6 Forgotten original debuts of WWE Superstars

A lot of top WWE Superstars made their first appearances in the company when they were relatively unknown so sometimes these debuts are overlooked. For instance, we remember CM Punk for his debut in ECW instead of his original debut on Sunday Night Heat. We take a look at some such forgotten debuts, including Punk's as well as a host of other popular Superstars and legends.

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#6 Jon Moxley fka Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose is one of the biggest stars WWE created in the last decade. The man who was one-third of The Shield is no longer signed to WWE. He left the company last year to sign with All Elite Wrestling under his former ring name Jon Moxley. He beat Chris Jericho at the AEW Revolution earlier this year to win the AEW World Championship.

Moxley's WWE debut came years ago in 2006 when he received a tryout match. Moxley teamed up with Brad Taylor and faced MNM on an episode of Velocity. You can check out the match in the above video.

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#5 Tajiri

Most fans remember Tajiri from his run in the company in the Ruthless Aggression Era. The man with the Green Mist was hard to forget and always entertained as a performer with his unique move-set. He was also comedy gold, and his run as William Regal's lackey will always be underrated.

However, one thing fans overlook is that Tajiri's run in the company from 2001 was actually his second for the company. He originally made his WWF debut in 1996, making several appearances as enhancement talent. Tajiri's debut came on an episode of RAW where he teamed up with Ken Patterson in a losing effort against the Godwins.

Tajiri ended up moving on to working for CMLL in 1997 before signing for ECW in 1999. It was in ECW that Tajiri started to shine and was signed by WWE in 2001.

#4 Roderick Strong

Undisputed Era member Roderick Strong also made his original WWE debut in 2005. Strong came out to challenge Kurt Angle on an episode of SmackDown during his Kurt Angle Invitational.

Strong immediately made an impact as he answered Angle's question with a slap across the face. Strong then left the ring, forcing Angle to chase him. When Angle caught up with Strong inside the ring, it all ended pretty quick with Angle forcing Strong to tap out to the Ankle Lock.

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#3 AJ Styles

AJ Styles made his WWE debut way back in 2001, nearly two decades ago. This was almost 15 years before his re-debut at the Royal Rumble in 2016.

Styles made his debut in a dark match before a Monday Night RAW taping in July 2001. Styles wrestled his trainer Rick Michaels and beat him with a Shooting Star Press. Despite an impressive performance, Styles only wrestled two more matches for the company at the time before going on to sign with Impact Wrestling in 2002.

Styles has risen to the top of WWE since he came in 2016. A 2-time world champion, Styles had the honor of facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 in the immensely entertaining Boneyard match.

#2 Mick Foley

One of the most popular wrestlers of all time, Mick Foley needs no introduction. I grew up watching Foley in his Mankind persona and have been a fan ever since. However, one thing I didn't know was that Foley's original WWF debut came in 1986. Yeah, that's a long time ago.

Foley made his WWF debut on an episode of Superstars in 1986. He teamed up with Les Thornton in a losing effort against The British Bulldogs. Interestingly, Mick Foley wrestled under the name Jack Foley that night.

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#1 CM Punk

CM Punk was a massive star in WWE before he left the company abruptly in 2014. He went on to have an unsuccessful UFC run before returning as part of WWE Backstage.

CM Punk's televised WWF debut came on an episode of Sunday Night Heat in 2005 where he teamed up with Russell Simon to face Maven and Simon Dean.

Punk and Simon were squashed in around 2 minutes. Maven picked up the win for his team after pinning Russel Simon.