5 WWE Superstars who unsuccessfully tried to change their opponent
While most WWE Superstars have no issues with facing their scheduled opponent, some Superstars have asked WWE management if they can work with someone else.
One of the most famous opponent changes in WWE history came shortly before Hulk Hogan departed the company in 1993. The Hulkster was originally supposed to drop the WWE Championship to Bret Hart, but he allegedly demanded that he lose to Yokozuna instead.
A more recent example involved Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss. The two women were due to face each other on WWE RAW after Elimination Chamber 2019. However, as Rousey’s PPV match against Ruby Riott was cut short, she asked if she could face Riott in a rematch on RAW.
Both Hogan and Rousey successfully changed their opponent, but many other Superstars have not gotten their way when they made similar requests.
In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who unsuccessfully tried to change their opponent.
#5 The Rock wanted to face Rey Mysterio instead of Goldberg in WWE
Goldberg defeated The Rock at WWE Backlash 2003 in his first match as a WWE in-ring competitor. While many Superstars considered WWE to be a dream job, Goldberg had to be convinced by The Rock to join the company.
Unfortunately, things did not exactly go according to plan in Goldberg’s first few weeks in WWE. The WCW legend got into a fight backstage with Chris Jericho shortly after his WWE debut appearance on RAW. He then botched a parking lot segment with The Rock in the build-up to their match at Backlash.
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, WWE director Bruce Prichard revealed that even The Rock had doubts about Goldberg. The Great One allegedly said he wanted to work with Rey Mysterio instead:
“I think it was two weeks, three weeks into this. Rock, who begged us to bring Goldberg in, comes to us and says, ‘Hey, I got an idea. I’ve been watching the little guy with the mask… Rey Mysterio, is that his name? Holy s***, man, we could tear it up! How about we just slide Rey into the match, I do something with Rey? That’ll be a great f***ing match.’”
Prichard said The Rock tried to get out of the Goldberg match because he knew it would not be very good.
“'What do we do with Goldberg, Rock?' … 'Erm, I don’t now, but me and Rey could have a hell of a match.' So, two weeks in, Rock was bailing on him and just like going, 'Oh man, I’m just terrified of this match.'”
Goldberg went on to feud with Superstars like Triple H and Brock Lesnar before leaving WWE in 2004. Meanwhile, The Rock only competed in one more WWE match in the next eight years following his match against Goldberg.