5 times a WWE PPV card changed at the last minute
With the recent viral outbreak affecting several of WWE's top stars, the company was scrambling at the last minute to present an acceptable match card for their TLC pay-per-view. AJ Styles was called upon to substitute for Bray Wyatt in a match against Finn Balor and, in even more of a shocker, Kurt Angle replaced Roman Reigns for the main event in Angle's first WWE match in over 11 years.
These changes are likely to make TLC 2017 remembered as having some of the biggest last-minute changes to a pay-per-view card in WWE history. Although it may have been the most event recently to feature such late-breaking changes, it wasn't the first. In fact, several WWE pay-per-views underwent shake-ups to their lineup at the eleventh hour with these five have the most impact.
#5 Survivor Series 1989
Several of the earlier Survivor Series events underwent numerous changes at the last minute. It was almost as if the November tradition was cursed - and this was years before the Montreal Screwjob.
The first time the card had a last-minute replacement was in 1989, in the main event nonetheless. The team of the Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, and The Rockers were scheduled to face the Heenan Family's assembly of Andre The Giant, Haku, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. By the time the final match on the card took place, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan had replaced Blanchard in the main event since Tully was no longer with the promotion.
The substitution was explained as "dissension" amongst the Heenan Family, but in reality, Blanchard was released due to a failed drug test. It was rare to see The Brain climb back into the ring for an actual match so the decision to replace one-half of the Brain Busters with The Brain himself was seen as an acceptable one for the Survivor Series audience.