Uneventful debuts in professional wrestling

We’ve seen some of the best debuts in professional wrestling recently, debuts that created a huge buzz around the world, and helped the superstars in making a name for themselves. But every debut wasn’t as memorable, or remembered for the greatness, or the perfection in the execution and planning. In the history of professional wrestling, there were debuts that will be remembered for the wrong reasons, for the way they played out, and resulted in some of the most idiotic, non-sensical ways, or were the butt of all jokes. There were other debuts which were highly anticipated, but failed to deliver in more ways than one. In this article, I take a look at five such uneventful debuts in the history of WWE, WCW and TNA.

5. NWO in the WWE

When the New World Order faction took shape way back in 1996 at Bash at the Beach, it became the highlight of WCW’s history, and changed the fluctuating fortunes the company had for the better, and helped WCW beat the WWF for 84 straight weeks in ratings during the Monday Night Wars. Hogan turned heel, which shook the entire industry. When WCW folded, Vince brought the three members of the New World Order into the WWF/E as a way to overthrow Ric Flair, and the NWO made their debut at No Way Out, which coincided with the faction’s initials.

As the crowd eagerly waited to see their favorite rebels, out came Nash, Hall and Hogan to a massive pop. And what did these outlaws have in mind? Instead of throwing out a challenge about taking over the WWE, the faction thanked Vince McMahon for bringing them back. And not long after that, Hogan turned on his former partners. Vince buried the history of NWO in the WWE, and sadly, that was all he wrote.

4. RVD’s debut in TNA

How do you take the hottest free agent in professional wrestling, make him look like a joke and kill all of his momentum? Apparently, people in TNA know that better than Triple H and Vince McMahon! In 2010, RVD signed with TNA wrestling, and Hogan announced it during one of his radio shows. Not only did that completely kill the ‘surprise element’, but it didn’t create as much buzz as a single video by WWE did couple of weeks ago.

RVD made his debut against Sting, and won the match under 20 seconds, only to suffer a beat down at the hands of the ‘Icon’ for the next 7 minutes. You get the biggest name in pro wrestling, and get him mauled by someone who’s on the wrong side of 50. TNA/Hogan logic at its best.

3. Corporate Ministry’s debut

Back during the days of Corporation and Ministry of Darkness, they were known to be dangerous stables, and when they aligned to take on Steve Austin and The Rock, it was a huge moment in the WWF. It was the unholy alliance that could virtually run through anyone and everyone, and they put their differences aside and set their sights on Austin and Rock.

So, on the debut episode of Smackdown, Austin and Rock took on Triple H and…. wait for it, The Undertaker! What happened during the match? Taker and Triple H lost to Austin and The Rock. How did that make sense? No one knows, but one can only imagine how it would have made everything different if they were booked right, as the most dominant stable in the history of the WWF.

2. Edge’s debut in the WWF

Edge has had an eventful career, being one of the greatest and most decorated superstars in the history of the company. Edge became a 11 time World champion in the course of his tenure with the WWE, but his debut wasn’t quite as impressive as his career.

Edge debuted against a rather unknown superstar, Jose Estrada in ‘98, and he miscalculated a running flip over the ropes and landed right on his opponent’s neck. The result was an injured jobber and Edge winning the match via count out, as a puzzled Edge couldn’t figure out why the match ended the way it did.

1. Shockmaster’s debut in WCW

Perhaps, no debut in the history of professional wrestling can out do the debut of the legendary Shockmaster. Back in the early 90s, WCW were coming up with outrageous gimmicks, from Robocop to everything else imaginable. During one segment, they wanted to introduce a new character, who’d side with Sting’s team to take on Psycho Sid’s team.

In what was supposed to be a dramatic entrance, the Shockmaster tripped and fell head first on live TV. Needless to say that he wasn’t taken as seriously as it was intended, and he became a comedy act until WCW management decided to do away with him for good. Still, he’s a part of the folklore in professional wrestling due to his debut, although that might not have been the ‘impact’ he wanted to create.