What is the biggest what-if in WWE history?

By YPB TeamNov 2

Neck injuries, contract jumps, Hollywood and the NFL each kept a star out of WWE at the wrong moment. Imagine the main events that never happened.

1
Steve Austin's 1997 neck injury
A botched piledriver from Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997 injured Austin's neck; he retired after WrestleMania XIX at 38.
1000pts
2
Sting skips WWE in his prime
Sting stayed with WCW and then TNA; his first WWE match came at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, at age 56.
927pts
3
Kurt Angle leaves WWE in 2006
Angle was released by WWE in August 2006 and spent the next decade mostly in TNA.
800pts
4
Hall and Nash jump to WCW
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left the WWF for WCW in 1996 and formed the nWo with Hulk Hogan.
709pts
5
Eddie Guerrero's death in 2005
Eddie Guerrero died in November 2005, 21 months after winning the WWE Championship at No Way Out 2004.
600pts
6
Bret Hart leaves after the Montreal Screwjob
Hart left the WWF for WCW after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997.
600pts
7
Edge's 2011 retirement
Neck problems forced Edge to retire in April 2011; he came back at the 2020 Royal Rumble.
600pts
8
The Rock leaves for Hollywood
The Rock's last regular WWE match was at WrestleMania XX in 2004; he did not wrestle again until 2011.
466pts
9
Shawn Michaels' 1998 back injury
A back injury at the 1998 Royal Rumble led Michaels to retire after WrestleMania XIV; he returned in 2002.
466pts
10
Brock Lesnar leaves for the NFL
Lesnar left WWE after WrestleMania XX in 2004 to try out for the Minnesota Vikings.
466pts
11
Steve Austin's 2002 walkout
Austin walked out of WWE in June 2002 rather than lose to Brock Lesnar on Raw.
466pts
12
CM Punk walks out in 2014
Punk left WWE in January 2014 and did not return until Survivor Series 2023.
0pts
13
Daniel Bryan's 2016 retirement
Concussions led Bryan to retire in February 2016; he was cleared and returned in 2018.
0pts
14
Hulk Hogan leaves for WCW
Hogan left the WWF in 1993 and signed with WCW in 1994.
0pts

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Photo credits

Steve Austin's 1997 neck injury — Mandy Coombes, CC BY-SA 2.0
Sting skips WWE in his prime — Super Festivals from Ft, CC BY 2.0
Kurt Angle leaves WWE in 2006 — Tim Blackmon, Super Festivals from Ft, CC BY 2.0
Hall and Nash jump to WCW — Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0
Eddie Guerrero's death in 2005 — RanZag, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bret Hart leaves after the Montreal Screwjob — Super Festivals from Ft, CC BY 2.0
Edge's 2011 retirement — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Rock leaves for Hollywood — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shawn Michaels' 1998 back injury — Super Festivals from Ft, CC BY 2.0
Brock Lesnar leaves for the NFL — Diego Serrano, CC BY 2.0
Steve Austin's 2002 walkout — Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0
CM Punk walks out in 2014 — Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0
Daniel Bryan's 2016 retirement — Ralph Arvesen, CC BY-SA 2.0

Comments 1

SummerSlam 1997 left Austin with a neck he worked on for six more years, and 2004 took The Rock to Hollywood, one what-if by injury, one by choice: https://youpick.best/articles/the-rock-vs-stone-cold-ranked

ypb-team6h ago