7 WWE Wrestlers Who Were Slighted The Main Event Of WrestleMania
Oh, what could have been.
Only an elite set of competitors can claim they have headlined WrestleMania, WWE's grandest and most anticipated event of the year. Even fewer athletes can say they have walked out of the WrestleMania main event victorious.
It's unknown what factors officials consider when determining who should go on last at 'Mania. It could be who has the biggest box office appeal and not necessarily who has had the best year in WWE leading up to the spring spectacle.
Unfortunately, this (at times irrational) line of thinking can cost wrestlers who worked all year to be the best in all of WWE the chance to main event WrestleMania. Some stars went on to headline the show years down the road anyway, but others haven't been as lucky - and missed their chance to do so as a result of being overlooked.
Fans will likely never know why certain superstars were passed over for their opportunity to compete in the most featured match at WrestleMania, but regardless of the reasoning, knowing they wouldn't be closing out the event (like they deserved to) must have been a tough pill for these performers to swallow, to say the least.
7. Rey Mysterio (WrestleMania 22)
WWE made it blatantly obvious that Rey Mysterio's meteoric rise to world championship glory in 2006 was a direct result of Eddie Guerrero's passing, but that didn't make him any less worthy of a WrestleMania main event match that year.
Even prior to the Latino legend's untimely death, he and Mysterio were embroiled in an epic rivalry for the better part of 2005. Mysterio maintained momentum through the remainder of the year and proved his worth as a world championship caliber competitor through his lengthy stint in the Royal Rumble and standout performances in matches with Randy Orton and JBL.
Aside from the crowd in Chicago the night of WrestleMania 22 oddly being against the idea of Mysterio becoming World Heavyweight champion, his Triple Threat title match had all the makings of a 'Mania main event. He had been built up to be the new face of SmackDown, not to mention that the matchup itself was pure excellence.
Instead, they were given a whopping eight minutes to work with while John Cena and Triple H took center stage in the main event. Mysterio went on to be booked rather poorly as world champion before being removed from the main event scene all together that summer.