What if....?

[Snitsky's back acne]

Having found out recently that Masakatsu Funaki, and not Keiichi Yamada, was Antonio Inoki's original choice for the Jushin Liger gimmick (and would have got the role had he decided to not returned to New Japan after excursion in 1989), it got me thinking about the other "What if's...' in wrestling, be they something that could have actually happened or just something that, in an alternative universe, might have happened. 

What is Vince had chosen Bret over Shawn in 1997 and Shawn went to WCW?

What if Dingo Warrior became Big Van Vader and not Leon White?

What if HHH had won King of the Ring in 1996 instead of Steve Austin?

I can't imagine anyone else being Jushin Liger, personally. I have to think that, despite how talented Funaki was, he was not the wrestler that Yamada was and the Junior division in Japan (and subsequently the rest of the world) may never have developed in the way it did had Funaki become Liger. Yamada would no doubt have still been the stellar worker he was but without the gimmick and the push of Liger he may have struggled to make a name for himself in Japan. 

So... what if's? 

 

[Cannibal Man]

2 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

What if Dingo Warrior became Big Van Vader and not Leon White?

my hope for this is that at some point early on he'd encounter Otto Wanz or Akira Maeda

[unfitfinlay]

The biggest one for me is What if Jim Ross had gotten the WCW job instead of Bischoff in 1993? He was the front runner after all.

It changes everything doesn't it? Not only do Hogan, Savage, etc, not make the jump to WCW, there's no way Austin or Foley get fired and go in the other direction. No NWO, no Stone Cold, and without Ross being Head of Talent Relations, you have to wonder if folk like Rock, Angle, Lesnar, Cena, etc, even break into the industry? It wouldn't be the biggest shock for Ross to bring Heyman back either, so ECW never becomes "Extreme".

Given the state of the industry before that happened, I could see both companies going out of business. I definitely can't see WWE ever being the multi-billion dollar company that it evolved into.

[wordsfromlee]

The one I see banded around often is if The Curtain Call didn't happen.

Triple H wouldn't have lost his spot winning KOTR 96, which means Stone Cold wouldn't have won it instead and cut the infamous 'Austin 3:16' promo after it and kicking off the start of his mega run and ushering in the Attitude Era.

[LaGoosh]

12 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

The one I see banded around often is if The Curtain Call didn't happen.

Triple H wouldn't have lost his spot winning KOTR 96, which means Stone Cold wouldn't have won it instead and cut the infamous 'Austin 3:16' promo after it and kicking off the start of his mega run and ushering in the Attitude Era.

The KOTR promo being the thing that kicked off Austin's run always felt to me like a bit of WWE revisionist history. He didn't immediately shoot up the card afterwards and it's still highly likely he would have ended up being the top star in the business without it. 

[Infinity Land]

24 minutes ago, unfitfinlay said:

The biggest one for me is What if Jim Ross had gotten the WCW job instead of Bischoff in 1993? He was the front runner after all.

It changes everything doesn't it? Not only do Hogan, Savage, etc, not make the jump to WCW, there's no way Austin or Foley get fired and go in the other direction. No NWO, no Stone Cold, and without Ross being Head of Talent Relations, you have to wonder if folk like Rock, Angle, Lesnar, Cena, etc, even break into the industry? It wouldn't be the biggest shock for Ross to bring Heyman back either, so ECW never becomes "Extreme".

Given the state of the industry before that happened, I could see both companies going out of business. I definitely can't see WWE ever being the multi-billion dollar company that it evolved into.

I wouldn't see the same highs but some of the same beats would be there where the WWF ends up the sole survivor. The Jarretts, Heyman, Cornette and others were all out there. If WCW folded or was up for sale in the mid-90s by Turner someone would have picked up the pieces. Carrying on as a TNA level 2nd national promotion.

With no WCW alternative cash grab, Hogan would have ended up back in the WWF for a '90s heel run. Nothing like the NWO success story. 

Vince taking other talents and giving them the WWF makeover to varying degrees of success as he'd done for the previous decade.

 

 

[Tennessee Moltisanti]

2 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

What is Vince had chosen Bret over Shawn in 1997 and Shawn went to WCW?

Hogan would have eaten Shawn alive, he'd have probably politicked him out of WCW within 2 years. I don't think he even gets close to the main event scene, and Hogan and Goldberg probably would have refused to work with him. Bret was a much bigger name than Shawn and he was struggling in WCW. 

And then from there, I think he goes off the rails way worse than he did in real life. 

Bret in 98 WWF would be great, he'd have put over Austin at Mania 14 and made him look like a million dollars. Plus, the Tyson storyline where he's been brought in by Vince works better when Bret can be Vince's handpicked Champ, because he was a proper fan favourite for years. Bret with Tyson seemingly in his corner, protecting Vince's interest, works very well.

From there, I imagine he'd be happy to work with most of the guys on the roster. He had a soft spot for The Rock, Shamrock and Foley, he'd make them seem big time. I could see Bret stepping away from a full time probably by mid-late 99, and then he could come back in to feud with Benoit, Angle, Jericho. Maybe even a tag title feud or 2 with Owen and Bret going against the Hardy's, Edge & Christian and The Dudley's. 

If only.

[TheScarlettChad]

What if Cena got fired in 2002?

Allegedly they were close to firing him. So what happens if they do? Brock would still leave presumably, Batista would be the face of the company? 

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, LaGoosh said:

The KOTR promo being the thing that kicked off Austin's run always felt to me like a bit of WWE revisionist history. He didn't immediately shoot up the card afterwards and it's still highly likely he would have ended up being the top star in the business without it. 

 Most probably but it's doubtful 'Austin 3:16' would have existed. 

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

What if WWF had of gone with Hogan vs Flair at Wrestlemania VIII?

would the WWF look any different leading up to and including Summerslam?

Also if things had stayed the same with Hogan going to WCW in 1994, would they have gone with Hogan Flair at Bash at the Beach? Would it have had any impact on the buyrate or hype surrounding the PPV given the fact that it was done two years previous.

Edited February 24, 2025 by Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz

[air_raid]

12 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

The KOTR promo being the thing that kicked off Austin's run always felt to me like a bit of WWE revisionist history. He didn't immediately shoot up the card afterwards and it's still highly likely he would have ended up being the top star in the business without it. 

100% this. It was the Bret feud that got Austin attention, mostly the fire he showed calling him out and subsequent respect that Bret showed calling him the best wrestler in the WWF... even if that was probably approx 40% just to take a shot at Shawn and only 60% about putting Austin and his program over.

11 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

 Most probably but it's doubtful 'Austin 3:16' would have existed. 

They'd have sold a different t-shirt.

 

This is basically the idea I always call Wrestling Of Future Past. What if Virgil had won the 1992 Royal Rumble, would WCW have won the war?

OK, so that's just a private joke I have with myself. In the spirit of House Show Happenings 2... what if WCW had made good on their promise to Eddie Gilbert to make him one of a new Four Horsemen in 89? We could have foregone that spell where Flair, Sting and Lex were all babyfaces and most of the heels looked like shit in comparison, though the flipside is we would have either lost out on Flair vs Funk, or done it with Terry as the babyface. Which would have been fine by me.

[tiger_rick]

1 minute ago, air_raid said:

100% this. It was the Bret feud that got Austin attention, mostly the fire he showed calling him out and subsequent respect that Bret showed calling him the best wrestler in the WWF... even if that was probably approx 40% just to take a shot at Shawn and only 60% about putting Austin and his program over.

They'd have sold a different t-shirt.

I agree that Austin still becomes a top star for the WWF without the KOTR win and promo, that was inevitable. He'd have caught fire in some way. I do wonder just how different the overall outlook for the WWF would have been. They were a clear number two at that point and a very uncool promotion. The "Austin 3:16" signs and T-shirts were a huge deal in breaking through the mainstream as well as the videos. Being the top guy in a dying WWF wouldn't have been the same legacy.

On a similar note, I often wonder What If WrestleMania 13 had happened as planned. I don't even know what Steve Austin does on that show with the original plan of Bret v Shawn. Nothing important. Again, he's still going to be a big deal in the WWF but how much does the legacy of that match and the iconic imagery that was everywhere take away from the company. Just imagine this tape with a different cover.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah it was absolutely the Bret feud that properly kicked Austin’s rise off. Obviously the Austin 3:16 promo was great and they capitalised on that later. But I think a lot of the revisionism by WWE that it catapulted him into a white hot mega star overnight started during the time when Bret was on bad terms with them so they didn’t wanna give any credit to him. It’s an absolute fact though that the Bret stuff was what elevated Austin more than anything and gave him that main event credibility. The WWE version of the story has Austin deliver the 3:16 promo then instantly skyrocket but he was still arsing about with guys like Wildman and Savio, the same guys he’d been working before KOTR, for most of that June to November period and was slumming it on the bastard Free-For-All against Yokozuna at SummerSlam that year. The stuff with Pillman, although it never lead to a match at the time due to Pillman’s ankle, was the main thing keeping Austin ticking over and developing his edge before Bret came back for that Survivor Series match. 

[simonworden]

12 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said:

What if Cena got fired in 2002?

Allegedly they were close to firing him. So what happens if they do? Brock would still leave presumably, Batista would be the face of the company? 

I was thinking about this one the other day funnily enough and yes, Batista would've ended up the face of the company. Someone like Lashley might have been given a little bit more of a push to fill that gap. The company would have definitely been a lot poorer for many years to come as so much money was made through Cena merch and his PPV matches. That includes his feud with the Rock. I'm not sure Duane comes back for Big Dave who would probably be gone by then. 

I always wonder what if another network had given TV time to ECW and they managed to start covering their amassing debt? Do they take on some prize picks from WCW and Gabe becomes booker turning them ROH like in match quality or do Heymans picks like Justin Credible keep stinking up the card. An ECW with Tajiri, Super Crazy etc alongside AJ Styles Low Ki and Bryan all in the TV title division while Rhyno, Lynn and RVD head up the main events perhaps with Guerrero or Shamrock added doesn't sound too bad. 

 

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

I don't even know what Steve Austin does on that show with the original plan of Bret v Shawn. Nothing important.

The plan was Bulldog, which they started building on Raw 8 days after Survivors and through the Rumble.