History WhatCouldHaveBeen / WWE

* Among the submissions for WWE's 6th and what would later be their final season of Tough Enough stands out one person who didn't get on the show but could have and that was Wrestling/{{MJF}}. If he had won the show he could have been signed to a WWE contract instead of eventually going to AEW in 2019. He would even drop his future catchphrase "My name is Maxell Jacob Friedman and I am better than you and you know it." on his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRNT5-1dZ0 submission video]]

* Among the submissions for WWE's 6th and what would later be their final season of Tough Enough stands out one person who didn't get on the show but could have and that was [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wrestling/MJF MJF]]. If he had won the show he could have been signed to a WWE contract instead of eventually going to AEW in 2019. He would even drop his future catchphrase "My name is Maxell Jacob Friedman and I am better than you and you know it." on his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRNT5-1dZ0 submission video]]

* Among the submissions for WWE's 6th and what would later be their final season of Tough Enough stands out one person who didn't get on the show but could have and that was MJF. If he had won the show he could have been signed to a WWE contract instead of eventually going to AEW in 2019. He would even drop his future catchphrase "My name is Maxell Jacob Friedman and I am better than you and you know it." on his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRNT5-1dZ0 submission video]]

* Though they ended up being bought by Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC, among other things) leading to the merger with UFC and formation of "TKO Group Holdings", there were several other groups interested in buying WWE, including Comcast[[note]]Though this doesn't make much sense as WWE gets most of their revenue ''from'' Comcast, by way of the ''Monday Night Raw'' rights fees and Comcast basically buying out the American WWE Network and absorbing it into their Peacock streaming service[[/note]], Creator/{{Disney}}, Amazon, Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (that would've been interesting had that worked out), Liberty Media (who own [=SiriusXM=] and UsefulNotes/FormulaOne), and infamously, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (as it was believed that a Saudi buyout would've resulted in them giving the disgraced Wrestling/VinceMcMahon complete creative control again). [[note]] There were also claims that Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling owner Tony Khan was interested in buying them, as he had with Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and said he would've merged the two companies together if successful, although it's unknown if this was a legitimate offer, or just AEW trying to get in on the publicity of/mocking the sale. [[/note]]

* Though they ended up being bought by Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC, among other things) leading to the merger with UFC and formation of "TKO Group Holdings", there were several other groups interested in buying WWE, including Comcast, Creator/{{Disney}}, Amazon, Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (that would've been interesting had that worked out) and infamously, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (as it was believed that a Saudi buyout would've resulted in them giving the disgraced Wrestling/VinceMcMahon complete creative control again). [[note]] There were also claims that Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling owner Tony Khan was interested in buying them, as he had with Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and said he would've merged the two companies together if successful, although it's unknown if this was a legitimate offer, or just AEW trying to get in on the publicity of/mocking the sale. [[/note]]

** Wrestling/RomanReigns was scheduled to defend his Universal Championship at the event against Wrestling/BraunStrowman and Wrestling/BrockLesnar, but his leukemia returned and he had to vacate the title. This is reinforced, however, by a shoot interview where he said that even if his leukemia didn't return, he wouldn't have participated in the event, anyway (though he would participate at the next Saudi Arabia event following his remission).

* Though they ended up being bought by Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC, among other things) leading to the merger and formation of "TKO Group Holdings" there were several other groups interested in buying WWE, including Comcast, Creator/Disney, Amazon, Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (that would've been interesting had that worked out) and infamously, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. [[note]] There were also claims that Tony Khan was interested in buying them, as he had with Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and said he would've merged the two companies together if successful, although it's unknown if this was a legitimate offer, or just Wrestling/{{A|llEliteWrestling}}EW trying to get in on the publicity of/mocking the sale. [[/note]]

* When Vince [=McMahon=] began laying groundwork for the Light Heavyweight division, the original plan was to build the division around Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke. However, Sasuke was notoriously difficult to work with and allegedly ruffled a lot of feathers behind the scenes in the WWF, feeling he was a bigger deal in America than he actually was. Instead of building the division around Sasuke, they built it around his protege Wrestling/TakaMichinoku.

* Though they ended up being bought by Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC, among other things) leading to the merger and formation of "TKO Group Holdings" there were several other groups interested in buying WWE, including Comcast, Creator/Disney, Amazon, Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (that would've been interesting had that worked out) and infamously, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. [[note]] There were also claims that Tony Khan was interested in buying them, as he had with Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and said he would've merged the two companies together if successful, although it's unknown if this was a legitimate offer, or just [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] trying to get in on the publicity of/mocking the sale. [[/note]]

[[folder: New Era (2016-present)]]

** Another possibility for The Game at X-Seven was a match against Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens NFL team. They won the Super Bowl in January 2001, with Lewis being named the game's MVP. He was as hot as a sports star could be at the time... and then he was investigated and indicted for murder after 2 men were stabbed to death at a party Lewis attended the night after that Super Bowl. While Vince doesn't have a problem employing [[Wrestling/JimmySnuka suspected murderers]] he generally doesn't do it while their court cases are still pending. Lewis would take a misdemeanor plea in exchange for testifying against his co-defendants (who ended up being acquitted anyway) and resumed his NFL career without missing a beat, though he's never been seen in wrestling. To date no other arrests have been made for the murders.

** Another possibility for The Game at X-Seven was a match against Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens NFL team. They won the Super Bowl in January 2001, with Lewis being named the game's MVP. He was as hot as a sports star could be at the time.

** This match and the women's division was further shaken up when, less than two weeks away from ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 35'', Flair defeated [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] for the [=SmackDown=] Women's Championship. Originally, that particular edition of ''[=SmackDown=]'' was to feature a Fatal 4-Way match involving Wrestling/{{Carmella}}, Wrestling/{{Naomi}}, Wrestling/MandyRose and Wrestling/SonyaDeville to determine Asuka's challenger at WM 35; a later documentary revealed that Deville would have won and challenged Asuka for the title. All five women instead ended up on the pre-show battle royal, which Carmella won.

** According to former WWE executive Bruce Pritchard, he and Triple H wanted to film two different versions of the Katie Vick video: a "comical and over the top" version akin to the style of ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'', and the "straight and serious" version that wound up become the one everyone knows. Vince insisted on filming the "straight and serious" version first, but after they were done filming, Vince told the crew to wrap up filming supposedly due to them not having enough time to film the other version (though it is heavily implied that Vince had lied just so that they could have his version only...)

** According to former WWE executive Bruce Pritchard, he and Triple H wanted to film two different versions of the Katie Vick video: the "comical and over the top" version, and the "straight and serious" version. Vince insisted on filming the "straight and serious" version first, but after they were done filming that one, Vince told the crew to wrap up filming due to them not having anough time to film the other version.

* The cast of MTV's ''Series/{{Jackass}}'' were planned to appear at [=SummerSlam=] 2007; a print ad for [=SummerSlam=] featuring the cast of Jackass and Umaga appeared in issues of the ''WWE Raw'' and ''WWE Smackdown'' magazines. It was ultimately cancelled due to Chris Benoit's murder and suicide. You can learn more about the aborted plan [[https://www.cinemablend.com/television/the-history-of-jackass-in-wwe-ahead-of-johnny-knoxvilles-royal-rumble-appearance here]].

* Though they ended up being bought by Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC, among other things) leading to the merger and formation of "TKO Group Holdings" there were several other entities interested in buying WWE. including Comcast, Creator/Disney, Amazon, Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (that would've been interesting had that worked out) and of course, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. [[note]] There were also claims that Tony Khan was interested in buying them, as he had with Wrestling/RingOfHonor, and said he would've merged the two companies together if successful, although it's unknown if this was a legitimate bid, or just AEW trying to get in on the publicity of / mock the sale. [[/note]]

* Although Vince [=McMahon's=] real life brother Roderick "Rod" [=McMahon III=] never had anything to do with the wrestling business, at various points in time ideas for bringing him in for a small role were floated. At one point there were even plans to make Rod a face authority figure to rival Vince, and reportedly, had the "Who Killed Mr. [=McMahon=]?" storyline in 2007 not being cancelled due to the Chris Benoit tragedy, he would've made his debut appearance a the "funeral" to sell the storyline as real. All these plans fell through in the end, and Rod passed away in January 2021.

* While WWE has signed a number of big indy names throughout the late 2010s (Wrestling/FinnBalor, Wrestling/AJStyles, & Wrestling/SamoaJoe among them) they have also signed several notable wrestlers who only ended up lasting a few months at most before leaving for one reason or another. One can only speculate on how Wrestling/AustinAries, Wrestling/KimberLee, Wrestling/FrankieKazarian, Wrestling/LowKi, Mahabali Shera, Wrestling/SamiCallihan, Deonna Purrazzo, Wrestling/LioRush, ACH, Jake Atlas, EC3, or Anthony Greene would have done in WWE if they had stayed.

* In trying to make up for the usual GorgeousGeorge CampGay stereotypes pro-wrestling has been known (read: [[ValuesDissonance infamous]]) for since the TV era began, there was talk of having a [[StraightGay serious]] gay character whose sexual orientation would simply be normalized. The idea was scrapped though the wrestler would go on to become a World champion just the same. The wrestler in question: [[spoiler: ''Brock. Lesnar.'']] Now take a moment to imagine ''that'' guy with ''that'' gimmick.

* Had the [[BreakingTheFourthWall "MSG Incident"]][[note]]:During Wrestling/ScottHall and Wrestling/KevinNash's last appearance in WWF before they left for WCW, they no-sold the finish of a match and celebrated together in the ring with Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH, breaking kayfabe severely. Since Vince [=McMahon=] couldn't punish Hall and Nash for it and was afraid to punish HBK, who was his top draw at the time, the full punishment for the incident fell on Triple H[[/note]] not taken place in 1996, Wrestling/TripleH, ''not'' Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, would have won the King of the Ring tournament that year. Of course, Austin's [=KotR=] victory speech was where he coined "Austin 3:16" and is looked on as a pivotal moment in his ascent to the top of the wrestling industry, meaning that without Austin's win, the Attitude Era might not have happened, and the WWF at the time might very well have gone bankrupt.

* During the 1980s, WWE had a working relationship with AJW which eventually led to the Wrestling/JumpingBombAngels being brought in to be the centerpiece of the new women's tag team division. However, originally AJW debated whether to send over the Jumping Bomb Angels or the Crush Gals to the then WWF with the Crushes (and Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano) working a few house shows around that time. Eventually, though, they chose to send over the JBA as Chigusa and Lioness were just too big of stars for AJW while the JBA, though popular, were still a secondary team.

* The "Imposter Kane" storyline. A strong rumor says that sometime around 2006, during his stint as an actor in the ''Film/SeeNoEvil'' film, Wrestling/{{Kane}} was planning on retiring soon. To make up for his character, an Imposter Kane (played by Wrestling/DrewHankinson, later known as Festus and Luke Gallows) was brought in to make a storyline in which HE was the real Kane, having been locked away while the ''real'' Kane was the Imposter. However because the angle confused the fans too much, the storyline was quickly abandoned. Seven years later, Wrestling/{{Kane}} is [[LongRunner still active]], and the truth behind this storyline has not revealed.

* As mentioned on the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{WCW}} WCW page]] Wrestling/EricBischoff interviewed for an announcer job in 1990, before WCW hired him. By 1993 he was [=WCW's=] executive producer. But what if Vince had hired Bischoff? 3 of the 4 biggest stars of the Attitude Era (Wrestling/SteveAustin, Wrestling/MickFoley, and Wrestling/TripleH, along with commentator Wrestling/JimRoss) were fired/ran off from WCW by Bischoff during this time period, and it's unlikely that whoever is running WCW in Bischoff's absence is able to convince UsefulNotes/TedTurner to give him Monday nights and to break out the checkbook for guys like Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/KevinNash. The WWF-WCW promotional war might have ended in a WWF victory even sooner[[note]]WCW was in ''really'' bad shape in 1993 and had trouble even giving tickets away until they got Hogan[[/note]] than it actually did... or it might still be ongoing today, who knows.

* As mentioned on the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{WCW}} WCW page]] Wrestling/EricBischoff interviewed for an announcer job in 1990, before WCW hired him. By 1993 he was [=WCW's=] executive producer. But what if Vince had hired Bischoff? 3 of the 4 biggest stars of the Attitude Era (Wrestling/SteveAustin, Wrestling/MickFoley, and Wrestling/TripleH) were fired/ran off from WCW by Bischoff during this time period, and it's unlikely that whoever is running WCW in Bischoff's absence is able to convince UsefulNotes/TedTurner to give him Monday nights and to break out the checkbook for guys like Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/KevinNash. The WWF-WCW promotional war might have ended in a WWF victory even sooner[[note]]WCW was in ''really'' bad shape in 1993 and had trouble even giving tickets away until they got Hogan[[/note]] than it actually did... or it might still be ongoing today, who knows.

* Had the [[BreakingTheFourthWall "MSG Incident"]][[note]]:During Wrestling/ScottHall and Wrestling/KevinNash's last appearance in WWF before they left for WCW, they no-sold the finish of a match and celebrated together in the ring with Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH, breaking kayfabe severely. Since Vince [=McMahon=] couldn't punish Hall and Nash for it and was afraid to punish HBK, who was his top draw at the time, the full punishment for the incident fell on Triple H[[/note]] not taken place in 1996, Wrestling/TripleH, ''not'' Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, would have won the King of the Ring tournament that year. Of course, Austin's [=KotR=] victory speech was where he coined "Austin 3:16" and is looked on as a pivotal moment in his ascent to the top of the wrestling industry, meaning that without Austin's win, the Attitude Era might not have happened, and WWE might very well have gone bankrupt.