozuna and disappeared from the company. Hart would end up in a feud with Jerry Lawler.

3 3. John Morrison & Sheamus In A Tanning Bed Match

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Johnny Impact, or otherwise known as John Morrison in the WWE Universe, has always been creative with his character and move set. The guy is incredibly gifted and could probably pull off every bump, hold, and move in the wrestling book. The WWE has turned down thousands, maybe millions of ideas since the founding of the company but that didn't stop Johnny from throwing out ideas.

The fans usually never hear about these ideas being turned down unless a wrestler decides to open up about it. Johnny did just that in an interview back in 2017. He explained one of his reasons for leaving the WWE was his ideas being shut down. One idea was John and Sheamus in a tanning bed match. It sounds silly but could have been a hilarious match to lighten up a show and create that sought after WWE moment.

2 2. Mr. McMahon's Illegitimate Son Mr. Kennedy

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Remember WWE’s “Who Killed Vince McMahon?” angle in 2007? The madman Vince decided to pull off his own death on live television and it would eventually segue into a story involving all the McMahons. It was an over-the-top plan and worked out masterfully, however, things began crashing afterward. “Who Killed Vince McMahon?” was supposed to follow a storyline involving McMahon's illegitimate son. Fans would be guessing for weeks and months who it might be, building up the storyline.

Mr. Kennedy was supposed to be that illegitimate son, however, the wrestler would abuse WWE’s Wellness Policy and received a suspension.

The whole story was scrapped and resulted in the awful outcome of Hornswoggle being named as Vince's alleged son - man did that fall flat.

1 1. John Cena Heel Turn In 2012

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Former WWE creative team writer, Kevin Eck, explained the WWE once almost turned Cena heel in 2012. “We were very close. We had Vince sign off on it at one point and Cena was on board to do it,” said Eck in an interview with PWTorch. “We started making plans for it and then Vince got cold feet.” Eck would explain the WWE had just signed a new merchandise deal with Walmart and didn’t want to affect the sales because of a Cena heel turn.

Imagine Cena turning heel in 2012? Maybe that year was a little too soon but in 2018, anything could happen. Cena is telling the world he doesn’t care how he wins as long as he makes it to the main event of WrestleMania 34. Cena may never turn, but if he does, it will be one of the biggest events to take place in the WWE Universe.