Wrestling fans and people in general love a good underdog story, a tale of someone who had their back against the wall and the world against them but against all odds, they rose up and eventually accomplished something for the history books to remember and for people to talk about for years to come. When done right, an underdog storyline is a pinnacle of what makes wrestling so great, case in point, Daniel Bryan’s victory at WrestleMania 30.

WWE has consistently pushed their chosen ones as hard-luck underdogs, often at the expense of everyone on the roster. John Cena and Roman Reigns can hardly be considered underdogs, given their accolades and the support of the system behind them. However, Bryan was the one underdog story the company did right in a long time. Bryan did not have the good wishes of the executives and so his fight was something more than just putting on a good match in the ring.

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Aside from Bryan, there was another wrestler by the name of Mikey Whipwreck who had to go through the same obstacles as Bryan did and then some and he did so in the land of extreme, ECW. Whipwreck was an undersized wrestler and actually started as a member of the ring crew. He would help the company in setting up the ring for the events. In return, he would ask to take bumps in the ring after the show was over. Wrestling was his passion and while people often told him that he would never succeed due to his slight build, Paul Heyman and Joey Styles saw things differently.

The Start Mickey Whipwreck's Story

Eventually, Whipwreck was hired by Heyman to wrestle for ECW, and given his stature and lack of experience; he was portrayed as the biggest underdog in the company. Daniel Bryan was always confident about his skills in the ring but Whipwreck was a very different character as he sounded terrified and unsure of himself during his promos.

via ecwfrenchtribute.free.fr
via ecwfrenchtribute.free.fr

Moreover, instead of rushing at his foe and hitting them with everything he had, Whipwreck would cover up and try to weather the storm during his matches and got the hell beaten out of him. He did not score a single victory in a long but eventually, with the ECW behind him, Whipwreck was given a push, kick-starting the greatest underdog run in history.

His first championship victory came against The Pitbull when he won the ECW World Television Championship and the crowd was rabid throughout the contest, eventually blowing the roof off the place when he finally scored the pin and held his first title.

He held onto the title for almost three months before losing back to Pitbull. ECW fans thought that Whipwreck would be buried back to the lower card but two weeks after losing the title, Whipwreck substituted for Terry Funk and captured the World Tag Team Championship with Catcus Jack as his partner.

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The pairing was short-lived but received much support from the fans. Whipwreck was the terrified rookie while Cactus was the veteran who kept him around, hoping to polish the coal into a diamond. The duo held onto the titles for a few months, after which they disbanded.

Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck ss ECW Tag Team Champions

Mikey Whipwreck then finally got the main-event push and the crowd was red-hot for him to cap off the run of championships by finally winning the big one. Whipwreck entered into a feud with The Sandman after winning a number one contender’s battle royal and the two feuded over the latter’s ECW world title.

Mikey Whipwreck Finally Wins The Big One

After being unsuccessful on a number of occasions and with The Sandman holding the upper hand throughout most of the rivalry, Mikey finally got his hands on the ultimate prize on the 28th of October, 1995. He became the youngest world champion in history, at just 22 years of age, when he defeated The Sandman in a ladder match. He held onto the title for 41 days, nothing too incredible but his initial title win was enough to complete the greatest underdog story in wrestling history.

From a part of the ring crew to a Triple Crown Champion, Whipwreck undoubtedly lays claim to the greatest understory story in the history of the business. His road to the top mirrors Bryan in a number of ways but in some aspects, Whipwreck was an even bigger underdog. Bryan was a technical master and a submission specialist, a true ring general while Mikey relied on his guts and heart and that alone got him to the top.