Vince McMahon and plenty of other promoters live by a philosophy of “get the match in the ring.” That means that whatever the advertised match(es) is/are, you make sure that your paying ticket holders and PPV buyers get to see those advertised matches, usually no matter what.
That doesn’t mean that the card isn’t “subject to change,” however. Sometimes sickness, injury, or travel issues can plague a card. That’s when promoters do their best to offer up something of greater value to those paying customers.
10 Adam Cole Vs. Daniel Bryan - SmackDown 11/01/2019
During the big Saudi show, it was announced that NXT was going to be a part of Survivor Series 2019. Then most of the crew got stranded in the desert. This meant NXT came to SmackDown to begin the build to the event.
It also meant that the brand’s champion, Adam Cole needed a strong showing for the first time on national network TV and he got it. Daniel Bryan challenged Cole to a dream match which saw Bay Bay retain the NXT title.
9 AJ Styles Vs. Finn Balor - TLC 2017
After a few weeks of build-up, The Demon was gearing up to take on a doubting “Sister Abigail (re: whatever Bray Wyatt was going to wrestle as)” at the upcoming TLC PPV. However, a viral infection ran through the roster and canceled the advertised match.
Instead, the WWE had to call an audible and bring AJ Styles in for the match. The two former Bullet Club leaders tore the house down, and gave each other and the fans a "Too Sweet" moment at the end of the match.
8 AJ Styles Vs. Brock Lesnar - Survivor Series 2017
The WWE had experimented with a beefed up Jinder Mahal as the WWE Champion. To build up some credibility, he was able to defeat the likes of Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. Heading to the brand warfare Survivor Series, it seemed as if The Modern Day Maharaja was on a collision course with Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar.
Whether the Beast played politics or not is for the internet to decide, but the match got changed to AJ Styles (who defeated Jinder for the title). As a result, Brock and AJ put on an amazing show.
7 Daniel Bryan Vs. Brock Lesnar - Survivor Series 2018
Just a few days over a year into his title reign, it seemed that AJ Styles was going to get a rematch against Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at the 2018 Survivor Series. But The Phenomenal One would wind up running into Daniel Bryan right at the start of his heel run as The Planet’s Champion.
That put DBry in the crosshairs of The Beast instead, who, minus a few nefarious shots, obliterated Bryan that night.
6 Charlotte Vs. Ronda Rousey - Survivor Series 2018
While the WWE had tried to book Becky Lynch as a heel heading into the fall of 2018, there was no stopping or booing The Man to be had. During SmackDown’s invasion of Raw, Becky got her clock cleaned by Nia Jax and was legit concussed (although it did lead to the everlasting image of Becky, all bloodied but standing victorious.
It also took her out of the anticipated Becky vs. Ronda Rousey match. Instead, Charlotte jumped into the big match, which coincidentally began the build to all three women headlining WrestleMania.
5 Randy Orton Vs. Daniel Bryan Vs. Batista - WrestleMania 30
It seems like it was the perfect culmination to several months of keeping The American Dragon down and the rise of The Yes Movement. But Daniel Bryan raising the WWE World Heavyweight championship at the end of WrestleMania 30 just wasn’t in the cards at all. Then CM Punk left, leaving Triple H without an opponent.
Bryan was penciled in to face Sheamus, but that was not going to sit well with the WWE Universe who constantly screamed and cheered for Bryan over any other wrestler at every single show. WrestleMania 30 might have been the worst show in WWE history had Vince not listened to his fans.
4 Adam Cole Vs. Johnny Gargano - NXT TakeOver New York
One of the greatest storylines NXT had ever told was between frenemies, Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The two had been a beloved tag team DIY, until they set off the biggest blood feud in NXT history. They had wrestled in several big matches, but none as big as the showdown set to takeover New York the night before WrestleMania 35. However, defending champion, Ciampa went down with a bad neck injury, leaving the NXT title vacant.
In the place of that match was an instant classic between Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano. Even with constant interference from the rest of The Undisputed Era, Johnny Wrestling would not be denied.
3 The Olympic Shield Vs. The Miz, et al - TLC 2017
Several times over, the WWE kept going back to The Shield well, even though it made little to no sense that Reigns and Ambrose were fine with teaming up with Rollins after he betrayed them in their first run. Nevertheless, The Hounds Of Justice were set to ride again.
At TLC 2017, they were set to take on Kane, The Bar, Braun Strowman, and The Miz. But Reigns and Wyatt (see earlier entry) caught the same infection, leaving The Big Dog to have to bow out. In his place came the dream team The Olympic Shield - Ambrose and Rollins and Kurt Angle.
2 Kofi Kingston Vs. Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania 35
Prior to WrestleMania 35, Mustafa Ali was supposed to take part in the Elimination Chamber against defending champion, Daniel Bryan. While Ali riding any wave to WrestleMania wasn’t in the cards, his injury changed the course of wrestling history. Kofi Kingston took Ali’s place and the fans really got behind it, much like they got behind Daniel Bryan years earlier.
This time, all of that was written into the story and KofiMania was born. Kofi became WWE Champion after 11 years and in one instant, tears of joy were flowing from practically every fan in the world.
1 Daniel Bryan Vs. Edge Vs. Roman Reigns - WrestleMania 37
You’d think after over seven years of The Yes Movement that Vince McMahon would have learned by now that the fans want to see Daniel Bryan on top of the world. Or at least near the main event scene. Even though Edge had won the Royal Rumble and earned the right to face whichever champion he wanted, once again the WWE Universe began to rally around Daniel Bryan.
Without a clearly defined WrestleMania path set before him, he wound up being inserted heavily between Edge and Roman Reigns, until he was put into the match. He wasn’t able to again pull off a miracle, but the trio combined for one of the best Triple Threat matches of all time.