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All wrestling promotions have played the 'surprise opponent' card to capture the attention of their fans and the WWE is no different. The angle is a great way to re-introduce a superstar after a hiatus and the shock value is bound to attract fans to the event.
While not all of them have been a success — like Savio Vega replacing Shawn Michaels at No Way Out 1998 — many mystery outings have been true gems.
Arguably the most famous of them all, happened in an ECW ring when WCW defector Mike Awesome put his ECW World title on the line against a mystery opponent who turned out to be a WWE contracted ECW legend Tazz.
So, who makes our list of the 5 best opponents?
#1 The BigShow - Jericho's surprise partner
WWE had big plans for the tag team of Edge and Chris Jericho in 2009. They became the Unified Tag team Champions and were supposed to run roughshod over SmackDown before disintegrating, leading to the match between the two at Wrestlemania.
But that plan came to an end when Edge suffered an Achilles tendon injury and was expected to have a long layoff. Jericho was allowed to choose a partner of his liking for a scheduled tag title defence against the Legacy at Night of Champions.
After a number of teases during the weeks leading up to the PPV, Jericho's mystery partner was revealed to be the BigShow. Jericho and Show had a lengthy reign with the belts in an angle that reinvigorated their careers.
#2 Yokozuna - mystery partner of Owen Hart
WrestleMania XI saw the Smoking Gunns defend their titles against Owen Hart and a mystery partner. While there were speculations that the partner might be Owen's brother Bret, he turned out to be former WWE Champion Yokozuna.
The 650 pound Samoan was last seen losing a casket match against the Undertaker at Survivor Series and nobody expected him to be Hart's partner.
A Banzai Drop on Billy Gunn was enough for Yoko to claim his very first WWE tag team title. Hart and Yoko had a lengthy run with tag team belts before Yoko's ballooning weight started to hinder him in the ring.
#3 Bayley - Sasha Bank's mystery partner
The WWE brand split had come and gone in 2016 and the ultra-popular NXT superstar Bayley was not drafted to either brand. So when Sasha Banks and a mystery partner were scheduled to face WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke at the Battleground PPV in July, Bayley wasn't on the top of the spoiler list.
But it wasn't Nikki Bella or - for the more optimistic fans - Paige who came out to partner Sasha. When Bayley's music hit, Verizon Center's roof came off. Bayley's appearance was a one-off, but she made her RAW debut in about a month.
Bayley ended Charlotte's stranglehold on the Women's title and defended it successfully at Wrestlemania 33. This Battleground mystery reveal turned out to be one of the most successful swerves in recent WWE history.
#4 Daniel Bryan - Summerslam 2010
Daniel Bryan made his debut on the main roster as part of the villainous Nexus stable. He promptly got fired (non-kayfabe) after his first night on RAW for kayfabe choking ring announcer Justin Roberts during the Nexus attack.
The Nexus angle reached its first PPV at Summerslam 2010 with Wade Barrett's renegade group set to face a seven-member team headed by John Cena. With the Great Khali out of action after being taken out by the Nexus, Cena's team was a member short heading into the PPV.
On TV, The Miz was the favourite to take that place - which naturally meant that there would be a twist at the PPV. Lo and behold, entered Daniel Bryan as the final member of Team Cena to take on his former teammates.
Bryan had a strong showing in his debut match. He would branch out as a singles superstar, becoming one of the most beloved WWE performers of all time.
#5 The Ultimate Warrior - Ending Honky Tonk's reign
The most iconic mystery opponent in a WWE ring ended an equally iconic Intercontinental title reign. The Honky Tonk Man had defined the IC title and had held the belt for a still-standing record 454 days, defending it against all comers.
Summerslam 88 was supposed to see Honky Tonk defend his title against Brutus Beefcake, only for the challenger to back out later. Honky Tonk had to defend his title against a mystery opponent at the show and his nemesis turned out to be none other than the Ultimate Warrior.
Warrior rushed to the ring and beat Honky Tonk in 27 seconds to end his title reign. It is debatable whether that was the best manner to end Honky Tonk's record reign - but it started the Warrior's rise to the top of the card.
He had a great rivalry with Rick Rude over the IC title, took out Andre the Giant and eventually defeated Hulk Hogan clean to win the WWE Championship.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
