They say that first impression is always the best impression. Though it is hard to agree with the statement on every occasion, when it comes to the professional wrestling business, there wouldn’t be any other perfect statement to describe the debut of a superstar.Making a high impact debut is probably the second biggest dream of a wrestler after the WrestleMania headlining one and pulling off the former would be crucial to achieve the latter. Over the rich timeline of WWE, the fans have witnessed a handful of memorable debuts and some forgettable ones.We are keeping the later category for another day, so here is a look at some of the best debuts in WWE history.
#13 Honorable Mention: Shield
Three unknown guys coming out of nowhere and interfering in the Survivor Series would have been a common sight back in the Attitude era but since this one happened in the middle of WWE’s PG run, the Shield deserves a place in the list.
#12 Honorable Mention: Tazz
Tazz was one of the biggest draws in the original ECW and WWE soon decided to snatch him from the Philadelphia promotion. WWE had big plans for the human suplex machine and in his first match, Tazz went on to end the unbeaten run that Kurt Angle was enjoying till then.
#11 The last and final Honorable Mention: Santino Marella
Remember the time when a random fan was picked from the crowd to challenge Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship? with some help from Bobby Lashley, this random guy went on to win the title and later came to be known as Santino Marella.
#10 Paige
The modern days fans will find it no hard to remember this one as it happened recently. After spending some quality time in Britain, Paige was signed up by WWE and sent to NXT. She turned out to be one of the most successful NXT performers and WWE decided to call her up to the main roster after WrestleMania XXX.
She was thrown right into the Divas Championship scene and in her first match; she defeated AJ Lee to win the title. Now, what makes the win so special are basically two things. One, AJ defeated the entire Divas Division the night before.
And two, AJ was the longest reigning Divas Champion in history at that time. It was a memorable win for the Brit and she started off her career in the best possible way.
#9 Goldberg
Goldberg proved to be a big star in the WCW thanks to some intelligent booking from Eric Bischoff. And it is this appeal among the fans that made WWE bid for him once WCW folded. Although Goldberg was hesitant in the start, he finally gave in to the offer and joined the company.
On the night after WrestleMania XIX, WWE was celebrating the Rock appreciation night after his win against Steve Austin in the night before and Goldberg decided to come out as the party spoiler. Goldberg came out into the ring with his classy entrance and nailed Rock with a sphere. It was a big statement from the former WCW champion and any debut featuring the Rock is sure to be good right?
#8 Undertaker
The Undertaker gimmick was arguably one of the most creative ones that came out of WWE’s writing team in the 90s. Taker, who had some appealing size and attire, was introduced at Survivor Series as the mystery team member in Ted DiBiase’s team. The aura of Undertaker was not there to be seen completely due to his Brother Love companion, but the fans did get a good enough taste of the legend.
Taker did not go on to be the lone survivor in the match, but he did make a great impression in the little time he had under the pay-per-view spotlight. Almost three decades later, the Undertaker is still one of the most intimidating figures in the wrestling business.
#7 John Cena
John Cena is busy running his open challenge for the United States Championship these days and it was a similar open challenge that led to his debut in the company. Kurt Angle was the one who issued the challenge and Cena came out to answer the call with a forgettable haircut.
Cena went on to say that it was the ruthless aggression that made him take up the challenge and went on to have an impressive match with Angle. Angle won the match in the end, but the gutsy performance earned Cena some respect. WWE also showed a segment where Undertaker congratulated Cena for his effort against Angle, and it was the start of a great journey for Cena.
#6 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar was the discovery of Paul Heyman. As far as Vince McMahon was concerned, Lesnar was just a new recruit who had a good athletic background, but Heyman knew that Lesnar was more than that. Heyman convinced Vince to watch Lesnar’s matches in FCW and Vince was impressed in no time.
Vince assigned Heyman as the new manager of Lesnar and decided to give the beast a solid run in the main roster. At the Monday Night Raw, episode after WrestleMania X8 Lesnar made his debut on WWE television. He destroyed everyone who stood in his path and showed the dominance that he would keep with him for the years to come.
#5 The Nexus
The storylines involving some kind of an invasion were always met with warm hands by the WWE fans. It is probably the reason why WWE collected seven unknown guys and came up with a stable that would go on to dominate the company for months.
Nexus had a lot of potential, and starting off on the right foot was always crucial. The creative team knew this and introduced the stable during the John Cena vs.CM Punk main event on Monday Night Raw of June 7, 2010.
Not only did they go on to destroy two of the biggest names in the company, but they literally dismantled everything that came across their path. Nexus standing tall in the end was a lasting image indeed and it was ‘the’ best debut that PG era had to offer.
#4 The Rock
WWE dug out Dwayne Johnson from the Anoa’i family and decided to give him an awkward gimmick called Rocky Maivia in the 90s. With the goofy haircut and streamers from his neck, the character was sure to be crucified by the fans but it didn’t stop WWE from giving Rock a big debut.
He debuted in the traditional elimination match at Survivor Series and came out as the lone survivor in the match. Being the lone survivor was a great deal back then and since Rock achieved in his debut itself, the fans knew that there was something special about him. He soon shredded off his goofy gimmick and the rest is history.
#3 Eric Bischoff
What if Batman invites Joker to work with him? Or what will happen if Superman and Lex Luther would work together? The feeling you just had now was experienced by the WWE fans when Eric Bischoff showed up in WWE. Bischoff was hell bound in taking WWE out of business and did every cheap trick in the book to do the same.
However, just years after WCW folded, Vince McMahon shocked the entire world by giving Bischoff a job in the WWE. His debut was not as glittery or dominant as most of the other ones in the list, but it certainly was shocking and once again proved that anything could happen in wrestling.
#2 Kane
Glenn Jacobs was literally struggling in the WWE when the creative team came up with the Kane character. The masked gimmick had a wicked gimmick and proved to be something entirely different from the Dr. Yankem and Fake Diesel characters that Jacobs played before that.
Being the brother of Undertaker and having Paul Bearer by his side helped the character a lot and since it was a sure shot success story if pulled off right, WWE needed to make a good first impression.
They did just that when they introduced Kane at the Badd Blood Pay-Per-View in 1997. Kane came in, knocked out Taker with a Tombstone and went back just like that. It was probably the first time the fans saw Taker being dominated like this and this domination made it a memorable debut.
#1 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho started off his wrestling career with a dream of making it into the WWE. He, however, couldn’t make the break initially and had to settle for a job at WCW.
Jericho shined brightly during his stay in the company and soon, WWE came knocking at his door. The backstage politics and laziness in WCW made it an easy decision for Jericho and he struck a deal with WWE without much hesitation.
Next came the debut part. WWE wanted to push Jericho as a big star from the start itself, so they set up a countdown clock that would stop at his debut along with vignettes that showed cryptic codes.
The fans had no idea why the clock was there, which was the best part about the whole thing. The Rock was delivering a promo when the clock ticked to zero and just like that, Jericho came out with his trademark entrance.
Having a showdown with The Brahma Bull right on his debut proved to be a great moment for Jericho and he built his WWE career around it.
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