WWE Missed Opportunities: Remembering Ultimo Dragon's Short WWE Stint

Yes, Ultimo Dragon did compete in WWE. For those of you who forgot or were unaware of that fact, Ultimo Dragon wrestled for WWE starting in the early part of 2003, when the company decided to bring in the Japanese competitor who had made a huge name for himself around the world.

Ultimo Dragon came in with plenty of hype surrounding him. WWE ran multiple vignettes to promote his debut before having him face Shannon Moore in his first match.

He picked up an impressive victory, but it didn't seem to take long before he was placed on the back burner, rarely seen on television.

For those unfamiliar with Ultimo Dragon's career outside of WWE, his list of career accolades is quite impressive. He won 34 different titles, including the cruiserweight and television titles, while competing for WCW. In 1997, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him No. 12 in the world on their annual Top 500 list.

Credit: WWE.com

Ultimo Dragon not only made a name for himself in Japan but also in Mexico. The most impressive accomplishment of his career is easily the fact that he held 10 different titles at one time in late 1996. No wrestler in history has ever matched or surpassed that feat.

So success had to be virtually guaranteed in WWE, right? Not so much.

Despite having Rey Mysterio and a solid cruiserweight division at the time, WWE chose not to push Ultimo Dragon. In fact, his debut against Moore may have been the highlight of his short-lived WWE career. He ended up competing in the Cruiserweight Open at WrestleMania 20. Though the match featured 10 competitors, it could have been one final chance to make a name for himself in WWE.

That didn't happen.

Despite earning the first elimination of the match by taking out Moore, Ultimo Dragon was quickly eliminated himself by Jamie Noble. It would also mark one of his last appearances for WWE.

Just a little over a year after his thunderous debut, Ultimo Dragon was gone from WWE, having had no success in the company.

After all he had done elsewhere, what could have possibly gone wrong? Was it his style? Did he rub the wrong person the wrong way? We'll obviously never know.

All we can do now is take a look back at what could have been.

At the time, WWE had several great cruiserweight wrestlers who could have put on great matches with Ultimo Dragon. Chavo Guerrero, Akio, Tajiri and Billy Kidman all would have made great opponents in a series of matches or a long-term feud. And though they did square off in a match to crown a new United States champion on SmackDown, more matches with Eddie Guerrero probably wouldn't have hurt anyone's feelings.

But the obvious failure was not pitting him and Mysterio against one another, aside from a quick match on SmackDown in October 2003. Rather than booking a Cruiserweight Open for WrestleMania 20, either Mysterio or Ultimo Dragon should have been cruiserweight champion heading into the event.

WWE could have booked a match between the two men. In the weeks leading to the event, the two men could have shown mutual respect and admiration toward one another, rather than the typical build in which one of the Superstars would have had to turn heel.

A match like this would have been great for WrestleMania 20. The fans would have loved it. Mysterio and Ultimo Dragon would have torn the house down at Madison Square Garden.

Even if Ultimo Dragon didn't stick around, that match needed to happen. Instead, his WWE tenure can only be described as a waste.

For fans out there who haven't seen Ultimo Dragon compete, do yourself a favor and look him up. You'll soon realize that WWE missed a great chance to add to his legacy.