History WhatCouldHaveBeen / ProfessionalWrestling

A lot of these are just fan guesses because Wrestling storylines are constantly changing and original storylines rarely are acknowledged by the creative staff, but what the hell...
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!!Subpages:
[[index]]
* WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{WWE}}
* WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{WCW}}
[[/index]]
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!!!Wrestling/{{ECW}}
* After watching a tape of Wrestling/UltimoDragon, Wrestling/PaulHeyman wanted to bring him into Wrestling/{{ECW}}. While he was unable to get Ultimo Dragon, he did look into bringing over Dragon's opponent from the tape, [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho Lion Heart]]. Of course, Lion Heart would adopt the name Chris Jericho, and his performance in ECW eventually caught the eye of WCW, who was happy to sign him when he left ECW, and when he became even more credible as a WCW star, WWF took notice as well, and when he went to WWF, he became one of its biggest stars.
* Wrestling/KurtAngle, fresh from his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics, signed with ECW in 1996 to work a program with [[Wrestling/{{Tazz}} Taz]], but he quit the company after the infamous angle in which Wrestling/{{Raven}} and his Nest ''[[CrucifiedHeroShot literally crucified]]'' [[Wrestling/JimFullington The Sandman]].
* After Wrestling/ShaneDouglas turned face in [=ECW=] in early 1999, Paul Heyman booked an angle to have Douglas form a face version of the Triple Threat. Wrestling/TommyDreamer's acceptance of Douglas's offer of alliance was the first part of the formation. The second part would've been Wrestling/JerryLynn allying with Dreamer and Douglas. But Shane ended up having a contract dispute with Paul Heyman, and ended up leaving ECW, thus stopping the angle cold.
* A new interview revealed that ECW would have taken the WWE's place on USA after the latter left for TNN/Spike TV in the year 2000 with on Vince's blessing and Universal Music as a minority owner. However, after losing WWE, the #1 brand in wrestling to Spike, USA head Barry Diller felt that ECW would be a step down and nixed the deal.
* Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon also planned on having WWF buying ECW in the summer of 2000 and keep it alive as separate business. However, Vince declined.
* Had ECW got their pay-per-view royalties they were owed, Heyman would have considered a deal for an afternoon show with Fox Sports Net (similar to TNA's later deal for iMPACT!) with the possibility of either later going to FX, FOX or back into syndication.

!!!Wrestling/{{TNA}}
* Creator/SpikeTV briefly considered giving Wrestling/{{TNA}} a timeslot for an all-knockouts show. This was at a time when the Wrestling/GailKim vs. [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Awesome Kong]] feud was drawing the highest quarter-hour ratings on Impact, so who knows what might have happened with a weekly program dedicated completely to the knockouts?
* With each passing interview, Paul Heyman makes TNA fans (and even WWE fans who want the company to have competition, feeling like its current monopoly has caused them to become complacent) more and more wistful every time an interviewer asks him what it would be like if he did sign and book for TNA back in 2010. His goal: take the company public in two years by cutting [[Wrestling/HulkHogan everyone]] [[Wrestling/RicFlair over]] 40 save one for name value, book around the newer talent, plus outright STEAL [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] after his firing and make him an unstoppable submission machine with an eventual ''showdown with Wrestling/KurtAngle''. Every time a plan is mentioned, thousands of wrestling fans weep.
* Wrestling/JimRoss was also rumored to run to TNA when his contract expired in April 2010.
* Injuries kept Hogan from entering TNA in 2004, which would have had him feuding with Wrestling/JeffJarrett for the NWA Championship at the inaugural Victory Road.
* Shortly before his death, Wrestling/CurtHennig was considered as a possible contender for Jeff Jarrett's NWA World title.
* [[Wrestling/RandySavage "Macho Man" Randy Savage]]'s surprise appearance at TNA's first Sunday pay-per-view was going to lead to a feud with Wrestling/JeffJarrett. However, Wrestling/HulkHogan (not knowing that Savage was scheduled to appear) decided to visit backstage since he lives nearby. As soon as Savage saw Hogan, he immediately cancelled all future appearances, save for a tag-team match at the next PPV, and TNA had to scramble to even salvage that.
* Around the time Jeff Jarrett left TNA in 2013, he and Music/TobyKeith attempted to buy back the company from the Carters. Keith almost got the deal through, but Bob Carter then demanded that they keep Dixie on as president, allow her to keep some power in the company, and allow her to remain an on-screen character. Keith backed away after hearing that and the deal fell through.
* In an interview from January 2009, Drake Younger mentions optimistically that [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Jon Moxley]] had a tryout with TNA. Moxley instead signed to WWE, and a couple years later showed up on TV as the mouthpiece of Wrestling/TheShield, along the way scoring the US Championship. After the Shield broke up, he became one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster (arguably the most popular after Daniel Bryan), winning the Intercontinental Championship, working numerous main event-level programs and then winning the Money in the Bank ladder match and cashing in the briefcase the same night to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. One wonders what would've become of him had he been hired by TNA instead. Strangely enough, as of 2014, both Younger and Moxley are signed to WWE.
** Similar to Moxley, [[Wrestling/SethRollins Tyler Black]] was offered a deal from TNA but [[Wrestling/EvanBourne Matt Sydal]] convinced him to sign with WWE instead. Black would also end up as a member of said stable, became a Tag Team Champion, and, after breaking up said stable by repeating his SellOut history, would win the 2014 Money in the Bank Ladder Match, cash it in ''during'' the main event of ''[=WrestleMania=]'' 31 and become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It was probably the best move of his career, especially considering how TNA is now a sinking ship. For added irony, he and the aforementioned Moxley would become each other's primary ArchEnemy for their WWE careers, both in developmental and on the main roster. In fact, Black was the one Moxley cashed in on to win ''his'' first world title.
* In 2016, TNA was in talks with Jeff Jarrett that would have resulted in the debut of MASADA and the return of Teddy Hart. But MASADA getting drunk and Hart letting one of his cats out lead to arrests that killed the deal.

!!!AEW
* Had Omega and the Bucks not left to form Wrestling/{{AEW}} with Cody, ''G1 Supercard' would had Omega defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vs. Okada and the PPV would been largely built around the Elite.
* Had Tony Khan not pitched to Kenny Omega, Nick and Matt Jackson the idea to start their own promotion, The Elite were extremely close to signing with the WWE. ''Being the Elite'' would have been on the WWE network, though Bucks were hesitant on even being offered Brock Lesnar type schedules with creative control.

!!!US Indy
* Wrestling/RingOfHonor may have never existed, as RF Video's original plan was to simply sell tapes of Wrestling/{{CZW}}, rather than go through the trouble of creating their own promotion. However, the CZW deal was so hard to close that All Pro Wrestling had already done ''two'' "King Of Indies" events and after seeing one of them 'Feinstein decided he wanted something like that instead.
* ROH would have likely remained an invitational super indie the way its offshoot Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} did if not for two incidents. Wrestling/RicFlair no showing an event, leading to adoption of formal contracts, and more importantly, the Rob Feinstein scandal that lead to them cutting ties with RF Video and having to drastically change their business model to 1) make up for the lack of a media distributor, 2) regain the goodwill of all the other wrestling companies they would have been inviting talent from.
* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Wrestling/BarryWindham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious]], and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and Scott Dawson of Wrestling/TheRevival was born.
* In Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}, the angle involving Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes had to be rebooked when BDK leader Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli was signed by WWE as Antonio Cesaro. To a lesser extent, there was the abrupt removal of Lince Dorado and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze from the BDK (Lince was fired, Daizee had an undisclosed health issue that caused her to quit), and whatever it was that caused Wrestling/PinkieSanchez to go from upper-midcarder to rarely-utilized jobber.
* During the Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} angle where the promotion was closed for a calendar year, a few of the wrestlers ended up leaving the promotion. The most notable of these was Tim Donst. Donst was last seen in one of the "Ashes Of" videos, where he was working at a Furnishing/Remodeling store and heavily implied to be either drugged, brainwashed, or both. Based on things he had said before the shutdown, fans were guessing that he'd somehow figured out, or at least gotten a lot of information on, the situation with Titor Conglomerate. Almost everything in Chikara builds up to something and Donst was a main eventer, so it's likely that Chikara had plans for Donst that will never come to fruition.
* Broken!Wrestling/MattHardy and [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Brother Nero]]'s "expedition for gold", which would have seen them WalkingTheEarth in search of TagTeam Title belts, was {{cut short}} at Wrestling/RingOfHonor when the Fight Network owners Anthem threatened any network running any ROH pay per views with Broken Matt(though only Dish caved). The whole thing was supposed to attract more attention to and regain good will for Impact Wrestling but Matt Hardy wasn't willing to let Anthem trademark his work.
!!!Other
* Website/{{WrestleCrap}}'s "Rewriting the Book" is an entire section of FanFiction devoted to WhatCouldHaveBeen. With the notable difference from RealLife that, in those stories, the booking is actually quite good, though stretching of credulity considering the egos and competence of many of the people involved. Among the most noteable, and likely, examples can be mentioned "What If Wrestling/BarryWindham didnt join Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen?" (A continued face run for Windham, the Horsemen inducting a returning Wrestling/EddieGilbert until the group falls apart later that year, and Gilbert forming his own heel stable based on the old UWF, including Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, Wrestling/RonSimmons and Rick Steiner), and "What If Randy Savage Had Won His Retirement Match?" (Savage's heel run continues, he recaptures the world title, only to find himself facing Wrestling/RicFlair with the roles reversed, with Flair as the good guy).
* Wrestling/DwayneJohnson, better known as "The Rock", considered running for President as a Republican in the 2008 election.
* What if Wrestling/{{MagnumTA}} (who was arguably the biggest babyface in Jim Crockett Promotions at the time of his career ending car accident) not had his career cut so short? Magnum was apparently booked to win the Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA World Title from Ric Flair at the 1986 Starrcade (NWA/WCW's ''[=WrestleMania=]''). Would Sting still have gotten to where he got in the same time span with a healthy Magnum still around? Also, would Jim Crockett still had been forced to sell out to Ted Turner in the same time span despite Magnum still being a top draw?
* At the time of his accident, Magnum was feuding with Wrestling/NikitaKoloff. Like Magnum, Koloff's career is an example of WhatCouldHaveBeen. In 1988, he took a year off from the ring to care for his dying wife. In 1992, a neck injury would result in Nikita's premature retirement.
* Wrestling/HulkHogan was trained by wrestler Hiro Matsuda, and was apparently possessed of actual skill in the ring if his matches in Japan are any indication, especially one 1993 match which saw Hogan pull an Enzugiri on the Great Muta of all people. Hogan states in his first autobiography ''Hollywood Hulk Hogan'' that in the US under Vince Sr. he was told to wrestle like a generic power wrestler, and this followed him throughout his in-ring career for the rest of his days in the US, to the point that when he got to WCW, it was so ingrained into wrestling fans to assume Hogan got by only on "mediocre" wrestling skills and an assload of charisma that he never bothered to show off what he could really do this side of the Pacific. One has to wonder how things would have been different if Hogan had been able to use his in ring skills AND the charisma he was so well known for in the US. Interestingly, shortly before his return to the WWF under Vince Jr. he came within a hair's breadth of becoming NWA world champion by going to a draw with Wrestling/HarleyRace for the belt just a month, give or take, before the first Starrcade. More questions to haunt the fans on what could have been.
* The Xcitement Wrestling Federation was a company founded to be the PG alternative to the WWF near the end of the Invasion. The fed would have predated TNA as the new challenger to the WWE's monopoly with a mix of WWF, WCW & ECW stars including Wrestling/HulkHogan and had Wrestling/{{Sable}} as the heel CEO, Wrestling/RoddyPiper as the babyface commissioner, Gene Okerlund as the interviewer and commentary by Wrestling/TonySchiavone and Wrestling/JerryLawler. Networks were excited about the mix of the roster...that is until many of talents were poached by WWE, notably Lawler's return to commentary after the divorcing the wife who's firing caused him to leave the first time in Feburary 2001 and Hogan who returned for the first time since August 1993 as part of the short-lived revival of the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]].
* In World Class Championship Wrestling, there were plans to have Gino Hernandez do a HeelFaceTurn and be managed by Sunshine. Hernandez and Sunshine would then feud with Hollywood John Tatum and his manager, Missy Hyatt. Unfortunately, Hernandez's [[AuthorExistenceFailure fatal cocaine overdose in 1986]] prevented that scenario for ever
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* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Wrestling/BarryWindham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to Delirious, and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and Scott Dawson of Wrestling/TheRevival was born.

* The Xcitement Wrestling Federation was a company founded to be the PG alternative to the WWF near the end of the Invasion. The fed would have predated TNA as the new challenger to the WWE's monopoly with a mix of WWF, WCW & ECW stars including Wrestling/HulkHogan and had Wrestling/{{Sable}} as the heel CEO, Wrestling/RoddyPiper as the babyface commissioner, Gene Okerlund as the interviewer and commentary by Tony Schiavone and Wrestling/JerryLawler. Networks were excited about the mix of the roster...that is until many of talents were poached by WWE, notably Lawler's return to commentary after the divorcing the wife who's firing caused him to leave the first time in Feburary 2001 and Hogan who returned for the first time since August 1993 as part of the short-lived revival of the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]].

* Wrestling/KurtAngle, fresh from his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics, signed with ECW in 1996 to work a program with [[Wrestling/{{Tazz}} Taz]], but he quit the company after the infamous angle in which Wrestling/{{Raven}} and his Nest ''[[CrucifiedHeroShot literally crucified]]'' Wrestling/TheSandman.
* After Wrestling/ShaneDouglas turned face in [=ECW=] in early 1999, Paul Heyman booked an angle to have Douglas form a face version of the Triple Threat. Tommy Dreamer's acceptance of Douglas's offer of alliance was the first part of the formation. The second part would've been Jerry Lynn allying with Dreamer and Douglas. But Shane ended up having a contract dispute with Paul Heyman, and ended up leaving ECW, thus stopping the angle cold.

* Wrestling/RingOfHonor may have never existed, as RF Video's original plan was to simply sell tapes of Wrestling/{{CZW}}, rather than go through the trouble of creating their own promotion. However, the CZW deal was so hard that All Pro Wrestling had already done ''two'' King Of Indies events and after seeing one of them Feinstein decided he wanted something like that instead.

* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Barry Windham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to Delirious, and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and Scott Dawson of Wrestling/TheRevival was born.
* In CHIKARA, the angle involving Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes had to be rebooked when BDK leader Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli was signed by WWE as Antonio Cesaro. To a lesser extent, there was the abrupt removal of Lince Dorado and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze from the BDK (Lince was fired, Daizee had an undisclosed health issue that caused her to quit), and whatever it was that caused Wrestling/PinkieSanchez to go from upper-midcarder to rarely-utilized jobber.

* In World Class Championship Wrestling, there were plans to have Gino Hernandez do a HeelFaceTurn and be managed by Sunshine. Hernandez and Sunshine would then feud with Hollywood John Tatum and his manager, Missy Hyatt. Unfortunately, Hernandez's [[AuthorExistenceFailure fatal cocaine overdose in 1986]] prevented that scenario for ever taking place.

* In CHIKARA, the angle involving the Bruderschaft de Kreuzes had to be rebooked when BDK leader Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli was signed by WWE as Antonio Cesaro. To a lesser extent, there was the abrupt removal of Lince Dorado and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze from the BDK (Lince was fired, Daizee had an undisclosed health issue that caused her to quit), and whatever it was that caused Wrestling/PinkieSanchez to go from upper-midcarder to rarely-utilized jobber.

* In CHIKARA, the angle involving the Bruderschaft de Kreuzes had to be rebooked when BDK leader Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli was signed by WWE as Antonio Cesaro. To a lesser extent, there was the abrupt removal of Lince Dorado and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze from the BDK (Lince was fired, Daizee had an undisclosed health issue that caused her to quit), and whatever it was that caused Pinkie Sanchez to go from upper-midcarder to rarely-utilized jobber.

* What if Magnum T.A. (who was arguably the biggest babyface in Jim Crockett Promotions at the time of his career ending car accident) not had his career cut so short? Magnum was apparently booked to win the Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA World Title from Ric Flair at the 1986 Starrcade (NWA/WCW's ''[=WrestleMania=]''). Would Sting still have gotten to where he got in the same time span with a healthy Magnum still around? Also, would Jim Crockett still had been forced to sell out to Ted Turner in the same time span despite Magnum still being a top draw?

* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Barry Windham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to Delirious, and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and [[Wrestling/TheRevival Scott Dawson]] of the Revival was born.

* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Barry Windham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to Delirious, and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and [[{{Characters/WWENXT}} Scott Dawson]] of the Revival was born

* During his time in ROH, Wrestling/JimCornette saw a talent at a mediocre Indy show that he compared to a young Barry Windham and invited him to a tryout camp with the company. The young man did a tryout match, but due to multiple factors, including his opponent not being in the best condition and bringing the match quality down, the change in bookers from Adam Pearce to Delirious, and the Sinclair sale going through, he was unable to sign him. Ultimately, he ended up in the WWE, was put in a tag team, and [[Characters/WWENXT Scott Dawson]] of the Revival was born

!!!Wrestling/{{WCW}}
* Wrestling/DustyRhodes once pushed for Rick Steiner to win the World Title from Wrestling/RicFlair at Starrcade '88 because Flair and Luger couldn't agree on a finish. Before the idea could come to fruition, Dusty was fired (WCW went through a revolving door of bookers and presidents in those days). His replacement, George Scott, decided to keep the title on Flair and brought in Wrestling/RickySteamboat for a series of matches which would up being legendary. However think about how much different history might have been if Rick had won the title back in 1988. Would The Steiner Brothers have quickly reunited once he lost the title? Would Wrestling/ScottSteiner have broken out ten years sooner as a singles star in his own right? Would the Steners have gone to WWF? How much different would the tag team landscape have been without them in the 90's if one or both of them had been singles stars?
* In the early-mid 1990s, WCW signed Swedish amateur wrestler and Olympic bronze medalist Frank Andersson to a contract. Andersson was very good in the ring and got great reactions, but lasted less than a year. Had he stayed on, WCW might have had an amateur wrestler turned successful pro wrestler half a decade before Wrestling/KurtAngle signed with WWF.
* The excreable Black Scorpion angle, in which Wrestling/{{Sting}} was tormented by a masked and shrouded figure who kept making references to having known Sting in the past, was originally planned with Wrestling/UltimateWarrior as The Black Scorpion. However, WCW was unable to poach Warrior from WWF, and so the angle floundered around for several months with no end plan before booking decided to make Wrestling/RicFlair the Black Scorpion.
* Sometime in 1989 or 1990 Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen had been reduced to Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/ArnAnderson as the only active members stil in WCW. There was a plan to add Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress and reform the Four Horsemen with them. Flair, Arn, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane and Midnight Express manager Wrestling/JimCornette were all very enthusiastic about the idea. Apparently they pitched the idea to then-WCW president Jim Herd who signed off on it. Then Cornette went on vacation and came back, and Herd decided not to form the stable. This ultimately led to Jim Cornette and Stan Lane leaving WCW and was one of the last in a long line of incidents which led to Flair going to WWF for three years. Arn would team with Bobby Eaton and win the tag team titles in the interim.
* Wrestling/{{Sting}} was tapped to become the third man in the nWo, if Wrestling/HulkHogan refused to turn heel. The shock value of the industry's biggest icon turning heel would have been nonexistent, and the nWo wouldn't have had the same impact it actually did.
** The nWo itself was supposed to end at Starcade 1997. Who knows what could have happened? For starters, there would have been no FingerpokeOfDoom.
* WCW planned its "White Hummer" angle (a mystery person driving a white hummer drove into a limousine with Kevin Nash in it) around Wrestling/{{Sable}} being the driver. However, Sable wasn't able to get the no-compete clause in her WWF contract nullified. The angle bounced around with no resolution and repeated pointless callbacks while bookers tried to figure out an appropriately good finish but never did. It ended up being held as a triumphant example of WCW's awful booking, and the resolution was so anti-climactic that many fans don't remember that it was ever resolved. [[spoiler:Eric Bischoff]] was revealed as the driver the same night the [=New Blood/Millionaire's Club=] angle started.
* Wrestling/ScottHall was going to be part of WCW's Dangerous Alliance in 1992.
* Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage was considered to end Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s streak at Halloween Havoc '98. Wrestling/DustyRhodes pulled Page aside and told [=DDP=] that he thought he was ready and would go to bat for the idea with Wrestling/EricBischoff with a match largely centering around the shoulder injury spot Goldberg and Page had already built into the match. However, since Goldberg was going to be appearing on the next week's Entertainment Weekly with the World Title belt, Page and Bischoff agreed that it was best to leave the title on Goldberg.
* During his days wrestling as Wrestling/{{Meng}} in WCW, Tonga Fifita (also known as Haku in WWF) was asked to join the [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]] based on his reputation as the toughest man in wrestling. WCW supported his departure, but Tonga turned it down, believing his conditioning wasn't suited for legitimate competition. WCW did, however, have him wrestle Tank Abbot in Abbot's WCW debut match, believing that Meng was the one guy who could handle himself if Abbot decided to "take liberties" (i.e. start fighting for real).
* [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was nearly poached by Billionaire Ted.
* [=The Quebecers/The Amazing French-Canadians=] (Jacques Rougeau and Carl Oulette) were brought back to WCW to be part of Wrestling/{{Lance Storm}}'s Team Canada. However, after his first night Rougeau refused to job to Ernest "The Cat" Miller and was fired, and shortly after that Oulette came down with Visa issues and had to quit.
* When Wrestling/{{Psicosis}} finally won the WCW Cruiserweight Title, the initial plan was for him to have a multi-month reign. Then, Wrestling/VinceRusso decided that having lots of rapid title changes would be good for business and he dropped the title back to Rey Misterio Jr. a week later instead.
* When Wrestling/BuffBagwell suffered a devastating neck injury in the ring, the show was put on hold while he was tended to and the match that was to have followed the match Bagwell got injured in was cancelled. That match was going to be Wrestling/ChrisBenoit vs Psychosis - both top quality wrestlers and smark favorites - and had been allotted 15 minutes. Had the match happened, it would have been the only time that Benoit and Psychosis ever wrestled each other.
* Remember The Yeti - that toilet paper wrapped mummy from Wrestling/TheDungeonOfDoom that dry-humped Hulk Hogan? It was played by Ron Reis, best known for wrestling under his own name as part of Raven's Flock. In a shoot interview, Reis revealed that The Yeti was originally intended for Jorge Gonzales, who had recently worked in WWF as Giant Gonzales.
* In the year 2000, WCW considered building a proper women's division around Wrestling/{{Madusa}} and [[Wrestling/MollyHolly Mona]]. They brought in several female wrestlers based on talent, and had some good matches on WCW Saturday Night and even a few on Thunder. Then someone (probably Vince Russo) decided to try and compete with the WWF's eye candy based women's division and built the division around Miss Hancock, Major Gunns and some of the former Nitro Girls. Mona got released and went to the WWF, Madusa retired, and in early 2001 a decree from TBS resulted in almost every woman employed by WCW being fired. WCW's ''two'' women's title[[note]]Women's Championship, held by Akira Hokuto, and Women's Cruiserweight Championship, held by Toshie Uematsu[[/note]] were stuck in Japan as a result.
* According to his book, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels asked for his release from WWF shortly after the nWo started, and would have likely signed with WCW, since he missed traveling with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Instead, Vince turned him heel and pitted him vs Bret Hart, ultimately causing the Montreal Screwjob. While WCW still got a top star in Bret Hart, it would be interesting to see how HBK would have done in WCW.
* Wrestling/RickMartel was something of a hot up and comer in late 90s WCW, working a "good guy with a temper" gimmick. He won the WCW Television Championship, and was booked to retain it against Booker T and Perry Saturn in back to back matches. However, Booker screwed up a Beal toss on Martel due to the smaller-than-average ring, and Martel hurt his knee on the ropes badly enough that they had to rebook the match then and there with Booker winning (and winning the followup match against Saturn too). Martel's knee never really recovered and after a short attempt at a comeback months later, he retired.
* Former WCW President Jim Herd came up with the tag team group The Hunchbacks, with their gimmick being that they couldn't be pinned due to their humps on their backs, but after it was rejected outright by WCW's booking committee, he came up with the bell-wearing Ding Dongs.
* Before it was acquired by the WWF in March 2001, WCW had a PPV called ''The Big Bang'' to be broadcast on May 6, 2001, which would have marked a "creation of the New WCW"; advertisements were featured in the second-to-last issue of WCW Magazine. You can learn more about it [[http://www.wwe.com/article/big-bang-untold-story-wcw-pay-view-almost-happened on WWE's website]]. ''The Big Bang'' would have been produced had Fusient Media Ventures acquired WCW.

* According to his book, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels asked for his release from WWF shortly after the nWo started, and would have likely signed with WCW, since he missed travelling with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Instead, Vince turned him heel and pitted him vs Bret Hart, ultimately causing the Montreal Screwjob. While WCW still got a top star in Bret Hart, it would be interesting to see how HBK would have done in WCW.

* Broken!Wrestling/MattHardy and [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Brother Nero]]'s "expedition for gold", which would have seen them WalkingTheEarth in search of TagTeam Title belts, was cut short at Wrestling/RingOfHonor when the Fight Network owners Anthem threatened any network running any ROH pay per views with Broken Matt(though only Dish caved). The whole thing was supposed to attract more attention to and regain good will for Impact Wrestling but Matt Hardy wasn't willing to let Anthem trademark his work.

* Broken!Wrestling/MattHardy and [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Brother Nero]]'s "expedition for gold", which would have seen them WalkingTheEarth in search of TagTeam Title belts, was cut short at Wrestling/RingOfHonor when the when Fight Network owners Anthem threatened any network running any ROH pay per views with Broken Matt(though only Dish caved). The whole thing was supposed to attract more attention to and regain good will for Impact Wrestling but Matt Hardy wasn't willing to let Anthem trademark his work.

* Wrestling/DustyRhodes once pushed for Rick Steiner to win the World Title from Wrestling/RicFlair at Starrcade '88 because Flair and Luger couldn't agree on a finish. Before the idea could come to fruition, Dusty was fired (WCW went through a revolving door of bookers and presidents in those days). His replacement, George Scott, decided to keep the title on Flair and brought in Rick Steamboat for a series of matches which would up being legendary. However think about how much different history might have been if Rick had won the title back in 1988. Would The Steiner Brothers have quickly reunited once he lost the title? Would Wrestling/ScottSteiner have broken out ten years sooner as a singles star in his own right? Would the Steners have gone to WWF? How much different would the tag team landscape have been without them in the 90's if one or both of them had been singles stars?

* Wrestling/DustyRhodes once pushed for Rick Steiner to win the World Title from Wrestling/RicFlair at Starrcade '88 because Flair and Luger couldn't agree on a finish. Before the idea could come to fruition, Dusty was fired (WCW went through a revolving door of bookers and presidents in those days). His replacement, George Scott, decided to keep the title on Flair and brought in Rick Steamboat for a series of matches which would up being legendary. However think about how much different history might have been if Rick had won the title back in 1988. Would The Steiner Brothers have quickly reunited once he lost the title? Would ScottSteiner have broken out ten years sooner as a singles star in his own right? Would the Steners have gone to WWF? How much different would the tag team landscape have been without them in the 90's if one or both of them had been singles stars?

* Sometime in 1989 or 1990 Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen had been reduced to Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/ArnAnderson as the only active members stil in WCW. There was a plan to add Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress and reform the Four Horsemen with them. Flair, Arn, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane and Midnight Express manager Wrestling/JimCornette were all very enthusiastic about the idea. Apparently they pitched the idea to then-WCW president Jim Herd who signed off on it. Then Cornette went on vacation and came back, and Herd decided not to form the stable. This ultimately led to Jim Cornette and Stan Lane leaving WCW and wat one of the last ina long line of incidents which led to Flair going to WWF for three years. Arn would team with Bobby Eaton and win the tag team titles in the interim.

* ThrowItIn: The group didn't have a name when Arn Anderson said something like, "The only time this much havoc had been wreaked by this few a number of people, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" The next week a group of fans had signs spelling out "[=HORSEMEN=]" and the name was cemented.

* DiamondDallasPage was considered to end Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s streak at Halloween Havoc '98. Wrestling/DustyRhodes pulled Page aside and told [=DDP=] that he thought he was ready and would go to bat for the idea with Wrestling/EricBischoff with a match largely centering around the shoulder injury spot Goldberg and Page had already built into the match. However, since Goldberg was going to be appearing on the next week's Entertainment Weekly with the World Title belt, Page and Bischoff agreed that it was best to leave the title on Goldberg.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen/{{WCW}}

* EC-F'n-W. A new interview revealed that ECW would have taken the WWE's place on USA after the latter left for TNN/Spike TV in the year 2000 with on Vince's blessing and Universal Music as a minority owner. However, after losing WWE, the #1 brand in wrestling to Spike, USA head Barry Diller felt that ECW would be a step down and nixed the deal.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen/((WCW}}

* In 2016, TNA was in a talks with Jeff Jarrett that would have resulted in the debut of MASADA and the return of Teddy Hart. But MASADA getting drunk and Hart letting one of his cats out lead to arrests that killed the deal.

!!!Wrestling/{{WCW}}
* Wrestling/DustyRhodes once pushed for Rick Steiner to win the World Title from Wrestling/RicFlair at Starrcade '88 because Flair and Luger couldn't agree on a finish. Before the idea could come to fruition, Dusty was fired (WCW went through a revolving door of bookers and presidents in those days). His replacement, George Scott, decided to keep the title on Flair and brought in Rick Steamboat for a series of matches which would up being legendary. However think about how much different history might have been if Rick had won the title back in 1988. Would The Steiner Brothers have quickly reunited once he lost the title? Would ScottSteiner have broken out ten years sooner as a singles star in his own right? Would the Steners have gone to WWF? How much different would the tag team landscape have been without them in the 90's if one or both of them had been singles stars?
* In the early-mid 1990s, WCW signed Swedish amateur wrestler and Olympic bronze medalist Frank Andersson to a contract. Andersson was very good in the ring and got great reactions, but lasted less than a year. Had he stayed on, WCW might have had an amateur wrestler turned successful pro wrestler half a decade before Wrestling/KurtAngle signed with WWF.
* The excreable Black Scorpion angle, in which Wrestling/{{Sting}} was tormented by a masked and shrouded figure who kept making references to having known Sting in the past, was originally planned with Wrestling/UltimateWarrior as The Black Scorpion. However, WCW was unable to poach Warrior from WWF, and so the angle floundered around for several months with no end plan before booking decided to make Wrestling/RicFlair the Black Scorpion.
* Wrestling/{{Sting}} was tapped to become the third man in the nWo, if Wrestling/HulkHogan refused to turn heel. The shock value of the industry's biggest icon turning heel would have been nonexistent, and the nWo wouldn't have had the same impact it actually did.
** The nWo itself was supposed to end at Starcade 1997. Who knows what could have happened? For starters, there would have been no FingerpokeOfDoom.
* WCW planned its "White Hummer" angle (a mystery person driving a white hummer drove into a limousine with Kevin Nash in it) around Wrestling/{{Sable}} being the driver. However, Sable wasn't able to get the no-compete clause in her WWF contract nullified. The angle bounced around with no resolution and repeated pointless callbacks while bookers tried to figure out an appropriately good finish but never did. It ended up being held as a triumphant example of WCW's awful booking, and the resolution was so anti-climactic that many fans don't remember that it was ever resolved. [[spoiler:Eric Bischoff]] was revealed as the driver the same night the [=New Blood/Millionaire's Club=] angle started.
* Wrestling/ScottHall was going to be part of WCW's Dangerous Alliance in 1992.
* DiamondDallasPage was considered to end Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s streak at Halloween Havoc '98. Wrestling/DustyRhodes pulled Page aside and told [=DDP=] that he thought he was ready and would go to bat for the idea with Wrestling/EricBischoff with a match largely centering around the shoulder injury spot Goldberg and Page had already built into the match. However, since Goldberg was going to be appearing on the next week's Entertainment Weekly with the World Title belt, Page and Bischoff agreed that it was best to leave the title on Goldberg.
* During his days wrestling as Wrestling/{{Meng}} in WCW, Tonga Fifita (also known as Haku in WWF) was asked to join the [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]] based on his reputation as the toughest man in wrestling. WCW supported his departure, but Tonga turned it down, believing his conditioning wasn't suited for legitimate competition. WCW did, however, have him wrestle Tank Abbot in Abbot's WCW debut match, believing that Meng was the one guy who could handle himself if Abbot decided to "take liberties" (i.e. start fighting for real).
* [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] was nearly poached by Billionaire Ted.
* [=The Quebecers/The Amazing French-Canadians=] (Jacques Rougeau and Carl Oulette) were brought back to WCW to be part of Wrestling/{{Lance Storm}}'s Team Canada. However, after his first night Rougeau refused to job to Ernest "The Cat" Miller and was fired, and shortly after that Oulette came down with Visa issues and had to quit.
* When Wrestling/{{Psicosis}} finally won the WCW Cruiserweight Title, the initial plan was for him to have a multi-month reign. Then, Wrestling/VinceRusso decided that having lots of rapid title changes would be good for business and he dropped the title back to Rey Misterio Jr. a week later instead.
* When Wrestling/BuffBagwell suffered a devastating neck injury in the ring, the show was put on hold while he was tended to and the match that was to have followed the match Bagwell got injured in was cancelled. That match was going to be Wrestling/ChrisBenoit vs Psychosis - both top quality wrestlers and smark favorites - and had been allotted 15 minutes. Had the match happened, it would have been the only time that Benoit and Psychosis ever wrestled each other.
* In the year 2000, WCW considered building a proper women's division around Wrestling/{{Madusa}} and [[Wrestling/MollyHolly Mona]]. They brought in several female wrestlers based on talent, and had some good matches on WCW Saturday Night and even a few on Thunder. Then someone (probably Vince Russo) decided to try and compete with the WWF's eye candy based women's division and built the division around Miss Hancock, Major Gunns and some of the former Nitro Girls. Mona got released and went to the WWF, Madusa retired, and in early 2001 a decree from TBS resulted in almost every woman employed by WCW being fired. WCW's ''two'' women's title[[note]]Women's Championship, held by Akira Hokuto, and Women's Cruiserweight Championship, held by Toshie Uematsu[[/note]] were stuck in Japan as a result.
* According to his book, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels asked for his release from WWF shortly after the nWo started, and would have likely signed with WCW, since he missed travelling with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Instead, Vince turned him heel and pitted him vs Bret Hart, ultimately causing the Montreal Screwjob. While WCW still got a top star in Bret Hart, it would be interesting to see how HBK would have done in WCW.
* Wrestling/RickMartel was something of a hot up and comer in late 90s WCW, working a "good guy with a temper" gimmick. He won the WCW Television Championship, and was booked to retain it against Booker T and Perry Saturn in back to back matches. However, Booker screwed up a Beal toss on Martel due to the smaller-than-average ring, and Martel hurt his knee on the ropes badly enough that they had to rebook the match then and there with Booker winning (and winning the followup match against Saturn too). Martel's knee never really recovered and after a short attempt at a comeback months later, he retired.
* Former WCW President Jim Herd came up with the tag team group The Hunchbacks, with their gimmick being that they couldn't be pinned due to their humps on their backs, but after it was rejected outright by WCW's booking committee, he came up with the bell-wearing Ding Dongs.
* Before it was acquired by the WWF in March 2001, WCW had a PPV called ''The Big Bang'' to be broadcast on May 6, 2001, which would have marked a "creation of the New WCW"; advertisements were featured in the second-to-last issue of WCW Magazine. You can learn more about it [[http://www.wwe.com/article/big-bang-untold-story-wcw-pay-view-almost-happened on WWE's website]]. ''The Big Bang'' would have been produced had Fusient Media Ventures acquired WCW.

* ShaneMcMahon also planned on having WWF buying ECW in the summer of 2000 and keep it alive as separate business. However, Vince declined.

* In CHIKARA, the angle involving the Bruderschaft de Kreuzes had to be rebooked when BDK leader Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli was signed by WWE as Antonio Cesaro. To a lesser extent, there was the abrupt removal of Lince Dorado and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze from the BDK (Lince was fired, Daizee had an undisclosed health issue that caused her to quit), and whatever it was that caused Pinkie Sanchez to go from upper-midcarder to rarely-utilized jobber.

* Website/{{WrestleCrap}}'s "Rewriting the Book" is an entire section of FanFiction devoted to WhatCouldHaveBeen. With the notable difference from RealLife that, in those stories, the booking is actually quite good, though stretching of credulity considering the egos and competence of many of the people involved. Among the most noteable, and likely, examples can be mentioned "What If Wrestling/BarryWindham didnt join The Four Horsemen?" (A continued face run for Windham, the Horsemen inducting a returning Wrestling/EddieGilbert until the group falls apart later that year, and Gilbert forming his own heel stable based on the old UWF, including Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, Wrestling/RonSimmons and Rick Steiner), and "What If Randy Savage Had Won His Retirement Match?" (Savage's heel run continues, he recaptures the world title, only to find himself facing Wrestling/RicFlair with the roles reversed, with Flair as the good guy).