“CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE.” It’s a line that bookers and creative teams in pro wrestling have stamped on pretty much every event … and for good reason. In such a physical form of entertainment, a star can fail to make a scheduled appearance at any time—even on the road to WrestleMania 40. Indeed, the brakes were pulled on CM Punk’s comeback story thanks to a torn left triceps suffered in the Royal Rumble match. Prior to that incident, industry insiders expected the “Best In The World” would face World heavyweight champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania in Philadelphia. Rollins’ participation at WWE’s biggest show was, itself, momentarily in doubt, as a Grade 2 tear of his MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) and a partially torn meniscus sidelined him for a few weeks.
In recent history, there is no shortage of other examples of matchmakers being forced to pivot—and star wrestlers gamely stepping up—when a headlining performer landed on the injured reserve list. TNA Wrestling had to change
