Some Of The Biggest WHAT IF Moments In Wrestling History

What's good? Josh Wars back at again with another video. So, we're going to check out what if the butterfly effects of pro wrestling. Now, there's been plenty of what if scenarios, especially when it comes to certain things happening that kind of change the course of professional wrestling as we know it. What if those things didn't play out? And they're very interesting when you think about it and kind of break it down. Like one of the more notable ones that we've talked about plenty of times is what if Roman Reigns never uh caught CO for WWE Day One? How does the landscape change? Does he ultimately have that legendary title reign because the reports and rumors were Roman was supposed to lose to Brock that day which means his title reign would have been cut short. So what if he never caught CO? how things would have played out. And there's plenty of other what if scenarios. So, we're going to check this out. But before we get into this video, I want to give a special shout out to the Humble Roses podcast. Um, they hit me up on X uh wanted me to check out this particular video. So, I said, you know what, I definitely will. This is a definitely a cool, you know, idea and and just to be able to kind of get into that bag of, you know, what what would have happened if some of these things would have played out differently. So, definitely go show them some love. I'm going link down the original video down below. That way you guys can go check out some of of his other videos and uh check out some of the other content that he has to offer. But, nevertheless, we're going to check this out. Should be an interesting one. Let's get right into it, man. Should be a cool one, man. >> In professional wrestling, one decision can change everything. One win, one loss, one injury, one booking decision, and suddenly careers [music] change, companies change, and wrestling history takes an entirely different path. These are the [music] moments where one choice >> we literally just talking about this WWE day one just >> creates a ripple effect that's felt for years. Welcome to what if the butterfly effects of pro wrestling hosted by me Dallas Cash. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. >> I want to take you back to a special day that was June 23rd 1996. King of the Ring. The iconic Austin 316 promo. It was a moment that transitioned and transcended Stone Code into a global star and one of the fastest [music] rising stars from coming in as the ring master at Wrestlemania 12. But what if I told you that this wasn't supposed to happen? >> Nope. >> Triple H was supposed to be the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring and he was a shoein until the curtain call happened. Paul and Nash were out the door. Shawn was the champ. So Triple H was the only person who got punished for the curtain call. >> Yep. Shawn Waltman was nursing a neck injury when he ran into agent Barry Bloom who informed him about the guaranteed money WCW was willing to pay talent to jump ship from WWF. Barry Bloom got in touch with Scott Hall and that's how the ball got rolling. So, here's my first question. What if the curtain call doesn't happen? Yeah, that's [music] a very interesting one that a lot of people have brought up. If that doesn't happen, do we have the same version of Stone Cold that we all, you know, grown to love and appreciate and was the one of the biggest factors of why WWE was so successful around the Attitude Era? Does that still happen for him or does he get lost in the shuffle? That's that's a very interesting what if. Many wrestling historians understand how the Monday Night War started. But for many people, it's different. But let me take you back to when Alundra Blaze dropped the WWF Championship in the trash. That honestly was the start. Triple H was the 1996 King of the Ring. There [music] were going to be some negative effects on both sides for WWF and WCW. However, for this one, I want to take a look at the possible effects for WCW. Two weeks after the 1996 King of the Ring was [music] bashed at the Beach 96 when Hogan, Hall, and Nash joined to form the New World Order. But think about it. If Triple H became King of the Ring and Hall and Nash didn't leave, there ain't no nWo. Instead, you have Macho Man and Sting potentially joining the nWo. But also, this version of Sting doesn't exist. [music] Reason being is it came from Scott Hall. The idea of Crow Sting came from Scott Hall. If Scott Hall isn't there to give that idea to Sting because he's in WWE instead of WCW, we don't get this classic iconic Star K97 match between Hogan and the best program they had for WCW at the time. Unfortunately, the only candidates that we have are Lex Luger and the Giant. I don't know about that. This affects DDP, too. Remember, he had a fake angle where he joined the nWo, then turned on him at the same time. If Nash isn't there cuz he's in WWE, then who ends Goldberg's streak? >> Yeah. >> Do the cruiserweights suffer or do they prosper? Possible effects for WWE. This one's going to get worse. If Triple H wins the 1996 King of the Ring as he was slated to, you [music] could say goodbye to all these Austin 316 shirts because it's not going to happen. You don't get [music] that classic Austin 316 promo. >> Think about that. A lot of times shirts and iconic, you know, moments happen, you know, in the moment. Like him going out there and saying that kind of birth Austin 316 and the merch that came with it. If that doesn't happen, then you don't get this potentially. You know, you don't we may not even get a Austin 316 slogan, all the many TE's. You don't get that potentially. So, and I mean, you can think about that with a lot of other situations because if we don't get that, who's to say we even get the what chance? Think about that. We may not even technically would have gotten the what chance because Austin was still over at that time and he had came up with it. So you don't even get what chance and what chance are still done to this day. So that's wild. It's kind of crazy when you really break it down. There's so many things we possibly wouldn't have gotten. >> Reason being is because it only happened because his opponent was Jake Roberts who would came back as a born again Christian. So now you have Hall Nash Michaels and Triple H running the show in WWE. Yeah, >> they're going to do business. But also think about this. >> Does the Undertaker still keep his streak? [music] Does the Undertaker still go undefeated at WrestleMania with Shawn Michaels being the politician he is and backed up by the click? We don't know. Another [music] thing with the Monday Night War, controversy is what pushed ratings. If you don't have healthy competition on both sides and just one side with one superstar and some other upper mid Carters, it becomes a problem. Which brings me to The Rock. You see, The Rock had already been bullied by Triple H and Shawn Michaels, >> but now he would have to deal with being bullied by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Paul, Nash, Waltman, and the rest of the click. With Shawn being the champion, there's definitely going to be some backstage shenanigans which will probably lead to this effect >> because I I I think for the most part and the fact that he brought this up now, I think for the most part The Rock and HBK, that's why we they we never had a match with them because they ain't like each other. There's like some some tension there. I don't know the specifics of it, but they don't like each other. I don't know if it is like that now, but back then they didn't like each other. That's why it never really happened. So, there's a lot that you take in consideration. The fact the idea that The Rock possibly could have left would have been kind of crazy, too. The Rock actually confirmed that this was a possibility and he was considering it. I'm really glad he didn't. I wasn't trying to see him get put in a pretzel [music] or get his ass [laughter] knocked out so cold that Glacier himself would have sued Dwayne Johnson for gimmick infringement. [laughter] If The Rock leaves WWE for MMA, [music] a few things. Number one, no Smackdown. we wouldn't have gotten the catchphrase, none of his catchphrases, none of those great Smackdown games that had his pedigree behind it and carried on. The attitude era under Shawn Michaels would have looked much different without The Rock. Suddenly, Degeneration X has the New Age Outlaws, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, China, and The Outsiders. [music] Does Bret Hart still stay through all of this? >> Yeah, that's an interesting one, too. >> What happens to Kane? Think about it. Remember his whole gimmick was based on a fake diesel. He doesn't have much of a job of diesel still there. Backstage politics lead to mankind not getting his big world title. Stone Cold's rise to stardom looks so much different now. Is there still a Montreal screw job? And does this affect Owen Hart? Does he still unfortunately pass away? What if I told you that the second match on the Wrestlemania [music] 33 card, Cody Rhodess, and the creation of one of the greatest factions in pro wrestling history, [music] Bullet Club, >> led to Dragon Gate and TNA Wrestling getting involved in influencing what we know now as All Elite Wrestling. >> Let me take you on a journey. The hottest feud of 2017 going into WrestleMania was Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, which was for Kevin Owens Universal Championship. And at the last minute, it was changed to Brock versus Goldberg. Y >> what the Vince, on behalf of everyone, that was stupid. [laughter] >> It was a It was a decision. >> Vince was not happy with the match and he crapped all over it. Let's pause right there. During the time at TNA in 2010, there was an underutilized tag team called Generation Me. And before he became the rain maker, Kazucho Okada was [music] known as Okado. In 2010, Okado was asked by TNA management to blade during a match which was against Okata's wishes. [music] Luckily enough, Generation Me, the Young Bucks, stepped in and backed Okata on the decision, which [music] led to a great friendship between the three of them down the line and would greatly pay off for the Young Bucks going forward. Okata returned promptly back to Japan where he had reintroduced himself as the rain maker at [music] Wrestle Kingdom 6, beating Yoshihashi. A month later, he's facing IWGP champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. And at New Japan Pro Wrestling: The New Beginning, Okata wins the IWGP Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi. Now in the junior tag division, Prince [music] Devett betrays his tag partner, Ryus Taguchi, aligning with Bad Luck Fal, [music] forming the Bullet Club. Tomatanga and machine gun Carl Anderson join in. Remember when the Young Bucks were befriending Okada? Well, it eventually paid off. Okata put a good word in for the Young Bucks to come to New Japan Pro Wrestling. And what do you know? Prince Devon eventually introduced them to the group and now the Young Bucks were part of Bullet Club. Bullet Club became a global phenomenon with a who's who of wrestlers joining from the indies and the majors. A disgruntled Cody Rhodess had left WWE in May of 2016. Cody floats around and eventually lands in the Bullet Club himself, which now puts the Bullet Club on a molecular level with so many other different factions for who they've had join. >> Bullet Club's popularity was immensely high, reaching the Western audience became a global phenomenon. From the shirts to the wrestlers to the music, everything about Bullet Club was what people missed about [music] professional wrestling. And then it culminated with New Japan Pro Wrestling getting their biggest star-studded match in a long time. This is a crossover. [music] This is the match that eventually led to the creation of AEW. >> Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. >> Think about that. Think about that. If Vince would have just had Jericho go against uh Ke uh Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship, which I think a lot of us fans wanted. Think about that. Jericho probably wouldn't have left. He wouldn't have left, which means AEW possibly does not get created. Now, not to say it doesn't happen, because it may ultimately ended up happening, but there's a good chance it may not happen as soon as it did. If he just would have let Jericho, Kevin Owens have their match, which I think they deserved. I think things would have been different. The landscape, we may not have gotten AEW as soon as we did. So, that's all on Vince, too. That Vince is responsible for the creation of AEW. [laughter] Wrestle Kingdom 12 was the foundation, not leaving out what Cody did. >> I'll take that bet, Dave. I already gave them their biggest buy rate. Put the Bucks and I on the card in a 3 months to promote with Ring of Honor at allin. This eventually caught the attention of Tony Khan and dealing with Turner Broadcasting who was trying to get back into the wrestling business. Omega and Jericho coupled with the style of wrestling at Dragon Gate eventually led to AEW's whole pedigree [music] of matches and how they wanted the pacing to go. None of this would have never happened Jericho been rightfully treated right by Vince along with Cody if Okado would have never went to TNA. Fans always talk about the Day One pay-per-view and Roman Reigns getting co. But let's put things in perspective. What if Roman didn't get CO? Then Brock Lesnar would be Universal Champion. No. 1,316 days as champion. Now the landscape looks so much different. >> Brock isn't there because he's champion. Then who wins the Royal Rumble? >> Yeah, that's an interesting point. That's a very >> Initially claims from a gentleman named Matt Riddle says he was slated to win the 2022 Royal Rumble. Well, if that's the case, then that means that Big E could have also won the Elimination Chamber since he was supposed to face Seth Rollins later that year. Then that means Cody and Seth doesn't happen. Who does Cody wrestle at WrestleMania? Suddenly, this match looks a lot different because it's no longer winner take all. What about Sami Zayn? Does he still join the bloodline? If Roman loses at day one, his reign ends at 489 days. But now this match has a different outcome to it because Cody's gonna finish his story one year earlier. And let's say that they did have Roman win the title back and keep it for 1,316 days. That means he's not dropping the title till Survivor Series of 2025. [laughter] So let's say Riddle does win the Royal Rumble, but is unsuccessful in a triple threat against Big E and Seth. Well, let's say Roman gets his title back. Now, Cody and Brock go after it. Cody wins the Rumble and finishes his story at WrestleMania 39. Roman gets his title back later that year and faces The Rock at Wrestlemania 40 and potentially The New Day Never Split Up. >> Yep. >> Let me tell you about a short butterfly effect and this will wrap it up. Let's talk about Rob Vanam. What if I told you that Rob Vanam was offered to go to WCW in 1997, but he gracefully declined because of what character they wanted Rob Vanam to play. And yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was Glacier. I completely understand they wanted to capitalize on the Mortal Kombat craze and have him play a character based off Subzero, but Ray Lloyd was who they eventually went with since Rob Vanam said no. Glacier was played by Ray Lloyd and Ray had a martial arts background. But with WCW trying to capitalize on how big Mortal Kombat was during the mid90s, it made sense to try to get into that video game pop culture audience. But Glacier just never worked out. And in favor of Rob Vanam, [laughter] it was probably the best thing because Rob Vanam [music] went on to become one of the greatest wrestlers to ever walk the face of this earth. >> Yeah. So glad he said no to that. No match with Jerry Lynn, Jeff Hardy at Invasion, and no Mr. Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 22, and no ECW championship winning one night stand if he would have stayed in WCW. So, who would have won Money in the Bank in Wrestlemania 22? Two candidates come to mind. One, Shelton Benjamin, who is definitely deserved for a world title run, or another ECW candidate, Bobby Lashley. But I guarantee it wouldn't have hit the same as Lashley and Cena at One Night Stay in 2006. Fans wouldn't have been happy with that match. Lashley wasn't an ECW original. Rob was. But I will say [music] had that happened, that might have altered Bobby's plans since he did leave WWE in 2008. [music] And how much more different would his career look if he didn't go to TNA and had he stayed in WWE? Before I end this video, I want to send a special shout out to Ross from In the Clutch Entertainment. >> Appreciate you, buddy. Appreciate you, man. This was a dope video, man. I I I like this, bro. This was dope. And this is exactly how this kind of came about. Um cuz he had hit me up. He said, "If if I do a uh a video on this, will you stream it or react to it?" And I told him, "Yeah, I definitely will." Like a what if? And there's a lot of wrestling what if. So, the fact that he actually did this, it's actually pretty cool, bro. >> Want to send a big shout out to Ross and uh because they are my favorite content creators and I watch do and the simple fact that he influenced this video on Twitter in a conversation we had. Also, go subscribe. They have 983,000 subscribers. Let's help get them to 1 million cuz they absolutely deserve it. The reason why I say that is because they've given people like me a platform. You might have seen me on one of their videos. their wrestling bar videos. Big shout out to them. Also, if you are a fan of this video or would like to see more, subscribe to the channel. Thank you for watching. >> Hey man, I appreciate the shout out, bro. Much love. This is a dope video. Once again, make myself small so people can see and I'll probably link you in uh in the comments. Go subscribe to the Humble Roses podcast. I'm going subscribe right now, man. Uh turn on post notifications for you, Brody. And uh hey, I really do appreciate you, bro. This was a dope one. And uh man, definitely y'all go check them out. Show them some love, bro. Let them know that I sent you Clutch Squad members if you, you know, part of the Clutch Squad members as well. You know, go show them some love as well and let them know the Clutch Squad also rocks with them. But hey, comment down below. Let me know what's the craziest what if butterfly effect that if it wasn't listed in this video that you know of that you want people to kind of you know really think about like damn if this didn't happen then none of this happens. Let us know down below. I appreciate all love support road to 200k. Appreciate y'all keeping with me. See you on the next one. Peace.