Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines

[Megafighter3]

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2015

Venue: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan) d. The Dudley Boyz/Tommy Dreamer in a Six-Man Elimination Tables Match

OTL match, but with two men cut out. Rowan still gets the 3D out, followed by Harper booting out Tommy Dreamer and Bray sending out both Dudleys.

Kevin Owens (c) d. Dean Ambrose for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

We flip the match so Owens keeps here with the Pop-Up Powerbomb.

Roman Reigns (c) d. Rhyno in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

We've got Spear vs. Gore in the main event. It's a nice wild garbage fest and people really get into the idea of Rhyno shutting down the Big Dog, but Roman keeps after doing a Spear, sending both off the ladder and into a table. Roman climbs up and pulls down the belt.

 

[Megafighter3]

Royal Rumble 2016

Venue: Amway Center in Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 16,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Jack Swagger/Mark Henry d. The Ascension, The Dudley Boyz and Darren Young/Damien Sandow in a Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match

OTL match. Probably gonna be a lot of those tonight, but I wanted to do a little more than just mention one changed match at the Rumble.

Kevin Owens (c) d. Dean Ambrose in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Another flipped match, Owens keeping again against poor Ambrose.

The New Day (Big E/Kofi Kingston) (c) (w/Xavier Woods) d. The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Kalisto d. Alberto del Rio (c) for the WWE United States Championship
Charlotte (c) (w/Ric Flair) d. Becky Lynch for the WWE Divas Championship

And there's the OTL matches for tonight, next up. One vs. All. The Royal Rumble match.

Winner leaves with the title.

 

[eldandythedoubter]

Come on Dean.

 

[Megafighter3]

The 2016 Royal Rumble​

#1: Roman Reigns (c)
#2: Rusev

The two start things off and this time, Rusev doesn't get immediately get tossed out. Him and Roman just duke it out.

#3: AJ Styles

And here comes the Phenomenal One! It's a huge moment for the company as he goes right in there with the two.

#4: Tyler Breeze

Breeze goes in on Rusev, courtesy of Summer Rae, splitting him off from Roman and AJ.

#5: Curtis Axel

Going to do this spot early as Tyler hits the Beauty Shot, followed by a Running Powerslam, then comes the Phenomenal Forearm and followed by a Spear and Axel goes out (30, Axel)

#6: Chris Jericho

Jericho goes after Styles, Reigns waiting for his next opponent.

#7: Kane

Kane goes right for Roman and the two go to blows for a while. Rusev, meanwhile, sends out Tyler Breeze (29, Breeze)

#8: Goldust

Goldust tries for Rusev, getting tossed around while Reigns sends out Kane (28, Kane)

#9: Ryback

Ryback and Roman are now going to blows while Rusev sends Goldust out (27, Goldust)

#10: Kofi Kingston

Kofi jumps right for Rusev, taking the tossing around.

#11: Titus O'Neil

Titus comes in, but Ryback tosses Roman at him and he gets sent right out. Sorry, Titus (26, O'Neil)

#12: R-Truth

Truth comes in to help Kofi, Rusev sending him out instead. (25, R-Truth)

#13: Luke Harper

Roman and Ryback end their tussle with Ryback going out (24, Ryback) leaving Harper and Roman to face off.

#14: Stardust

Stardust jumps Kofi, pulling him away from Rusev for the time.

#15: Big Show

Wellll, I'm a face now, I guess! Big Show goes for Roman, getting a healthy pop from the crowd after a chokeslam.

#16: Neville

Neville dives in after Stardust while Kofi sits in the corner. Yes, AJ and Jericho are still in this Rumble.

#17: Braun Strowman

BRAAAAAAAAAAUUUUNNNN!!! Braun makes a big impression by lifting up the Big Show and sending him out (23, Big Show) before deciding to double team Kofi with Luke Harper, so Kofi has to underdog it a while. Neville manages to send out Stardust (22, Stardust)

#18: Kevin Owens

Owens helps Jericho send out AJ (21, Styles) before going after poor Neville, the two take some time to batter him before tossing him out too (20, Neville)

#19: Dean Ambrose

Ambrose goes right for Roman, the two brawling it out while Kofi does the elimination save with Big E before finally getting sent out by Harper and Strowman (19, Kingston)

#20: Sami Zayn

We're running low on babyfaces, so here comes Sami like a house of fire, sending out Rusev (18, Rusev) KO (17, Owens) and Harper (16, Harper) before being tossed out by Braun. (15, Zayn)

#21: Erick Rowan

Rowan comes in to join up with Braun.

#22: Mark Henry

Henry comes in and manages to send out Erick (14, Rowan) before being bounced by Strowman (13, Zayn) while Dean is fighting off the efforts of Jericho and Reigns

#23: Brock Lesnar

Brock, wanting to take out the biggest dog in the yard, hoists up Braun and sends him right out (12, Strowman)

#24: Jack Swagger

And Swaggie Time is short as Lesnar suplexes him right out (11, Swagger)

#25: The Miz

The Miz runs... for the announce table, wanting to watch Ambrose suffer a beatdown.

#26: Alberto del Rio

del Rio adds to the stompout, Ambrose fighting hard against the four-on-one and manages to launch Alberto out (10, del Rio)

Miz rushes in to help but Dean still has plenty in the tank and gets him out too (9, Miz)

#27: Bray Wyatt

Dean keeps getting torn apart, Roman keeping him as others try to send him out. He wants to make Dean suffer.

#28: Dolph Ziggler

Dolph rushes in for the save, peeling off Bray and Leaving Ambrose to fight Jericho, Lesnar and Roman alone.

#29: Sheamus

Dolph manages to toss out Bray (8, Wyatt) before getting bounced by Sheamus (7, Ziggler) before the leader of the League of Nations joins in on the whipping of Dean Ambrose.

#30: Triple H

In a surprise attack, Hunter goes right for Brock, sending him out without even looking at the Ambrose fight going on. (6, Lesnar) before just as quickly clamoring out and keeping up his attack on Lesnar (5, Triple H)

The final four are Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Reigns sends Sheamus out, wanting to make sure he gets the pleasure of eliminating Dean (4, Sheamus) while Dean manages to overcome, probably has a cut and has been bleeding plenty, but he manages to send Jericho out (3, Jericho)

We get one more Dean vs. Roman sequence, ready build up the crowd's hopes that Ambrose will finally win... but he goes out to thunderous boos of the crowd as Roman keeps his title. (2, Ambrose)

 

[Megafighter3]

Fastlane 2016
​

Dean Ambrose d. Brock Lesnar

Dean has to earn a shot against Roman for WrestleMania, and while Lesnar tears him up, another Triple H run-in leaves Brock laying to give Ambrose the win.

Roadblock 2016​

Dean Ambrose d. Triple H

And another match to get the title shot. Dean wins again thanks to Brock giving the F5 receipt to Hunter. Dean's going to WrestleMania! Roman, meanwhile, has been on vacation since the Rumble, saying the fans don't deserve him until he can get the biggest payday. Make him a real smug shit heel leading up to 'Mania.

 

[Unknown]

Man, they should have done this to Roman (his smug heel turn) after he beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania IOTL; talk about a missed opportunity...

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 32

Venue: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 98,000
Announce Team: Mauro Ranallo/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Kalisto (c) d. Ryback for the WWE United States Championship

OTL match for the start of the PPV.

Pre-Show Match: Paige d. Emma in a Lumberjill Match

Instead of the ten-woman match, we get eight women at ringside at the lumberjill match. Lumberjills: Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Summer Rae and Tamina. Paige gets the win with the PTO.

Pre-Show Match: The Usos d. The Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match

Let's have some tables to excite the crowd. Uso Splash to D-Von ends the match.

Sami Zayn d. Kevin Owens (c) in a Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

We get a ladder war between these two. The feud really writes itself. Longtime friends in wrestling, Zayn the underdog babyface and Owens the bastard heel and they do some great spots, make it a ladder war in there. Zayn puts Owens before getting up the ladder and pulling down the strap as we start WrestleMania 32's broadcast on a high note.

AJ Styles d. Chris Jericho

And we flip the result here so AJ wins his WrestleMania debut. Crazy idea, that. Styles Clash wins it for the Phenomenal One.

The New Day (c) d. The League of Nations (King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev) (w/Alberto del Rio) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

We have a tag title match on the show and have the New Day win the match clean, hitting Midnight Hour on Barrett since he's going out. This is gonna be pretty close to how I would've booked WrestleMania 32, just a few differences from the planned card.

Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) d. Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon)

Triple H wants back his power and he's willing to fight Lesnar if it means the Authority returns. If not, he has to fully retire from ever wrestling. This one sticks too as Lesnar wrecks Hunter here, three F5s followed by a Kimura puts Trips away.

Charlotte d. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Match to crown the inaugural WWE Women's Championship

We take Flair out of this match and focus on the women. This is the one match where the result stays the same. Nothing wrong with Charlotte winning here.

Baron Corbin wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Keep this result. In case you wondering where the other guys from the ladder match went, it's here in place of guys like Tatanka, DDP, Shaq and maybe the Ascension. Corbin wins it as he did in OTL. Also, we don't have the Hell in a Cell Match, so all matches on the main shows get a five minute boost, plus we cut the awful Rock/Wyatt segment. Just, that whole Rock segment is gone. But now comes the main event.

Dean Ambrose d. Roman Reigns (c) in a No Holds Barred Match for the WWE World Championship

And the book finally closes as Dean, scrappy underdog who has had to claw his way to this meets Roman Reigns, the resentful heel who hates the crowd for going cold on him and cheering for Ambrose. The two men just do everything they can to each other, giving and taking as neither wants to lose this match. It's a barn burner. They tear the roof down, etc. After 32 minutes, Dean finally catches Roman with Dirty Deeds onto a steel chair and wins the title, completing the trifecta as the crowd explodes in applause.

And that's another TL wrapped up.

 

[RiverDelta]

Rad! Are we gonna see any AEW bits here, or does this more generally focus on WWE?

 

[Dannyboy]

Rad! Are we gonna see any AEW bits here, or does this more generally focus on WWE?

I imagine a bit too earlier for AEW timelines as there isn't that much to go on yet, unless you want to do a Kenny stays with New Japan or the Elite goes to WWE instead.

 

[SonOfSharknado]

Rad! Are we gonna see any AEW bits here, or does this more generally focus on WWE?

AEW's a year old, how much alternate history could they have?

 

[Megafighter3]

A Wonderful Accident
​

Suggested by @Unknown, we have the interesting scenario of a promising feud cut short by a freak accident and the repercussions of said accident: What if Paul Orndorff had botched a piledriver on Hulk Hogan and injured him to the point of early retirement? Let's have a look.

July 19, 1986​

On a Wrestling Challenge, Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff teamed against Heenan Family members King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd in a tag match. However, in that match, Orndorff surprise attacks the Hulkster with a clothesline followed up with a piledriver. However, while the piledriver was always sold as a dangerous maneuver, it was in this moment where it proved its reputation true. No one is quite sure what exactly went wrong but it absolutely went wrong. Hogan's neck was broken and broken bad. Doctors were able to repair it, but he was told in no uncertain terms that he could never wrestle again. Thus, Hulk Hogan is forced into retirement less than ten years into his career and just as Hulkamania was heating up. As a result of the injury, the piledriver becomes a banned move within the WWF.

In the time leading up to WrestleMania, a tournament was booked for the vacated WWF World Heavyweight Title. During the tournament, Orndorff hits a piledriver on Roddy Piper, resulting in a DQ and a suspension (taking Orndorff out of action to deal with a neck injury he suffered around this time.)

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament First Round Results
​

Roddy Piper d. Paul Orndorff (DQ)
Randy Savage d. Ricky Steamboat
Bob Orton d. The Junkyard Dog
Andre the Giant d. Harley Race

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinal Round Results
​

Randy Savage d. Roddy Piper
Andre the Giant d. Bob Orton

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Round Results
​

Andre the Giant d. Randy Savage for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship

As you can tell, this is all building up to WrestleMania III with Andre vs. Orndorff, since Mr. Wonderful will be coming back fully rested from his own neck injury.

 

[SonOfSharknado]

I hate to be that guy, but I can't imagine ever, in a million billion trillion years, that Vince would essentially reward Orndorff for costing him his top draw. He would hit the bricks so goddamn fast.

 

[Megafighter3]

I hate to be that guy, but I can't imagine ever, in a million billion trillion years, that Vince would essentially reward Orndorff for costing him his top draw. He would hit the bricks so goddamn fast.

I mean, this shit happens in wrestling. No one could've predicted that the piledriver was gonna go badly and Orndorff was very apologetic over the whole thing. But the damage is done and at this point it's less rewarding Orndorff and more building him up as "the man who ended Hulk Hogan's career." Like, that's top heel credentials right there and you think Vince is gonna blow it?

 

[eldandythedoubter]

I mean, this shit happens in wrestling. No one could've predicted that the piledriver was gonna go badly and Orndorff was very apologetic over the whole thing. But the damage is done and at this point it's less rewarding Orndorff and more building him up as "the man who ended Hulk Hogan's career." Like, that's top heel credentials right there and you think Vince is gonna blow it?

This is just a delayed jobbing at best. At worst, Paul's arm injury is still a possibility.

 

[Megafighter3]

This is just a delayed jobbing at best. At worst, Paul's arm injury is still a possibility.

Well, that's part of why I did the suspension. The arm injury was tied into neck damage and caused some sort of atrophy. This means we can at least have Orndorff be healthy for his big heel run.

 

[Ventriloquist]

Oh my. There's an interesting scenario. I can see two potential aces replacing Hogan here: Bret and Steamboat. Will this TL be The Belated Rise Of The Dragon or The Early Excellence Of Execution?

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Knowing Vince McMahon...where is Lex Luger in all of this?

 

[eldandythedoubter]

Knowing Vince McMahon...where is Lex Luger in all of this?

Currently in JCP with the Horsemen.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania III​

The card remains the same, with only one change. Reigning champion Andre the Giant facing off against Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff in the main event. Rather than bump up the number, Vince accepts the actual attendance number of 62,000 in the Silverdome. The PPV buyrate for Wrestlemania also took a blow due to the loss of Hogan. Andre had proven a great attraction, but his mobility had been greatly reduced and Orndorff, while now starting to build momentum as the man who ended Hulkamania, he was nowhere near the draw of Hogan, resulting in WWF making only $5 million in PPV revenue and just barely under a million at the gate. WrestleMania III was a success, but nowhere near big enough to justify adding onto the PPV calendar yet.

Thus, when November came around, Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA jumped into the PPV market by bringing their own flagship event, Starrcade, to pay-per-view, headlined by Ric Flair defeating Ron Garvin for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The event pulled in a 6.8 PPV buyrate and managed to rankle Vince McMahon, who had little recourse as cable companies were not intimidated by his threat to pull WrestleMania IV. It was clear that Vince needed a new Hogan and he believed that perhaps instead of the 'Mania... it was time for the Madness.

 

[eldandythedoubter]

The NWA smells blood in the water.