John Cena/Nikki Bella Proposal Changed Major Plans For The Undertaker’s Retirement Match at ‘Wrestlemania 33’
WWE officials were so adamant about John Cena proposing to Nikki Bella at Wrestlemania 33 that a ton of their creative plans for the card were changed, including The Undertaker’s retirement match. WWE fans are still sour about Roman Reigns ending Undertaker’s career on the grandest stage of them all a few weeks ago, but it was a chain reaction that happened after WWE decided Cena’s proposal to Nikki was more important.
At Wrestlemania 33, John Cena and Nikki Bella beat The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team match. After the match, John proposed to Nikki in one of the most romantic moments in WWE history. To end the night, Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker. Afterward, The Deadman left his gloves and attire in the ring and said farewell to the WWE Universe in what is being considered The Undertaker’s retirement match.
That is what happened on the grandest stage of them all, but it’s not what a lot of fans wanted to see. There was much speculation leading up to the show that John Cena would face The Undertaker. Most people liked that idea, but it didn’t happen because WWE made major changes to the Wrestlemania card to ensure that John Cena proposed to Nikki Bella. The following are the changes that WWE officials were forced to make.
It has been reported that the idea for John Cena to propose to Nikki Bella was pitched from Kevin Dunn to Vince McMahon towards the end of last year. The angle was brought to Cena, who wasn’t into the idea until he was pitched the proposal for several weeks by WWE officials and Vince McMahon. Eventually, Cena gave into the idea for Wrestlemania. He was given his 16th WWE Championship reign as a reward for agreeing.
Originally, AJ Styles was preparing to feud with The Undertaker heading into the WWE Royal Rumble, but it was changed to Cena vs. Styles after WWE officials changed their plans for Wrestlemania. Originally, the WWE Universe would have got their wish of Cena vs. Undertaker in Orlando. However, major changes were made once the proposal became more important and Roman Reigns became The Undertaker’s opponent.
Styles ended up facing Shane McMahon in the opening match at Wrestlemania, which many people thought was unfair to him. The backlash against Roman Reigns from the WWE Universe has been so much that the powers that be have written him off WWE programming for a few weeks. The Cena/Bella proposal also was a blow to Shinsuke Nakamura, who could have made his main roster debut on the grandest stage of them all.
It has been reported that WWE officials were planning for Shinsuke Nakamura to make his debut for WWE at Wrestlemania. The plan was for The Miz to walk into Orlando as the Intercontinental Champion and face an opponent of Daniel Bryan’s choosing, who would have been Nakamura. The King of Strong Style would have won the IC Title from The Miz, which would have been a much stronger start for him on SmackDown.
Many fans within the WWE Universe will be unhappy to learn about the matches that may have been. WWE fans would have preferred to see John Cena vs. The Undertaker over Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker. The WWE Universe may not like how much time WWE officials spent promoting Total Divas and booking a big romantic moment between John Cena and Nikki Bella, but it brought WWE a lot of publicity. The changes that were made to the card were done for specific reasons, which was believed to be best for business.
[Featured Image by WWE]
