5 times Vince McMahon pushed smaller wrestlers

#4 Rey Mysterio

Soon after Eddie Guerrero died, WWE came up with a storyline that saw Rey Mysterio promising to win the top title on SmackDown Live in memory of his best friend. The Royal Rumble match in 2006 saw Mysterio enter in at #2 and compete for almost an hour in the free-for-all. He managed to eliminate Randy Orton to win the match, but was soon robbed of the opportunity by The Legend Killer at No Way Out. SmackDown GM Theodore Long inserted Mysterio in the World Title match at 'Mania, making it a Triple Threat bout featuring Rey, Orton, and World Champion Kurt Angle.

Also read: 4 WWE Champions who had horrible gimmicks in the beginning

In one of the most emotional moments in WWE history, Rey Mysterio pinned Randy Orton to win the match and become World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his career. Years later, Mysterio won the top title on two separate occasions, cementing the fact that Vince McMahon had full faith in him as a main event Superstar.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Sai Teja