10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Turn Up For WrestleMania
7. Rey Mysterio - WrestleMania 21
On a show featuring the first-ever dream match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels, the glorious history between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero was such that many anticipated it as a show-stealer, irrespective of over-exposure. Their match at Halloween Havoc 1997 was the best WCW presented that decade. Expectations were rampant for their surefire WrestleMania 21 classic.
It wasn't to be. To be fair, Mysterio may have turned up on the night - but his seamstress certainly didn't.
His mask was so ill-fitting that he spent essentially the entire match checking that it was still in place. A match predicated on balletic ebb and flow was rendered thoroughly disjointed - practically unwatchable. Mysterio's distraction was catching. Every time he fiddled with the mask, the attention of the crowd was drawn to it.
Suspension of disbelief became impossible. When Guerrero wrenched Mysterio's wrist with a keylock, Mysterio sold his mask. When Guerrero crashed into his chest with a slingshot cross body, Mysterio sold his mask. When Guerrero contorted his legs into a surfboard, Mysterio sold the mask.
Sadly, after such a strong debut - at the biggest show of the year, no less - the mask never did find lasting success in WWE.