What are some triple threat matches that WWE missed the boat on?

[LODemolition]

Whether it's because the triple threat match didn't exist yet, or they just failed to book it that way, what are some instances where you believe 3 would have been better than 2? Here are 5 potential matches that stand out to me, in chronological order.


1. Tag Team Championship: Demolition (c) vs. Legion of Doom vs. Hart Foundation (SummerSlam 1990)

When Hawk and Animal arrived in WWE, they made of known from the start that their sights were set on Ax, Smash and Crush. They would even get involved in the SS90 match between Demolition and the Hart Foundation when Ax tried to give the champions an upper hand. One could even argue that this could have even been a fatal 4-way situation involving The Rockers, who would win the titles from the Hitman and Anvil 2 months later (though the title change would never be recognized by WWE due to the top rope breaking during this match). In the post-match interview, the LOD crashed the party again and Hawk would tell Okerlund when questioned, "We fit in however we want."

2. WWE Championship: Randy Savage (c) vs. Ric Flair vs. Ultimate Warrior (SummerSlam 1992)

Not only was Ric Flair left out of the main event at the biggest SummerSlam of all time from Wembley Stadium, he wasn't included in the card at all. Instead, the storyline revolved around the question of who would have Flair and Mr. Perfect in their corner, Savage or Warrior? Well, it was rather anti-climactic when neither man aligned with Flair. Not to mention the march disappointed with a count out finish. A crowd of over 80,000 deserved better.

3. WWE Championship: Yokozuna (c) vs. Lex Luger vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania X)

I'm not complaining about the way they booked this one at all, because we got to see Bret Hart wrestle twice including a classic against his brother Owen in the opener. But a triple threat was certainly a way they could have gone when they chose to crown co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble in Hart and Luger.

4. WWE Championship: The Undertaker (c) vs. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (SummerSlam 1997)

Rather than see Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee between Taker and Bret, I would've loved to see him lace up the boots in a triple threat here. Bret and Shawn clearly had no love lost between themselves and it would have been great to see the feud intertwine with Taker and his championship. This could have been your Survivor Series main event as well and who knows, maybe if Taker had been chosen to go over, the Montreal Screwjob could have been avoided before Bret set sail for WCW. Doubtful, but possible.

5. WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. The Rock vs. John Cena (WrestleMania XXIX)

The most recent and definitely the first one that comes to mind when I considered this question. I'll never quite understand why this match never took place, seeing how these 3 men were entangled in a feud since the previous August when Punk turned heel. He should have walked into Mania the reigning champ of over 500 days, not drop it at the Royal Rumble to The Rock. Some say that it should have been Punk vs. Taker, streak vs. streak, which I can get behind as well. However, by this time Taker's appearances were few and far between, so would it have been wise to have a 500+ day title reign come to an end for someone who would have to just turn around and drop it shortly thereafter? Oh wait, they did that. Maybe the only way to please everyone (or at least most) would have been for The Rock to win the championship at WM29 and lose it directly back to Punk in the rematch at Payback.

 

[tripolie atche]

I have always wondered about why this so here it goes lol...

WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Survivor Series 1999) (Could've had the match at Summerslam 1999 or Wrestlemania X-Seven)

Arguably the top three superstars at the time in WWE, if not all of wrestling, I was really looking forward to this match. Of course, on the night of Survivor Series 1999, Austin gets ran over by a car, which was used as the storyline excuse for him to have neck surgery from the injury he suffered two years prior by Owen Hart at Summerslam, & then Big Show ends up taking his place and winning the title later on that night. I was 11 at the time, but I always wondered why did WWE tease the fans into having that match on the card only to see Austin being taken out on the night of the PPV & then replaced? Did something come up the week of or after the match was announced in regards to Austin absolutely having to have the neck surgery?

If not, then they could have had the match months earlier at Summerslam & had The Rock instead of Mankind in the triple threat match. Of course, there is the popular myth that Austin didn't want to put Triple H over so instead Mankind won the title that night & lost it to HHH the following night on RAW. However, you could've done the same thing with The Rock, if that rumor were to be true lol.

You could've also had this match at Wrestlemania X-Seven. Austin had won the 2001 Royal Rumble, while HHH beat the #1 contender for the WWE Title in Austin at Three Stages of Hell the following month at No Way Out. You could've then had HHH force his way into the main event at WM X-Seven setting up the triple threat with Austin & his arch rival at the time in The Rock. You still could've had Austin turn heel & join forces with McMahon at WM, with HHH selling some sort of injury & having him on the floor for a long period of time, & then have HHH & Austin form the Two-Man Power Trip the following night on RAW (I get it that it would've been even more strange seeing HHH & Austin form an alliance 24 HOURS after their triple-threat match but hey much stranger things have happened in wrestling lol).

 

[The Perfect Max]

I was convinced for a while that this was the direction WWE were going in, until reports stated otherwise. And it's from this year.

WrestleMania 33: AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. The Undertaker for the WWE Championship

To me, the ultimate triple threat match. I'm not sure how I would exactly have set it up. An easy option would have been for Taker to win the Rumble match, which is fine with me, or have him qualify for this match at the Elimination Chamber, with Styles regaining the title in a straight one-on-one rematch with Cena. The story is then set really. Styles is the champion and one of the best to come our way in a long time. He's also the guy we never thought we would see in a WWE ring, and here he is defending the world title at WrestleMania. Then you have John Cena who always brings everything he has at WrestleMania. He would be gunning for his 17th title reign too. And then you have The Undertaker. At this point, you can never know whether he will win or lose, but he is the biggest living legend there is in kayfabe, and maybe even reality. To me, this is superior to the WWE Championship story and match we actually did get, and gives all three guys probably a better position and match than they did get.

This is a bona fide WrestleMania main event. It keeps the WWE Championship from getting lost in the shuffle a little, even though I know the build up with Randy and Bray was fine, but look where the title is at now. Styles deserved the main event and I think we all knew that, though his match and story with Shane was incredibly fun and entertaining. It also gives Cena the inevitable 17th reign now rather than later. And Taker can still have his last ride in style. I suppose Cena pinning Taker is the way to end this match. Now, I understand that Cena took off soon afterwards, so him winning the title does seem pointless, but let's suspend a little disbelief. And I don't know exactly where Reigns would have gone, but he was actually feuding with Braun Strowman at the time so they could have had a match at WrestleMania. This is how I would have done the main event here, and I think it would have been a fantastic one.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

3. WWE Championship: Yokozuna (c) vs. Lex Luger vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania X)

I'm not complaining about the way they booked this one at all, because we got to see Bret Hart wrestle twice including a classic against his brother Owen in the opener. But a triple threat was certainly a way they could have gone when they chose to crown co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble in Hart and Luger.

I disagree with this one. Wrestlemania X told a great story first of Owen Hart beating Bret setting up a great feud during the summer, Bret Hart winning the title back from Yokozuna after getting screwed at WMIX, and making the main event all about Bret Hart getting his title back.

It also allowed WMX to a very dynamic and somewhat unpredictable event and helped fillout the card in a roster that was very thin at the time.

WMX would have gone to great to terrible if they all put Yoko, Luger, and Hart in one match.

4. WWE Championship: The Undertaker (c) vs. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (SummerSlam 1997)

Rather than see Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee between Taker and Bret, I would've loved to see him lace up the boots in a triple threat here. Bret and Shawn clearly had no love lost between themselves and it would have been great to see the feud intertwine with Taker and his championship. This could have been your Survivor Series main event as well and who knows, maybe if Taker had been chosen to go over, the Montreal Screwjob could have been avoided before Bret set sail for WCW. Doubtful, but possible.

Again I disagree here the setup created a great story here with Michaels and Hart risking never wrestling in the United States again. Also it allowed HBK to turn heel and probably had his most successful singles run prior to 2002. Plus this also allowed for all the heat to go to Bret Hart during the match. I mean look at the garbage being thrown post match.

I have always wondered about why this so here it goes lol...

WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Survivor Series 1999) (Could've had the match at Summerslam 1999 or Wrestlemania X-Seven)

Arguably the top three superstars at the time in WWE, if not all of wrestling, I was really looking forward to this match. Of course, on the night of Survivor Series 1999, Austin gets ran over by a car, which was used as the storyline excuse for him to have neck surgery from the injury he suffered two years prior by Owen Hart at Summerslam, & then Big Show ends up taking his place and winning the title later on that night. I was 11 at the time, but I always wondered why did WWE tease the fans into having that match on the card only to see Austin being taken out on the night of the PPV & then replaced? Did something come up the week of or after the match was announced in regards to Austin absolutely having to have the neck surgery?

If not, then they could have had the match months earlier at Summerslam & had The Rock instead of Mankind in the triple threat match. Of course, there is the popular myth that Austin didn't want to put Triple H over so instead Mankind won the title that night & lost it to HHH the following night on RAW. However, you could've done the same thing with The Rock, if that rumor were to be true lol.

You could've also had this match at Wrestlemania X-Seven. Austin had won the 2001 Royal Rumble, while HHH beat the #1 contender for the WWE Title in Austin at Three Stages of Hell the following month at No Way Out. You could've then had HHH force his way into the main event at WM X-Seven setting up the triple threat with Austin & his arch rival at the time in The Rock. You still could've had Austin turn heel & join forces with McMahon at WM, with HHH selling some sort of injury & having him on the floor for a long period of time, & then have HHH & Austin form the Two-Man Power Trip the following night on RAW (I get it that it would've been even more strange seeing HHH & Austin form an alliance 24 HOURS after their triple-threat match but hey much stranger things have happened in wrestling lol).

Rock vs. Triple H vs. Austin should not have been done at WM X-Seven. At the time WWE were doing multi-man title matches for 2 years and it started to get tiresome. WM X-Seven had to have a special match and at the time having a simple one on one match with the two biggest stars in the company was the way to go.

Summer Slam 1999 was not the place to do it either. The match should have been a one on one match and I actually lost interest in the event, at the time, the moment they inserted Foley.

The place to have done the triple threat was Survivor Series 1999. They could have done an injury angle on Austin during the match maybe 10 mins in. So we could have still had that match.

 

[The Scarred One]

World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton (WrestleMania 21)

This seems like it should've been a no-brainer: Evolution implodes at WrestleMania. Batista would've still won the Royal Rumble and Triple H and Ric Flair would be trying to convince Batista to jump to SmackDown to challenge John Bradshaw Layfield for the WWE Championship. But Randy Orton would be trying to make Batista see what Triple H and Flair are trying to do. We would still have the contract signing where Batista does the thumbs down and turns babyface. Now Triple H would be pissed because he feels Orton got into Batista's ear and would target him. He then convinces Eric Bischoff to put Batista's title shot at WrestleMania on the line in a match against Orton, because he feels confident that beating Orton would be easier than beating Batista. Orton and Batista have their match and costs Batista the match. However, Vince McMahon would overrule the decision because of Triple H's interference. Instead, we get the triple threat match at WrestleMania. I would still have Batista win the match, which would begin the slow heel turn for Orton.

As for the Undertaker, I would have him wrestle Chris Benoit.

 

[kingofkings1]

I remember once hulk hogan was asked which match do you think should have happened in WWE. And he responded by saying The triple threat between, Stone cold, The Rock, And HH himself.
I believe this match would have been really huge between the greats of all time. This match doesn't need any explanation as they were the three huge faces. And it would have been awesome if all three would have fought against each other.

 

[CrunKSinatrA]

I totally agree w/ the Cena v Rock v Punk and the all Evolution triple threats.

Hulk Hogan v Macho King Randy Savage v Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII

The battle of Rock N' Wrestling's Mt Rushmore.

The only thing that could possibly be more epic would if Mt Rushmore's presidents came to life and the Mt Washington fought Mt Lincoln, Mt Roosevelt, and Mt Jefferson in a tectonic battle of seismic proportions.

Undertaker v Diesel v Psycho Sid at Wrestlemania 13

I've always been a fan of the Taker/Diesel match and my parents bought me way too many of those In Your House PPVs w/ Diesel's jack knife vs Sid's powerbomb matches.

It would be even cooler if Undertaker busted out the Last Ride even earlier in his career.

Bret Hart v Owen Hart v Shawn Michaels

HBK doesn't get along w/ the Hart boys and those Hart boys ain't always on the same side either.

I just summarized years worth of WWF TV during the New Generation era. And a triple threat between those 3 would awesome at any point during that timeframe.

Undertaker v Kane v Vader

This just sounds absolutely brutal on paper.

Undertaker v Mankind v Kane

This would be the Jeopardy answer to "What if Vince McMahon did a frame by frame remake of Mel's Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' like that 'Psycho' remake w/ Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates?"

WCW Bill Goldberg v WWF Stone Cold Steve Austin v ECW Rob Van Dam

I don't think they were ever all under contract at the same time, but this would've been awesome if the WCW Invasion angle were handled properly.

Seems like a lot of the same chemistry that went into that Seth Rollins v John Cena v Brock Lesnar match would've also worked here.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Diesel vs. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (anytime in 95 or early 96)

Bret and Shawn were Diesel's best rivals during Diesel's reign and gave him his best matches. You could say they were the top three that year. A Triple Threat between the three would've been awesome.

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Shamrock (Survivor Series 1997)

Though I have heard this was suggested for Survivor Series and was turned down, the Montreal Screwjob could've been avoided with this match, with Shamrock taking the pin. Shamrock was definitely a credible challenger as he would face HBK the following month at In Your House: D-Generation X and he faced Bret Hart the previous month on Raw in which he made Bret tap to the Ankle Lock but the referee was knocked out, Michaels interfered and Shamrock took HBK out also, standing over a fallen Bret and Shawn. They could've added Shamrock to the match off that alone as he was made to look like a huge threat in that moment.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat vs George Steele: I wouldnt have changed the WM 3 bout, I would have done this shortly after, likely a Saturday Night ME. Remember, Savage had a lengthy feud ongoing with Steele wrapped around his conflict with Steamboat, in fact Steele was Savage's main opponent while Steamboat was MIA after the time keeper bell attack. Steele even came down at Mania to save The Dragon when Savage tried to use the bell again. A great blow off match to end both intertwined feuds, probably with a mix of brawling, technical skill, & comedy, I doubt it would have been a classic but it would have been entertaining.

Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior: I would have done this in place of the Iraqi Sympathizer angle in which Savage cost UW the World Title to Sgt Slaughter, who was essentially just set up to be fed to Hulk Hogan in his return at WM 7. Here, Id have Savage screw job the title off of UW, continuing his heel "Macho King" gimmick, along with Sensational Sherri. Hogan returns, challenges Savage, UW objects, as former champ he wants the title shot, finally its decided a 3 Way Title Bout, with the loser (who takes the pin) forced to retire. This enables Liz to be brought back into the storyline by Hogan, and allows for Savage's face turn and break up with Sherri (which happened at WM 7 anyway in the Win Or Retire Match between Savage & UW).

 

[sikkbones]

Diesel vs. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (anytime in 95 or early 96)

Bret and Shawn were Diesel's best rivals during Diesel's reign and gave him his best matches. You could say they were the top three that year. A Triple Threat between the three would've been awesome.

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Shamrock (Survivor Series 1997)

Though I have heard this was suggested for Survivor Series and was turned down, the Montreal Screwjob could've been avoided with this match, with Shamrock taking the pin. Shamrock was definitely a credible challenger as he would face HBK the following month at In Your House: D-Generation X and he faced Bret Hart the previous month on Raw in which he made Bret tap to the Ankle Lock but the referee was knocked out, Michaels interfered and Shamrock took HBK out also, standing over a fallen Bret and Shawn. They could've added Shamrock to the match off that alone as he was made to look like a huge threat in that moment.

If you are thinking early 1996 also add undertaker to that equation for either hbk and Brets storyline or more likely diesel, Bret, taker

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I felt they could have done it much earlier...

Wrestlemania 4

Randy Savage v Hulk Hogan v Ted DiBiase - Forget the tournament and the DiBiase buying the belt... have him "buy" his way into the rematch at Mania 4... This costs Andre the title, but it barely counts anyway... have Savage work his way into World Title contention and DiBiase "buy" his way into the match rather than buying the belt... You can still do The Megapowers v The Megabucks... but DiBiase wins the belt here when Andre makes a move on Liz... Hogan tries to defend her and when Savage notices, he gets caught in Million Dollar Dream...

Wrestlemania 7 - Hulk Hogan v Rick Rude v Earthquake

Instead of Slaughter winning the title, Rude did.. Hogan wants his rematch but he still isn't quite done with Earthquake, who is the actual number one contender... This would have been an interesting slant on a Hogan match, he'd have the monster and the wily, more nimble opponent to contend with and there'd be an added dimension in having both Heenan and Jimmy Hart involved in the match... Have Tugboat in his corner and turn on him... Rude escapes with the title and the Natural Disasters form at the end, taking out Hogan.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

The Evolution Triple Threat in mutiple occassions:
a) Wrestlemania 21
b) Wrestlemania 24, had Cena not come back
c) The time from Wrestlemania 25 to Summerslam 2009
d) Wrestlemania 30

The Big Three Triple Threat, Austin vs Rock vs Triple H
a) Survivor Series 1999
b) anywhere from 2000 to 2003, not taking into consideration the gaps were each one of them was abesnt

Some fantasy booking, the three best teams of the modern era, DX vs Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boys
-) 2009
The original plan was to have Christian return and be the one who cost Jeff the title at the Rumble, but those plans were scrapped. That would reunite E&C. You already had the Hardys and later that year we also got a DX reunion. Who knows what would have happened, had Vince not changed his mind that night, because Christian's return was leaked.

The Punk, Rock, Rap Triple Threat
at Wrestlemania 29. Everyone knows the story behind that one.

But do you know what triple threat match would have been great? One done during the InVasion, but a three sided invasion: ECW vs WWF vs WCW. And who are the leaders?

WWF, led by The Rock
WCW, led by Hulk Hogan
ECW, led by Stone Cold Steve Austin

That match, with so much build behind it, with so much at stake, would have been a treat to watch.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

I felt they could have done it much earlier...

Wrestlemania 4

Randy Savage v Hulk Hogan v Ted DiBiase - Forget the tournament and the DiBiase buying the belt... have him "buy" his way into the rematch at Mania 4... This costs Andre the title, but it barely counts anyway... have Savage work his way into World Title contention and DiBiase "buy" his way into the match rather than buying the belt... You can still do The Megapowers v The Megabucks... but DiBiase wins the belt here when Andre makes a move on Liz... Hogan tries to defend her and when Savage notices, he gets caught in Million Dollar Dream...

Wrestlemania 7 - Hulk Hogan v Rick Rude v Earthquake

Instead of Slaughter winning the title, Rude did.. Hogan wants his rematch but he still isn't quite done with Earthquake, who is the actual number one contender... This would have been an interesting slant on a Hogan match, he'd have the monster and the wily, more nimble opponent to contend with and there'd be an added dimension in having both Heenan and Jimmy Hart involved in the match... Have Tugboat in his corner and turn on him... Rude escapes with the title and the Natural Disasters form at the end, taking out Hogan.

Glad to see these suggestions, as they are from my favorite era, but I need some clarification.

First, you scrap the tournament and have DiBiase buying his way into a "rematch" at Mania 4. So, I assume you mean the rematch is between Hulk and Andre (from Mania 3). But then you have Savage in your match and not Andre. Which means DiBiase is now buying his way into a Savage/Hogan rematch? Savage/Hogan didn't happen until Mania 5, so what rematch taking place at Mania 4 are you talking about?

Then, you have a scenario where Rude wins the title instead of Slaughter, which is fine. But then you say Hogan wants his rematch. Slaughter (or Rude, in your version) beat Warrior for the belt. What rematch are you talking about?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Glad to see these suggestions, as they are from my favorite era, but I need some clarification.

First, you scrap the tournament and have DiBiase buying his way into a "rematch" at Mania 4. So, I assume you mean the rematch is between Hulk and Andre (from Mania 3). But then you have Savage in your match and not Andre. Which means DiBiase is now buying his way into a Savage/Hogan rematch? Savage/Hogan didn't happen until Mania 5, so what rematch taking place at Mania 4 are you talking about?

Then, you have a scenario where Rude wins the title instead of Slaughter, which is fine. But then you say Hogan wants his rematch. Slaughter (or Rude, in your version) beat Warrior for the belt. What rematch are you talking about?

The rematch would be from Mania 3... Andre wouldn't have won the belt and DiBiase in effect "buys" Andre's slot in that match.

I'd have Rude defeat Warrior, and a title match with Hogan BEFORE Mania... that goes awry when Earthquake interferes...

 

[Wolf Pac]

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (mid-97)

Anytime between Wrestlemania and Summerslam, perhaps King Of The Ring, when Austin and Michaels were Tag Team Champions but weren't getting along and their common enemy was Bret Hart.

Austin vs. Rock vs. Triple H has already been mentioned, I would love to have seen any Triple Threat combination between Austin, Rock, Triple H and Mankind. Two more I have in mind...

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Mankind (Wrestlemania 15)

Originally the plan for WM 15.

The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Mankind/Mick Foley (Survivor Series 1999 or Wrestlemania 16)