10 Wrestlers Who Gained Nothing From Becoming World Champion
5. Rey Mysterio
One of wrestling’s greatest underdogs, Rey Mysterio's legacy cannot be denied, and he has opened countless doors for smaller wrestlers to be successful over the past few decades. He is a genuine legend, and while his first World Heavyweight Championship reign should have been an incredible feel-good story, it was ultimately counterproductive.
Rey’s popularity was peaking in 2006, and he was drawing some of the loudest crowd reactions in the company. There’s no denying he deserved the title, but the circumstances under which he won it were regrettable. Unfortunately, WWE leaned way too heavily on Eddie Guerrero’s death throughout the story, leaving Rey’s reign feeling less about his triumph, and more about ‘Latino Heat.’
Mysterio was booked like a weakling throughout, and regularly lost non-title matches to the likes of Kane and The Great Khali. He eventually dropped the belt to King Booker, and didn’t recover it until 2010, when he embarked upon an uneventful 28-day reign.
Rey’s dubious World title legacy was compounded by a pointless two-hour run as WWE Champion in 2011, making him one of the most poorly-booked top champs in WWE history, and a performer who reaped no benefits from his spells on top.