5 WWE Superstars who asked to change their opponent
WWE Superstars often speak in media interviews about the real-life circumstances behind their storylines and matches.
While this is a completely different approach to the limited amount of information that Superstars revealed in the 1980s and 1990s, it has given fans a better understanding of how WWE’s on-screen stories are told.
For example, did you know that Ronda Rousey once asked WWE to change her opponent one day after a squash match at a pay-per-view? How about when The Undertaker told Vince McMahon that he wanted to face a future two-time WWE Champion, only to be given Giant Gonzalez as his opponent instead?
In this article, let’s take a look at the full details behind those two stories, plus three others, as we count down five times that WWE Superstars asked to change their opponent.
#5 Ronda Rousey asked to change her WWE opponent
Ronda Rousey took part in the first women’s main event in WrestleMania history in 2019 when she faced Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a ‘Winner Take All’ Triple Threat match for the RAW Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Seven weeks before WrestleMania, Rousey defended her RAW Women’s Championship in a convincing victory over Ruby Riott at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Unfortunately for both Superstars, they planned to have a much longer match but WWE’s decision-makers cut their time during the show, meaning Rousey picked up the win in just 100 seconds.
Speaking on her Facebook Gaming channel in 2020, Rousey revealed that she was originally due to face Alexa Bliss one night later on RAW, but she asked for her opponent to be changed to Riott.
“I was like, ‘Alexa, I love you, you know I love having matches with you, but me and Ruby have been putting this match together all week and we couldn’t do it at the pay-per-view because it had to be a squash, and would you mind if I went and requested that me and Ruby have a second match instead?’”
Bliss had no problem with the request from Rousey, who defeated Riott in a 12-minute match in the main event of RAW.