Vince McMahon is known for changing his mind on the fly especially in later years with more unpredictability involved. WWE treats WrestleMania season with the most importance as the three-to-four months of build set up the biggest wrestling event of the year. Things will change if Vince feels something is disconnecting or a wrestler in question is not living up to his expectations.
The results to come were mixed with both positive instances of things changing for the better and some playing out for the worst. McMahon made each decision with the belief that it was needed to add more interest to the WM card. The times Vince changed his mind during WrestleMania season led to huge changes for the biggest show of the year.
10 Daniel Bryan Getting Added To Roman Vs Edge
The recent change in WrestleMania 37’s plans featured Daniel Bryan getting involved in the Universal Championship program. WWE changed course from the singles match of Edge vs Roman Reigns by adding Bryan to the storyline.
Most fans expected Bryan to be a one-time opponent for Reigns at Fastlane before being removed from the title picture. WWE had Edge’s character change when hitting both Bryan and Reigns with a chair before Roman Reigns scored the pin. Bryan will now become part of the plan in some way as we head into the biggest show of the year.
9 Daniel Bryan Getting Added To Batista Vs Randy Orton
Daniel Bryan getting added to a world title match during WrestleMania season has happened in the past. WWE booked the WWE Championship match of Batista vs Randy Orton, hoping to play into their past history in Evolution.
Fans rejected this by chanting for Bryan every week after the most beloved face was removed from a top spot. Vince McMahon rolled with the unexpected backlash by listening and adding Bryan to the match where he won the title to have his WrestleMania 30 moment.
8 Chris Jericho Facing Fandango Instead Of Ryback
The 2013 run of Chris Jericho saw him expecting to have a big WrestleMania 29 match against Ryback. WWE was pushing Ryback hard in 2012 and Jericho felt a program with him would help the rising star on the biggest stage.
Vince McMahon changed course by demanding Jericho face the newcomer Fandango instead. Jericho revealed he was livid and tried to change the plans back for weeks. Vince made it clear he was putting over Fandango and Ryback would move into a match with Mark Henry instead.
7 Bret Hart Surpassing Lex Luger
Vince McMahon put a lot of time and effort into making Lex Luger a top face with the Lex Express bus tour. The hope was that Luger having a similar physique and patriotic character like Hulk Hogan would fill the gap of the legendary name leaving WWE.
Luger got over, but it wasn’t in an overwhelming way that he was the top choice. Bret Hart organically received more fan support causing Vince to book them as co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble match. The original plans to elevate Lex would end when Bret emerged as the better choice to leave WrestleMania 10 as the WWE Champion and new face of the company.
6 KofiMania Taking Over
WWE had no plans for Kofi Kingston to have a singles push heading into WrestleMania 35 until unexpected changes inspired a movement. Kingston replaced the injured Mustafa Ali in an Elimination Chamber match and had a couple of strong performances.
Fans realized the story of Kofi never winning the big one was there and started rallying behind him. A returning Kevin Owens was the scheduled opponent for Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship, but Kingston’s momentum changed the landscape. Vince went with the hot hand of Kofi challenging and defeating Bryan to finally win a world title in grand fashion.
5 Seth Rollins Cashing In
The road to WrestleMania 31 did not go as expected for WWE. Roman Reigns received huge backlash for winning the 2015 Royal Rumble match and earning a world title shot against Brock Lesnar. Vince McMahon wanted to have Reigns end Lesnar’s title run a year after Brock ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak.
Fans continued to heckle Roman for weeks with the boos reaching stronger levels than John Cena encountered before Reigns was even “the guy.” Seth Rollins having the Money in the Bank title shot was the way Vince wrote his way out of the problem. The plans were not finalized until the weekend of WrestleMania 31 with Rollins winning the big one.
4 Goldberg Winning Universal Championship
Chris Jericho revealed that the original Universal Championship plan for WrestleMania 33 was for him to defeat Kevin Owens on the big stage. Vince McMahon wanted Jericho as a face to drop the belt to Brock Lesnar one month later.
The plans changed during WrestleMania season when Goldberg gained more momentum. Vince instead opted to have Goldberg end Owens’ title reign a month before WM. Lesnar scored his Universal Championship win to end the Goldberg feud instead of waiting a month to face Jericho.
3 Mick Foley Replacing Chris Jericho In Title Match
WWE accidentally leaked promotional images for WrestleMania 2000 before the main event was finalized. The concept of a McMahon in every corner was meant to see Triple H defend the WWE Championship against Big Show, The Rock, and Chris Jericho.
History would show us that Jericho was replaced from that match when Mick Foley took his place. Vince McMahon was so impressed with Foley’s performances in his retirement storyline against Triple H that he was added to the match in Jericho’s spot and granted one more title shot.
2 Booker T Challenging Triple H Instead Of Scott Steiner
The controversial storyline of Triple H making racially insensitive comments towards Booker T almost didn’t happen in the first plans for WrestleMania 19. Bruce Prichard revealed on his podcast that Booker winning a title shot so close to the show indicated that it was a last-minute change.
Scott Steiner was involved in a feud with Triple H on the prior two PPVs leading up to the biggest show of the year. Both matches were abysmal and sank any momentum Steiner had from his return. Vince McMahon needed to make a change and went with Booker as the face with momentum at the time.
1 Brock Lesnar Ending The Streak
The most surprising part of The Undertaker’s undefeated streak ending at WrestleMania 30 was how Undertaker found out. Fans would assume it was a long-term plan shared with the legend months before it happened.
However, Undertaker revealed that he was told on the day of the show that there were new plans for Brock Lesnar to end the streak. Vince McMahon was planning to have Undertaker win until closer to the event when he decided it was time to do something drastic.