Wrestling Fans React to the Biggest 'What Ifs' in WWE History
One of the most engaging parts about sports and media discourse is discussing what could have been. There's a natural human desire to lament all possible outcomes from the past. It sparks intense debates and allows for endless hypotheticals.
Recently, a fan took to X and asked about the most significant "what-ifs" in wrestling history. The post went viral and sparked endless responses, so I decided to consolidate it to make it WWE-centric while plucking out some of the more intriguing replies.
Bret would've been about 44 at the time, and was such a technically sound worker, he likely would've had a few great years left in the ring. "The Hitman" would've made for an excellent leader of The Alliance.
This has always been a popular sliding door, but of the group that competed with the Black and Yellow armband at SummerSlam 2010, who has been a star in any promotion, at any point, outside of Wade Barrett? It was a group with a shelf life that was too short, but fans have wildly overrated the stable's personnel in the years since.
If Hogan had cold feet and stayed a face, he would have been released within the next few years due to his lucrative salary and diminishing fan support. The NWO doesn't reach the mainstream in the same way, but without Hogan politics, WCW booking doesn't crater, and the company remains a viable competitor far past 2001.
Mr. Kennedy would've had a chance to be a main event star, but it would've been so hard to land the plane on this angle. It was a rare creative risk that was intriguing, but there were almost no viable payoffs.
The world would keep spinning.
This is tough for me. In the immediate aftermath, Creative was likely hesitant to push him in the same way, but he's been an ironman since. The likes of Seth Rollins and Charlotte Flair have been hurt more frequently, yet have never tumbled down the card. It seems like Balor has been more of a victim of sloppy angles than the inopportune injury.
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Advertisement Sulla-Heffinger: I love when the MITB briefcase creates a bit of prolonged uncertainty for the reigning champions, so I am mostly against any night-of cash-ins. For me, I point to Tiffany Stratton's cash-in on Nia Jax as an incredibly well-done iteration. As much as MITB can serve as an instant, star-making tool, it's also one of the best storytelling devices WWE has in its arsenal, so I appreciate when it's leveraged for a few months after the PLE. WWE tends to hit a bit of a lull in the fall/winter after SummerSlam and before Royal Rumble so a cash-in there is ideal, in my opinion, to generate buzz. Jackman: Like Anthony, I like it when they use the briefcase as a storytelling device before pulling the trigger a la Chekhov's gun. Last year's run-in with Tiffany Stratton was the perfect example of that, with that continual teasing of the 'will she, won't she?' tension getting us more invested in all those Tiffy segments. Having the coercive Nia Jax threaten her against cashing in was particularly good. It felt smarter and more nuanced than your typical wrestling angle. As for the actual cash-in, there's a tension here between trying to be original and unpredictable without making the briefcase holder look silly. If we're taking kayfabe at all seriously, we have to assume that most wrestlers would look for the path of least resistance here — which means cashing in on an already beaten and bruised opponent, like we saw with Damian Priest back at WrestleMania 41 or Liv Morgan at MITB 2022. That said, it's nice to have some tension and suspense as to whether they are going to succeed or not. If the title change is too obvious, it dents my interest. Or, even worse, when it's obvious they're not going to cash in successfully (as was the case with Drew McIntyre last year, who was so evidently going to be screwed again by CM Punk). Advertisement Riggs: Let me tell you what I can't stand: The honorable "heads-up" cash-in when someone says they're going to have their match at a particular place and a specific date. The only instance where that was perfect was ECW One Night Stand for Rob Van Dam in 2006. Otherwise, I can do without it, because I have such a soft spot for the early incarnation of the concept. Moments like Edge and CM Punk's cash-ins are just the best. Even farther down the line with Carmella's and, as alluded to, Damian Priest's — they were unforgettable. Rollins' also goes without saying. Those advantageous types of cash-ins are the whole point of the concept. Sure, it's a pretty cheap cop-out in a lot of ways, but that's also the point — unless done right with someone and somewhere like "RVD" and ECW. John Cena and Logan Paul speak in the ring during "WWE SmackDown" on May 30, 2025 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) 3. What's the most intriguing part of the Jey Uso/Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena/Logan Paul tag match? Dansby: Honestly? Not much. The match feels forced and disconnected from the current storylines. Where does Logan Paul go from here — a world title shot? Are Cena and Rhodes supposed to continue feuding over a title? If so, why? Cena has plenty of fresh matchups for his retirement run that would make more sense. Advertisement Riggs: This is a way more difficult question to answer than it should be because I don't give a damn about this match at all. It probably has to be how Logan Paul gets pinned, because I'll be absolutely stunned if the outcome of this match isn't with him taking the loss — or a DQ, of course. Always believe in Triple H booking a DQ. To provide a sliver of fantasy booking, I imagine Paul gets hit with a handful of Uso and Rhodes' finishers after Cena bails on him and walks out. It's either something similar to that, or Gunther might even interfere to ruin the match because he's facing Uso on the next "WWE Raw." All options suck. Jackman: My main interest is what the match tells us about the Cena-Rhodes storyline. We're all working from the assumption that we're heading for a rematch between the two (perhaps sooner rather than later), so it would be good to see something that gives their in-ring rivalry a bit more zing. The resounding message at WrestleMania 41 was that Rhodes only lost due to Cena's shenanigans, and we've also seen him take out the champ with a single Cross Rhodes more than once, so it would be good to see something which evens the score a little bit. To get a little nerdier, I find it interesting how these main roster tag matches have become elevated to PLE main events during the Triple H era. I'm thinking about the excellent Usos vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa from MITB 2023 of course, but also the other big-ticket tag matches at Bad Blood (Reigns/Rhodes vs. Sikoa/Fatu) and also Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 (Rock/Reigns vs. Rhodes/Rollins). In all three of those cases, the multi-man match was used to tell a bigger storyline, and I hope that will be the case again here. Advertisement Sulla-Heffinger: Does Jey Uso need this rub? That's the intriguing question for me, because it really feels like his title reign has been a bit bland/overshadowed on 'Raw,' particularly with the Gunther rematch coming on June 9th. We know where we are going with Rhodes and Cena — an inevitable rematch of the WrestleMania 41 Night 2 main event— and Paul has become a kind of plug-and-play headliner. Uso's place in all of this is what feels wonky to me, so if you have the babyfaces win on Saturday and then Uso beats Gunther again on Monday (I'll address this later), it might solidify this World Heavyweight Championship run. Could Seth Rollins throw an immediate wrench in the title picture on Saturday? (Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) 4. So, do we get a cash-in Saturday night? Jackman: I think there's enough going on already. Obviously you have the two men's champions in the main event, which in theory makes them ripe for the picking, but I can't see how a cash-in would work. And I mean that quite literally: How can you have someone cash-in during a tag match? It isn't like a singles match, which can just become a triple threat. Advertisement Going for a cash-in after the match would work, of course, but it might feel like overkill. Add to the fact they've been portentously mentioning the Uso vs. Gunther match on Monday's 'Raw' for weeks now (making that match the first candidate for a speedy cash-in) and I think it's really unlikely anyone cashes in on Saturday. Dansby: It could happen. The women's titles aren't on the card, so any immediate cash-in would have to come from the men's side. I could totally see Rollins and his crew storming the tag match, wrecking everyone, and then Rollins cashing in. Picture a few Bronson Reed Tsunamis followed by Rollins pinning whichever champ is left standing. Sulla-Heffinger: No, but I could see one happening on Monday night and setting up two major SummerSlam matches in the process. If Rollins wins, it opens the door for him to cash-in toward the end of the Uso-Gunther match on Monday night — a la his WrestleMania 31 coup. Rollins cashes in, Punk spoils it and Uso pins Gunther to escape. This protects everyone and sets up (another) Punk-Rollins clash and Gunther-Uso for MetLife in August. This goes against my ideal 'hold the briefcase' scenario, but I think it's what works best for WWE right now. Advertisement Riggs: This depends entirely on who wins the men's match, because neither Tiffany Stratton nor Iyo Sky is booked for this card at the time of writing. It would be a cool twist to have the winner call for the match that same night, despite the champion not even being set to compete. Unfortunately, expecting that level of creativity is a stretch. As for the men's side, and considering who I expect to win, I'm going to say yes — Americano will cash-in. This is the real vision, folks. Gather 'round: Grande Gable runs out to attack Cena with the briefcase as he's bailing on Paul in the closing moments of the main-event tag-team match, therefore giving Cena and Paul the win by DQ and starting Americano's own match with Cena. Meanwhile, Rollins, Breakker and Reed come out to pick through the scraps of Uso and Rhodes, which involuntarily saves Paul from further damage. Punk and Zayn probably show up too, just to even the numbers with Paul on the side of the heel trio. Despite having the upper hand with his attack on Cena, Americano falls short when Cena hits him with a low blow while the referee is distracted by the chaos outside the ring. Attitude Adjustment, 1-2-3. Mind you, that would mean WWE immediately clowns the new AAA World Champion. (But not technically because Gable wrestles El Hijo del Vikingo under his name.) I'm not going to make this my official prediction below because it's clearly a bit more extreme, but you cannot convince me it doesn't sound like a possible booking idea — especially for Cena's heel run — in the 2025 WWE. Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch settle their differences on Saturday. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) 5. Who's more likely to elevate the Women's Intercontinental Championship coming out of MITB: Lyra Valkyria or Becky Lynch? Sulla-Heffinger: Lynch is an all-time great, but seeing Valkyria spread her wings — see what I did there — post-WrestleMania has been remarkable. She's always been an incredible in-ring talent, but what we've seen during this program with Lynch has shown she has the promo chops as well. I'm all about things feeling fresh, especially when you're talking about championships, and that's what we're getting with Valkyria being showcased as Women's Intercontinental Champion. She was the right pick to win the inaugural belt and remains the right pick to carry it through the summer. Advertisement Jackman: This feud has been the sleeper hit of the year hasn't it? While all of us Horsemen were smart enough to be singing Lyra's praises ages ago, I did spot some less savvy pundits questioning why Lynch vs. Valkyria was even on last month's WWE Backlash card in the first place. Well, the Irish lasses sure showed them, didn't they? As for what happens on Saturday, my reading is that this is a standard trilogy. Lynch will take home the title after a dusty finish, and Valkyria will have to grimace and acknowledge her superiority by raising her arm as per the stipulation. That gives two months to build up to the final part at SummerSlam, with Lyra Valkyria winning back her title (and maybe getting her arm raised in honor, like with Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes a couple of years ago). Riggs: My feelings haven't changed too much on this feud and what it's done for Valkyria's title. She's been tremendous and had me invested every step of the way, but that's thanks to Lynch. So, by default, Lynch has been the one elevating the title with her status, although she, in storyline, seemingly cares more about beating Valkyria than the belt. The same can't be said about the champion, who keeps acknowledging that Lynch hasn't beaten her. Advertisement The long-term answer is Valkyria, at least for now. She can really become something after this feud, and she deserves it. Lynch doesn't need the belt, and surely it can — and will — come later on, potentially with a revisit if Valkyria is still champ by then. WrestleMania 42, anyone? Too far away? OK, OK. Dansby: The feud with Lynch has already raised Valkyria's profile, but it's time for some real star power to carry that title. Heel Becky taking on the younger call-ups — like her NXT run a few years back — would be the perfect way to build up the Women's Intercontinental belt this summer. Predictions: Men's Money in the Bank ladder match: Seth Rollins (Dansby, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Andrade vs. Penta vs. El Grande Americano (Riggs) vs. LA Knight (Jackman) vs. Solo Sikoa Women's Money in the Bank ladder match: Stephanie Vaquer (Riggs) vs. Giulia (Dansby) vs. Naomi (Jackman) vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez (Sulla-Heffinger) Women's Intercontinental Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Becky Lynch (Dansby, Jackman) Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Logan Paul (Jackman) vs. World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes (Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger), No winner (Dansby — DQ due to Rollins interference) 2025 standings
