Último Dragón: More Belt Than Man

It seems the surgery was successful and Último Dragón started wrestling again, competing in a few matches to shake off the ring rust before signing a contract with WWE in 2003. By all accounts, WWE were reluctant to sign Último, given that he was in his mid-thirties and hadn't really wrestled for a few years. However, Último had helped both Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio get contracts earlier in their careers, so both of these, along with Dean Malenko, put in a good word for him with WWE management.

Sadly, he was barely used on WWE TV and the most memorable part of his run with the company was when he tripped on his cape at WrestleMania XX during his entrance. Debates still rage to this day as to why he didn't make it in the WWE, with many suspecting that like so many other talents the McMahons didn't create, they just didn't really know what to do with him. It seems they were expecting the Japanese equivalent to Rey Mysterio, but when they discovered he was more of a technical wrestler than a high-flyer, they just gave up.

Despite this, Último's WWE run wasn't a complete flop as far as he was concerned, as he still managed to achieve two of his lifelong ambitions, these being to wrestle at Madison Square Garden and in a WrestleMania match. Perhaps seeing no reason to stick around after this, in 2004 he asked for, and was granted, his release so that he could go back to his native Japan and wrestle there.