WrestleMania may be recognized by both WWE and fans alike as The Showcase of the Immortals, but not every Superstar that has appeared on the card belonged there. From ridiculously contrived characters to trivial competitors known more for their antics in territorial promotions than anything they accomplished in a Vince McMahon-owned ring, they are the performers who remain footnotes in the long and illustrious history of wrestling's premiere event. With WrestleMania 32 rapidly approaching, the likelihood is that at least one Superstar will one day join these men as the answer to a trivia question and nothing more. Braun Strowman, we're looking at you.
16. Fandango
Make no mistake about it: Fandango more than held up his end of the bargain when he set foot on the WrestleMania stage for his 2013 match against Chris Jericho. He was confident in his performance and was spectacular between the ropes, working a really solid, hard-fought match against Y2J. For everything he did right, though, WWE Creative botched miserably. Fandango did not belong anywhere near WrestleMania. What started as a fairly impressive push for the former NXT winner wound up descending into disappointment and frustration in the no man's land known as the WWE undercard, proof that management had little faith in him. So why debut him in-ring at the most significant show of the year if there were no realistic plans to have him do anything more than work house show squashes against Heath Slater? Instead of being a launching point for the character, WrestleMania was the peak of Fandango's WWE career, a tease of what could have been. Rather than having him peak so early, with only one way to go from there, his arrival should have been held off until the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw where he could have had a better chance at building momentum steadily over the next year.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
