10 WWE Number One Contenders Nobody Actually Thought Could Win
4. Rey Mysterio
You might ask yourself which Rey Mysterio championship challenge I'm talking about here, but the reality is that there are plenty to choose from. With the sole exception of his run to the title in 2006, Rey Mysterio hasn't been positioned or portrayed as someone who can win a world championship. Even when he won his sole WWE Championship in 2011, the title win functioned purely as a vehicle to move the title to Cena later in the evening.
But two Mysterio challenges stick out. The first came in 2010 when The Undertaker was World Heavyweight Champion. Mysterio was feuding with Batista at the time but found himself given the opportunity against the Deadman, although by this time the Rumble had become synonymous with forgettable title matches on the undercard. Nobody thought Mysterio was going to beat Undertaker, even if it was blindingly obvious that 'Taker was going to lose the title before WrestleMania. The inevitable eventually came true.
More recently, Mysterio found himself challenging another beast for the title, this time the Beast Incarnate. Brock Lesnar and Rey had a surprisingly fun feud towards the back end of 2019, culminating in an entertaining match at Survivor Series. Lesnar won - of course Lesnar won - but the feud is largely remembered for the impressive bumps taken by Dominick. That tells you all you need to know.