WrestleMania 34 is almost here and the match-card is stacked! Let’s take a look at 13 plans that got cancelled for WrestleMania 34:
13. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
After The Shield reunited last year, there were plans for Ambrose to turn heel and then feud with his Shield brother Seth Rollins, with the feud culminating in a match at WrestleMania 34.
However, the plans were nixed when Ambrose got sidelined with a Triceps injury.
12. Seth Rollins vs. Jason Jordan
After Ambrose got injured, Rollins started teaming up with Kurt Angle’s storyline son, Jason Jordan.
Rollins & Jordan captured the Raw Tag Team Titles and WWE officials were planning to do the same Rollins/Ambrose angle here as well and planned to do Rollins vs. Jordan at WrestleMania 34.
However, this match got nixed too because of Jordan’s neck injury.
11. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler – Intercontinental Championship Match
When Dolph Ziggler won the United States Championship in 2017 and then relinquished it, there were plans to do a WrestleMania 10 type storyline (between Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon) where Ziggler would’ve returned as the real United States Champion and would’ve challenged the new United States Champion Bobby Roode for the Undisputed United States Championship at WrestleMania 34.
However, WWE went in a different direction and this idea was dropped.
10. WWE’s Four Horsewomen vs. MMA’s Four Horsewomen
In late 2017, there were plans to do a match between WWE’s 4 Horsewomen and MMA’s 4 Horsewomen at WrestleMania 34. They even did an angle for this during the Mae Young Classic tournament.
However, WWE decided to change the plans and involve Ronda Rousey in a mixed tag team match (which she’ll be a part of this Sunday at WrestleMania 34).
9. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
After plans for WWE’s Four Horsewomen vs. MMA’s Four Horsewomen match were cancelled, Sasha Banks & Bayley were angry at WWE officials.
This resulted in WWE officials promising Sasha & Bayley a high-caliber singles match between each other at WrestleMania 34.
However, this plan ended up getting nixed as well because of Sasha & Bayley developing major backstage heat on the Road to WrestleMania 34.
Now both Bayley & Sasha will be a part of the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff show.
8. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H
During the Survivor Series 2017 Men’s Elimination match, Triple H Pedigreed his own team member Kurt Angle and helped in Angle getting eliminated from the match.
This was done to plant seeds for a possible singles match between them at WrestleMania 34. Read the next point to understand more about this singles match being nixed.
7. Triple H vs. Braun Strowman
After the Men’s Survivor Series 2017 elimination match ended, Braun Strowman laid out Triple H for getting in his way.
WWE did angles for Triple H with both Strowman & Angle so that they have options for Triple H’s WrestleMania 34 match.
However, this plan also ended up getting next because of the next plan in the point below.
6. Braun Strowman & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
After doing angles between HHH/Angle & HHH/Strowman, WWE decided to do a Mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 34 between the teams of Triple H/Stephanie McMahon and Braun Strowman/Ronda Rousey.
Soon after this plan was discussed, reports came out from filmmaker Jon Bravo that Roman Reigns was a client of jailed steroid dealer, Richard Rodriguez.
WWE officials thought this would end up being a PR nightmare if it gets proven to be true.
This resulted in WWE pulling Strowman from the Mixed Tag Team match and getting him ready to be added to the Universal Title match at WrestleMania 34 or replacing Reigns from the main event of WrestleMania 34 altogether.
In the meantime, for the Ronda Rousey’s feud to continue, Kurt Angle was named her parter.
Then Bravo failed to provide evidence against Reigns in the steroid scandal and WWE went ahead with their planned Universal Title match.
This resulted in Strowman being eliminated from both the Mixed Tag Team match and Universal Title match picture.
5. The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn – Raw Tag Team Championship Match
WWE were doing an angle where Raw Tag Team Champions The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) were claiming that they have beaten every tag team that’s available on Raw and were sending open challenges.
WWE officials planned The Bar defended their Title against the team of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34.
The storyline would’ve been Owens & Zayn complaining about how Shane McMahon screwed them during the WWE Championship match at FastLane PPV.
This would’ve resulted in Daniel Bryan announcing a tag team match between the teams of WWE Champion AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn with the stipulation being that Owens & Zayn would be added to the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 34 if they win this match.
Shane would’ve then added another stipulation that Owens & Zayn would be fired from SmackDown Live if they lost this match.
Owens & Zayn would’ve then lost the match and would’ve been forced to leave SmackDown Live as a result of it.
They would then be hired by Raw General Manager Kurt Angle and be presented as The Bar’s WrestleMania 34 opponents.
However this plan got cancelled by Braun Strowman’s WrestleMania 34 plan (which is explained in point #3 below).
4. Shane McMahon vs. Dolph Ziggler
After Owens & Zayn would’ve been fired from SmackDown Live, WWE officials decided to go in the direction of giving Dolph Ziggler his first ever singles match at WrestleMania and it would’ve been against Shane McMahon.
The storyline would’ve been very similar to what AJ Styles & Shane O’Mac did at last year’s WrestleMania 34.
They even had Ziggler tease this feud during one of his promos, but this feud got nixed because of Braun Strowman’s plan as well (which is explained in the point below).
3. Kane vs. Braun Strowman (Casket Match)
According to DirtySheets.Net, Kane was scheduled to face Braun Strowman in a Casket match at WrestleMania 34, but the plan got nixed when WWE officials decided that Strowman challenging and then defeating The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) to win the Raw Tag Team Championship single-handedly would be a better WrestleMania moment.
This eventually resulted in WWE cancelling the planned Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. The Bar match and this in turn led to the cancellation of Shane McMahon vs. Dolph Ziggler match as WWE officials decided to resume Shane O’Mac’s feud with Owens & Zayn.
Shane McMahon will now team up with Daniel Bryan to face Owens & Zayn, while Ziggler & Kane will end up being a part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.
2. Rusev Winning The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
With his big time “Rusev Day” merchandise sales, Rusev has become a major player on SmackDown Live.
With Rusev getting over with the fans, WWE officials decided to book him to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to give the fans a feel good moment to kick off the show.
However, WWE officials then decided to reward Rusev in a big way by putting him in the United States Championship match on the main card of WrestleMania 34.
This is a reward because wrestlers get more bonus pay if their match is on the match card instead of being on the Kickoff Show (pre-show).
1. Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena – WWE Championship Match
Yes, this was indeed the plan.
WWE officials planned to give “The Modern Day Maharaja” Jinder Mahal a lengthy 300+ day reign as WWE Champion, which would’ve ended at WrestleMania 34 by none other than John Cena, who would’ve made history by becoming a 17 time World Champion with this Title win.
However, things didn’t go well with Jinder as the main champion on SmackDown Live and WWE decided to have him drop the belt to AJ Styles prior to his scheduled match with Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2017 (which he didn’t get to be a part of since he lost the Title and the Survivor Series match was a “Champion vs. Champion” match).
Mahal is now a part of the United States Championship match at WrestleMania 34, while Cena will be facing The Undertaker.
