#5 Las Vegas-born Ryback almost wins the WWE Championship in 2012
While Ryback is now one of the most controversial figures in pro wrestling and rarely even takes bookings at this point in his career, in 2012 he was moments away from winning the WWE Title. In fact, it was him versus John Cena, versus WWE Champion, CM Punk in a Triple threat match at the Survivor Series. The table was perfectly set for Ryback to become one of the quickest rising stars in the company’s history, but a certain legendary faction put an end to that.
TheLas Vegas native had just brutalized John Cena with his finisher when three men jumped the barricade and stormed the ring. The crowd was left in shock as the men who would later become known as “The Shield” laid waste to all three competitors in a matter of minutes. They finally put Ryback through a table, allowing CM Punk to cover John Cena for the victory once the group was done. This remains the closest Ryback has come to the championship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcqtBYsX_aU
#4 Kyle Busch makes three straight championship 4 appearances without winning a championship
Kyle Busch is known in NASCAR for his infamous temper, which is why coming up short in three Championship four situations had to be maddening for the Las Vegas native. The man literally had some of the best performances of his career from 2016 to 2018, but always managed to get denied when it came to championship weekend. For example, in 2018, he captured eight checkered flags and still finished 4th due to a bad restart. The man had an average finish of 8.3 and still lost.
Then there was 2017, where he earned five wins 14 top-fives, and 22 top-tens before he was etched out by Martin Truex Jr in the final race. Unfortunately for Busch, that once again cost him the championship due to NASCAR’s winner takes all formula. Kyle Busch would eventually go on to win a championship in 2019, which had to feel good after a streak like this!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=451863062964435&set=pb.100044222359941.-2207520000..&type=3
#3 The Las Vegas Aces make it to the WNBA Finals before getting swept by the Seattle Storm in 2020
2020 was a roller coaster, and the Las Vegas Aces went for a ride. The team rallied together despite a preseason injury to Kelsey Plum and Liz Cambage opting out of the season due to covid-19 concerns. They finished the season with an 18-4 record and the #1 seed in their division. The team had all the momentum in the world heading into the playoffs.
The Aces then beat the Connecticut Sun in a competitive 3-2 series to advance to the Finals against the Seattle Storm. That's where things took a turn for the worse, though, and the Storm swept Las Vegas 3-0. Whether having Kelsey Plum or Liz Cambage would have made a difference in that situation will never be clear, but some believe it would have been a much more competitive matchup if that was the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r28HsnpAmQA
#2 Kurt Busch almost wins a championship in 2002
Las Vegas native Kurt Busch is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR history and he has his 2004 Cup Series title to prove it. He could have probably had a second championship if it wasn’t for a 2002 crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That incident dropped him from fifth in the standings, all the way down to tenth. The next two weeks he would suffer back-to-back engine failures at Watkins Glen and Michigan International Speedway.
This dropped him to 12th in the standings with only 13 races to go in that season. That virtually killed any chance he had at making a run at the title and left him playing catchup for the rest of the season. He did make it interesting by notching five top-tens in the next seven races and winning two events in a row, but those three straight finishes outside really hurt him. Busch ended up winning the final race of the season at Homestead Miami and if he hadn’t had those engine failures, he might have won a championship that year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYgMpRzeHEw
#1 Las Vegas Golden Knights make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018
Although expectations were high for the Las Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season, no one expected them to have the success they did in 2018. Not only did the expansion team finish the season with a 51-24 record, but they also marched all the way to the Stanely Cup Finals with a list of impressive victories under their belt. This includes several intense games against the Los Angeles Kings, the San Jose Sharks, and the Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights even went 9-3 in the first 12 games of the playoffs! Unfortunately, the team was eventually defeated in a five-game series against the Capitals.
The Golden Knights might have set the world on fire in their first year as an organization, but it was put out before they could win a championship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-NmbpN-MDQ