5 most memorable WWE surprise partners/opponents
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.