How do debuts go about in the main roster? Sometimes a superstar has promos airing announcing his arrival, and sometimes they arrive without any fanfare or promos surrounding them. But then there are those rare occassions when the moment a star’s entrance theme hits the titantron and you see his name or face on it, there is frantic energy all around.
The last case has produced some of the finest debuts in WWE History.
But surprisingly, there have also been times when a WWE superstar or diva has made a debut through the crowd. They may cheer with you and they may jeer with you, but they are not you – the audience. In other words, they are planted fans.
Here are the 10 times WWE Superstars came through the audience:
10. Santino Marella
In the year 2007, Umaga reigned supreme as the Intercontinental Champion. He was merciless, atrocious and he was backed up by the symbol of no mercy and atrocity- Vince McMahon. So one night, McMahon thought of giving someone from the WWE Universe a chance to fight Umaga for the IC Title. McMahon of course expected Umaga to decimate this said fan to intimidate the audience.
Raw was held in Milan, Italy. A fan was chosen by McMahon and his name was Santino Marella. He crossed the barricade, the fans around him looked a bit concerned, he looked surprising happy to be given the opportunity. The audience was overwhelmed and was singing for this guy. He was one of them. Despite getting some offence in, Santino was attacked later on by Umaga and his manager. The match was turned into a No Holds Barred contest. Lashley, thankfully, made the most of this stipulation and interfered to give Marella the win. The miracle from Milan.
The rest is history.
9. Emma
The recent example of this sort of debut is Emma. For weeks, she would carry these placards with ‘Emma- taining’ and the likes. With Emma, the different thing was that she appeared on many other nights in many other crowds and soon one day, Santino took a page out of his own book and invited Emma for a dance off against Summer Rae. She won the dance off and that marked her debut. What followed after that were comic relief segments- a complete opposite to what Emma could have potentially become as a serious contender to the championship.
The gimmick was never given the opportunity to succeed on the main roster.
Emma, meanwhile, is thriving as a heel on NXT.
8. Steve Blackman
Oh, kayfabe, how much we miss you in all your entirety. In 1997, Vader was attacked by three of his storyline enemies in the ring after his match against The British Bulldog. The next thing we know, the camera gives us a wide shot of an unknown guy in the ring.The audience seem as surprised as all four wrestlers in the ring. But this fan surprised everyone after he took out all three of them with kicks that showed glimpses of some mixed martial arts. Jim Neidhart caught hold of the guy and tried to attack him but Vader, being the babyface, removed Neidhart and shielded the fan from any other attack. Security soon came out and assisted the fan back.
It was later that we got to know that Steve Blackman was making his second debut in the WWE and soon he’ll become one of the hardcore icons of the Attitude Era. The black pants and the kendo stick has left a lasting image of a silent assassin.
7. Hillbilly Jim
Another incident of pure kayfabe that paid off. It was the early 80s and there was this particular fan who appeared in many arenas. The wrestlers took note of him and he was known as ‘Big Jim’ for his towering stature. This led him to become a guest at Piper’s Pit and Piper offered to train him. Here’s how kayfabe worked. Seeing his passion, the fans and wrestlers alike wanted him to succeed and there was a babyface named Hulk Hogan who wanted to train him and then there was the heel named Roddy Rowdy Piper who wanted to take him under his wings. ‘Big Jim’ to the audience’s delight chose Hogan.
Then WWE began airing these short teasers showing Hogan training Jim. And then began his journey in the World Wrestling Federation.
6. Beth Phoenix
One of the most memorable feud in the women’s division belongs to the one between Mickie James and Trish Stratus. The lovelorn fan and the star. The feud took an ugly turn and James soon took away the Women’s Championship from Stratus in the best women’s match at Wrestlemania. Their rematch at Backlash led to Stratus getting her shoulder dislocated. Soon, James was the wrecking force of the division and Trish couldn’t save the day for the other divas with one arm. One fine night, a woman came from the audience and attacked James relentlessly.
This woman was Beth Phoenix, who alleged that James had ruined her life. Thus began another chapter in the women’s division and seeds for another memorable feud were sown.
The Glamazon was here.
5. Zach Gowen
Remember the one legged wrestler WWE introduced in 2003 who went on to feud with Lesnar and McMahon? His name was Zach Gowen and he came through the crowd.
Do you also remember Captain America where Hulk Hogan was clearly the man behind the mask? Well, he was the guy who Gowen ran in the ring to help.
Hogan was attacked by Piper and his protege Sean O ‘Haire in the process of being unmasked. Gowen came to the rescue by attacking the attackers with an American Flag. One thing led to another and soon, his prosthetic leg was ‘accidently’ pulled off.
That brought things to a standstill and gave rise to what was going to be a theme for many nights to come.
4. Finlay
Before Sheamus became The Celtic Warrior and proclaimed that he’s a fighter from Ireland, there was this guy who made the word ‘fight’ symbolic with the Irish.
Finlay’s catchphrase is still memorable. ‘My name is Finlay and I love to fight’
Before all of this, he was introduced as a planted fan on WCW in 1996. This interference was purely based out of cultural differences. Finlay introduced himself, after the attack, as The Belfast Bruiser. He’d attacked an English wrestler whom we all know as William Regal.
Wrestling almost always has a politically inspired storyline and this one was taken straight out of Britain and Northern Ireland’s history books.
3. Earthquake
Just like that natural disaster, his debut was sudden, surprising and devastating. During a battle of strength between Dino Bravo and the Ultimate Warrior, this planted fan was chosen to sit on the backs of each of the competitors while they do push- ups.
Bravo was able to do a lot of push ups which was spectacular but as soon as Warrior stepped in, Earthquake showed his true colors and went on a barrage of attacks on Warrior.
This was all part of a plan.
2. Sailor Art Thomas
The earliest form of this sort of debut happened somewhere during the 50s and 60s. Sailor Art Thomas was a patriotic guy ans during those times patriotism was a very populist theme. Thomas was known for his big heart and huge stature. He would often run over barricades to save somebody in need, even if they were wrestlers being attacked relentlessly.
He created a reputation of a big man with a gentle heart. His huge stature was instrumental in his monumental rise from a fan in the audience to a superstarwho went on to fight for the NWA Championship.
1. Raven
Another WCW storyline comes to the fore. The special thing about this is that the audience knew who Raven was.there was no shred of an unknown element in his presence because of his history in ECW. Sitting in the front row, during many Nitro show, he soon created a following in the locker room. With Billy Kidman, Perry Saturn, Kanyon and Van Hammer, Raven created his own Flock.
This unique approach made them look like the leaders of the locker room who did what they wanted in whichever way they wanted.
