Wrestling events are often heavily marketed well in advance with a major main event being the focal point of the card. But there is a small print on every ticket and poster: Card subject to change. And there are numerous instances of cards being changed at the last minute, with matches dropped and wrestlers swapped, often with a bizarre back story. Here, we look at some of the most notable ones.
Hulk Hogan v Ric Flair, WrestleMania 8
Hogan v Flair was the dream match of the 1980s. The Hulkster was the larger-than-life American hero that catapulted the WWF into a national juggernaut. Meanwhile the Nature Boy was regarded by many as the best wrestler in the world. The WrestleMania VIII main event was originally planned to be Hogan v Flair.
Flair was unmistakably face of WCW, which formed in 1988, so when he joined the WWF in 1991 calling himself the "Real World's Champion" and his manager calling out Hogan, it seemed obvious for the two megastars to clash on the biggest stage. The pair were initially advertised as the main event for WrestleMania 8 in 1992, but it suddenly changed with Hogan taking on Sid and Flair facing off against Randy Savage. Some reports suggest neither man was willing to put the other over.
Others claim the pair wrestled a number of house shows and Vince McMahon wasn't blown away by the matches or the crowd reaction. They headlined a number of PPVs throughout the 90s after Hogan joined WCW and their matches were often a huge draw.
Shawn Michaels v Dean Douglas, In Your House 4
These two were set to square off for the Intercontinental Championship in October 1995, shortly after Douglas had joined the WWF from ECW, where he had been a main event star and World Champion. But this match never took place as HBK was battered outside a bar in Syracuse, New York, the night before the show. It was reported he was attacked by a gang of marines as he got into a car after they got into a row.
The police report said they stomped on his face and shoved him into the car's bumper. He suffered a laceration on the right eyelid, which was nearly torn off in the beating, two black eyes and blood coming out of his ears. The attack was nearly fatal, it was reported. Due to the nature of his injuries, and the severity of the concussion he suffered, Michaels was not allowed to wrestle. He appeared on the PPV, still sporting black eyes from the assault. He forfeited the belt to Douglas, who then lost it to Razor Ramon, Michaels' replacement.
Undertaker v Mabel, In Your House 4
The second match pulled from the same card. This one didn't happen because Mabel legitimately broke 'Taker's orbital bone with a botched clothesline just days before. Undertaker later said he had lost 90% of his orbital floor and almost lost his eye. Mabel took on Yokozuna in a match considered one of the worst ever on WWF PPV. But the incident did give us the Undertaker's run in a cool-looking Phantom of the Opera-style mask when he returned. So every cloud.
Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels, King of the Ring 1997
This match came in the midst of the hottest feud the WWF had seen for years. In character Bret had essentially declared war on the American wrestling fans and their favourite stars. In real life, he and Shawn hated each other. Bret said in the build-up that if he couldn't beat HBK in ten minutes, he would leave the WWF. Each member of the Hart Foundation would be handcuffed to a ring post, as agreed during a promo on RAW.
But the match never happened. Bret, who was recovering from knee surgery, wasn't physically able to compete. Or at least that was the official line. There was also the fear among WWF bosses that it would be a huge risk to put Bret and Shawn together in the ring in case they lost control of their emotions due to their legitimate personal rivalry. Shawn wrestled Austin instead on the show.
The following night on Raw, the Hitman and HBK got into a legitimate fight in the changing room in which Bret tore out a clump of Shawn's hair. Shawn then complained about an "unsafe working environment." The next time the two Hall of Famers would meet in the ring would be the infamous Montreal Screwjob match at Survivor Series that November.
