I was 100% sure Fandango would be on this list, and I am shocked he isn't. A WrestleMania win over Chris Jericho was a huge start to a WWE career where he was never given a better accomplishment than that.
His win over Jericho was dope, but it's second to his work with Tyler Breeze. Plus, Jericho was at one of the weakest points of his career at that point.
Gail Kims mismanagement in WWE is one of many instances that led to Give Divas A Chance so at least WWE eventually learned their lesson. After they tried literally everything else first!
The Nexus... [SIGH] Man, as a kid I hated the on-screen black & yellow stable; but now, 14 years later I only see them offscreen as the group that WWE failed to capitalize fully in the end.
No they didn't. They were a generic group who wrestled in short tights, the only thing about them was they were together. As individuals, none of them were over, except Barrett and arguably at the time PJ Gabriel. Barrett went on to be an upper mid carder, Ryback had some success but in Nexus he wasn't Ryback, Slater went on to be the resident comedy goof, Gabriel was nothing without connections to Nexus or Corre. If they went over at SummerSlam it would have been a joke because they had no real long term prospects.
Honorable mention to Scott Steiner's return in 2002. Amazing moment in the Garden ("Gimme a f***ing mic!") followed by posedowns and botches and a feud with Test.
Being a MASSIVE fan of Taz in ECW (to the point I used a modified Tazmission as a finish), I was ridiculously excited for his move to WWE and that debut was beyond perfect. That they then completely ruined him, to the point that Heyman himself referenced it in his infamous worked-shoot on Vince, was genuinely heartbreaking.
Gail kim's wwe debut on raw june 30th 2003 was awesome her winning the women's title in her debut match was a great moment that era of women's wrestling was amazing 21-years later the fact that 2003 was 21-years ago is crazy man wwe's women's division on raw was stacked.
Problem is, where do they go from there? Only place left to go is down. An established character like Austin, Hart or Michaels can eat the loss, but someone like Kim or Owens doesn't have that bedrock of storytelling to support them after they lose.
Why dont they just make the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale for a title shot at Backlash? It would make it matter, and make backlash more important
to be honest i feel like all the women that were called up to the main roster from nxt back in the years of 2017-2019 are the lost generation of wwe women's division consisting of ember moon asuka riot squad(liv morgan ruby riott sarah logan)nikki cross kairi sane lacey evans zelina vega the iiconics(billie kay peyton royce) mandy rose sonya deville i mean to be fair sure some of them became champions one became a grand slam champion years later but at that time especially in 2018 & 2019 they were always going to be lost in the shuffle mainly due to the focus being on charlotte ronda rousey just coming into the company & becky lynch about to have her megapush
I understand why Tempest put Ronda on the list, but I have to disagree: walking into the first ever Wrestlemania main event for women as a champion & fighting a solid match only marred by a botched finish is more significant than her better-than-expected mixed tag team match debut. There isn't much in it - it was an excellent debut by anyone's standards - but her match with Becky & Charlotte at Wrestlemania 35 is good enough that I don't think you can fairly say she peaked on her debut.
Im surprised kane isn't on this list I mean his career is fantastic but his debut was his greatest moment and he never looked as strong as he did at his wm 14 match (other than maybe rumble 2001)
Him having a fantastic career is exactly why he’s not on this list and it wouldn’t make too much sense to include him. I can understand the argument for the debut being his greatest moment but he didn’t peak with just that
Funny how you mention that WWE wasted Ember Moon and in the same breath praised her ROH run. Like anyone watches ROH. C'mon, you can criticise Tony Khan for not showcasing her on Dynamite and PPVs. It won't kill ya
I feel so bad for Curtis Axel, he was prettty good, but got treated like a jobber. Even in the Miztourage and in the B-Team he was so good. I miss Bo and Curtis, i loved B-Team
Imo the big problem with Rhonda is that she never felt like a wrestler. All her mannerisms and characteristics were that of an MMA Fighter. Like why is she practicing closed fist jabs backstage before a match? Those are illegal in Pro Wrestling.
70 year old slinky neck Sting squashing homegrown AEW talent without a clean loss for a year: "Gracious Fellware Tour" 60 year old bodybuilding Goldberg losing to homegrown WWE talent: "Nostalgia baiting, old people pushing trash"
I remember jumping out of my seat and trying hard not to yell at around five in morning when Sting made his debut at Survivor Series. It was amazing... But as amazing as it was, as bad was the Mania match
For most of the entries to be women on here, I can only assume that Bucky (Kevin Dunn) told Vince "She's not pretty enough to be a star" and Vince, the idiot that he is, believed him.
An argument could be made for superstar Billy graham. His debut match was beating Bruno to win the wwwf title and end Bruno’s second run. However after he lost the title to Bob Backlund he would leave the company over creative differences and return as a karate master getting no where near the peak again before leaving again and becoming a commentator upon return.
Knew they screwed up with Taz the second they put a second Z in the name. According to him, he knew with the crowd reaction in his debut. “It was a pop.. then it was a white hot pop that couldn’t be good.” Knowing that Vince didn’t create the character and that Randy didn’t want to lose his spot is what killed anything to do with Taz.
I think Ronda had a pretty good build up to that first title run when she was running through everyone like a female Brock Lesner. Her first title run was great as well. It was after that she went under imo.
I'm not sure why Ronda is on this list at all more I think about it. Yes her debut was good but by no means was it all down hill after. She had a rather long Raw Women's title run, won the 2022 rumble match and won the women tag team titles along with a few Wrestlemania matches.
I just never got into Rousey, she’s an absolute force in the octagon but I just never felt it translated the way it seems to be spoken about on these kinda lists
Scott Steiner deserves a spot on this list. His debut at Survivor Series in 2002 was a great moment with a huge pop with a great hot mic moment to top it all off.
Makes sense to ignore it. People do the same thing with Kane when they say he “debuted” at the first hell in a cell match between Taker and Shawn. Even though using you’re logic that technically also wasn’t a debut since he already appeared as Issac beforehand.
@@qbincashion8058 they didn’t claim he was a different character (like Kane though). They acknowledged his history and just said his name was being changed.
I was 100% sure Fandango would be on this list, and I am shocked he isn't. A WrestleMania win over Chris Jericho was a huge start to a WWE career where he was never given a better accomplishment than that.
Cause beating Jericho is that crazy....
It was a bad gimmick, the song really got over not him, it was never gonna last long
His win over Jericho was dope, but it's second to his work with Tyler Breeze. Plus, Jericho was at one of the weakest points of his career at that point.
I almost expected Tom McGee on this list.
Mainstream media: wrestling is fake
Randy Orton: and movies aren’t?
Gail Kims mismanagement in WWE is one of many instances that led to Give Divas A Chance so at least WWE eventually learned their lesson. After they tried literally everything else first!
The Nexus... [SIGH] Man, as a kid I hated the on-screen black & yellow stable; but now, 14 years later I only see them offscreen as the group that WWE failed to capitalize fully in the end.
No they didn't. They were a generic group who wrestled in short tights, the only thing about them was they were together. As individuals, none of them were over, except Barrett and arguably at the time PJ Gabriel. Barrett went on to be an upper mid carder, Ryback had some success but in Nexus he wasn't Ryback, Slater went on to be the resident comedy goof, Gabriel was nothing without connections to Nexus or Corre. If they went over at SummerSlam it would have been a joke because they had no real long term prospects.
Honorable mention to Scott Steiner's return in 2002. Amazing moment in the Garden ("Gimme a f***ing mic!") followed by posedowns and botches and a feud with Test.
Jacqueline....haha😅 jay-quelln
I knew someone else had to have caught that.
I'd have put The Fiend at #1.
The "Andre the Giant royal battle memorial battle royal" LMAO
Being a MASSIVE fan of Taz in ECW (to the point I used a modified Tazmission as a finish), I was ridiculously excited for his move to WWE and that debut was beyond perfect. That they then completely ruined him, to the point that Heyman himself referenced it in his infamous worked-shoot on Vince, was genuinely heartbreaking.
Gail kim's wwe debut on raw june 30th 2003 was awesome her winning the women's title in her debut match was a great moment that era of women's wrestling was amazing 21-years later the fact that 2003 was 21-years ago is crazy man wwe's women's division on raw was stacked.
Stacked but treated like shit
Problem is, where do they go from there? Only place left to go is down. An established character like Austin, Hart or Michaels can eat the loss, but someone like Kim or Owens doesn't have that bedrock of storytelling to support them after they lose.
@@1kranitrue lol
That Women's era of wrestling was not amazing more like horrible also Gail hated her time in WWE rightfully so because she was treated so badly there
I will never forget this as it was on my birthday, in my hometown and, I was there live
Gail Kim is an absolute personification of underrated for Women's Wrestling.
Triple H & Stephanie vs Kurt & Rounda rousey was better than i expected it to be.
It was better than, I would say, ANYONE expected. I still go back and watch that match every now and then because it's SO much fun.
The J-Quellin reference from Key & Peele is top notch!
"ITS TAZZ!" 😂😂
Poor unfortunate souls? Missed a prime Ursula opportunity
tempest’s developmental run when he had the indies mask was a run for the ages
Why are HHH friends trying to help Sting beat him?? And what the hell is Hogan even doing there? 😂
was Vince's last kick to the balls of WCW.
Man, this list is depressing
Why dont they just make the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale for a title shot at Backlash? It would make it matter, and make backlash more important
Because of that wwe nwo crap we never got sting v undertaker bro, I wanted that match
Fandango an honorable mention
to be honest i feel like all the women that were called up to the main roster from nxt back in the years of 2017-2019 are the lost generation of wwe women's division consisting of ember moon asuka riot squad(liv morgan ruby riott sarah logan)nikki cross kairi sane lacey evans zelina vega the iiconics(billie kay peyton royce) mandy rose sonya deville i mean to be fair sure some of them became champions one became a grand slam champion years later but at that time especially in 2018 & 2019 they were always going to be lost in the shuffle mainly due to the focus being on charlotte ronda rousey just coming into the company & becky lynch about to have her megapush
Mandy would have been a star had she not rather posed nude in online pics and videos for cash.
I understand why Tempest put Ronda on the list, but I have to disagree: walking into the first ever Wrestlemania main event for women as a champion & fighting a solid match only marred by a botched finish is more significant than her better-than-expected mixed tag team match debut. There isn't much in it - it was an excellent debut by anyone's standards - but her match with Becky & Charlotte at Wrestlemania 35 is good enough that I don't think you can fairly say she peaked on her debut.
Her match with charlotte at survivor series is actually my fav ronda match
@@ninjaworshipperplus she had not 1 but 2 good matches with NIA!
Fighting With My Family was my introduction to Florence Pugh
no shockmaster?
Ronda Rousey’s first run was pretty good
Lord Tensai
Im surprised kane isn't on this list
I mean his career is fantastic but his debut was his greatest moment and he never looked as strong as he did at his wm 14 match (other than maybe rumble 2001)
Seriously??
You’re kidding right?
Him having a fantastic career is exactly why he’s not on this list and it wouldn’t make too much sense to include him. I can understand the argument for the debut being his greatest moment but he didn’t peak with just that
Funny how you mention that WWE wasted Ember Moon and in the same breath praised her ROH run. Like anyone watches ROH. C'mon, you can criticise Tony Khan for not showcasing her on Dynamite and PPVs. It won't kill ya
I liked Micheal Tarver he was like Titus O’Neil before Titus O’Neil
I feel so bad for Curtis Axel, he was prettty good, but got treated like a jobber. Even in the Miztourage and in the B-Team he was so good. I miss Bo and Curtis, i loved B-Team
Axel mania was actually somewhat over also. But vince did it to be a joke and when it got over he buried him for it just like Sandow and rusev day
Gotta love a random Key & Peele reference
As a tazz fan the way wwe treated tazz had me so disillusioned with their booking
Vince would never push a smaller guy like Taz back then.
Of course he wouldn’t he didn’t get it then just like he doesn’t get it now I’m just glad that now he’s paying for what he’s done @@zeromagnum2811
WWE did Sting dirty.
KEITH LEE...
I still want that Roman Reigns Keith Lee match
Imo the big problem with Rhonda is that she never felt like a wrestler. All her mannerisms and characteristics were that of an MMA Fighter. Like why is she practicing closed fist jabs backstage before a match? Those are illegal in Pro Wrestling.
Ember Moon was so good. WWE really dropped the ball with that one.
Heath Slater is an unsung hero in WWE
Tazz was the first thing that got in my mind when this was mentioned.
At least Gail Kim and Athena (Ember Moon) got better elsewhere.
Paige debut is simply Perfect
70 year old slinky neck Sting squashing homegrown AEW talent without a clean loss for a year: "Gracious Fellware Tour"
60 year old bodybuilding Goldberg losing to homegrown WWE talent: "Nostalgia baiting, old people pushing trash"
I remember jumping out of my seat and trying hard not to yell at around five in morning when Sting made his debut at Survivor Series. It was amazing... But as amazing as it was, as bad was the Mania match
There's plenty of things you could reasonably criticize AEW for, but you gotta admit, they've done right by Sting
To be fair a lot of these wrestlers were because of bad booking.
For most of the entries to be women on here, I can only assume that Bucky (Kevin Dunn) told Vince "She's not pretty enough to be a star" and Vince, the idiot that he is, believed him.
I know he's still in WWE, but man, Cameron Grimes. Started out squashing Baron Corbin just to barely be seen again
An argument could be made for superstar Billy graham.
His debut match was beating Bruno to win the wwwf title and end Bruno’s second run.
However after he lost the title to Bob Backlund he would leave the company over creative differences and return as a karate master getting no where near the peak again before leaving again and becoming a commentator upon return.
lol, funny title.... way to stay on tk's good side..... cuz it could probably be 20 for the other company
The Ember Moon fumble was really terrible. Her work as Athena in ROH is proof that WWE really dropped the ball with her. Their loss.
Knew they screwed up with Taz the second they put a second Z in the name. According to him, he knew with the crowd reaction in his debut. “It was a pop.. then it was a white hot pop that couldn’t be good.” Knowing that Vince didn’t create the character and that Randy didn’t want to lose his spot is what killed anything to do with Taz.
Dang, WWE has dropped more balls over the past 15 years than the catering industry did in 2020.
Ngl putting Nakamura, a Royal Rumble winner, as someone who peaked with their debut would be disingenuous
The fans turned on Rousey because she wasn't Becky Lynch. And any woman besides Becky getting pushed at that time got booed out of the arena.
I think Ronda had a pretty good build up to that first title run when she was running through everyone like a female Brock Lesner. Her first title run was great as well. It was after that she went under imo.
Taz couldn't even get a run as hardcore champion like every other ECW wrestler when they first arrived.
The Great Khali debuted by squashing the Undertaker.
Peak of ember moon in wwe (besides nxt) was the eclipse from the ladder at money in the bank 2019
What is up with pronouncing Jacqueline "Jay Kwellin" ????
I'm not sure why Ronda is on this list at all more I think about it. Yes her debut was good but by no means was it all down hill after. She had a rather long Raw Women's title run, won the 2022 rumble match and won the women tag team titles along with a few Wrestlemania matches.
I just never got into Rousey, she’s an absolute force in the octagon but I just never felt it translated the way it seems to be spoken about on these kinda lists
Look at Athena these days and realize the missed opportunity with Ember Moon.
#wewantcody #codyvsroman #No!No!No! #codydeservesbetter #codypeopleschamp #codyrhodeslegend #codywwechampion #codyatMania.
Duuuude the dr Wagner mask is elite I actually have the same one and it’s autographed by him
Gail Kim was so good. She was definitely done wrong by WWE.
I saw this and thought “Taz” 😅 before I clicked
We need top 5 or 10 double turn after tonight's Dynamite
Tarver had more potential than Otunga.
This mark doesn't wanna admit it, but shinsuke is 100% on the list
I disagree with Corbin. His high point was hitting the end of days on Becky Lynch.
How isnt DDP on here?!
DDP definitely went downhill straight after his unmasking debut in the company. What a waste of a great talent!
Nah that Corbin one makes no sense. He had way better and bigger moments
Ember Moon is killing it in AEW/ROH
it makes no sense that Shinsuke should be on this list.
3:56 wasn't his winning MITB win up there too
Baron Corbin's peak was when he was sad Corbin!
Please do Top 10. When Wrestler Staredowns and makes goosebumps AEW & wwe 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Wait… who is Jay Quellin?!
The Nexus was always trash....
Mediaeval Dynasty??
The Nexus sucked.
Great video!!!
2:27 Jake who?
Brodus Clay
Scott Steiner deserves a spot on this list. His debut at Survivor Series in 2002 was a great moment with a huge pop with a great hot mic moment to top it all off.
Wait, so you’re ignoring all of Michael mcgillicutty’s main roster? Thats over a year of main roster time you’re refusing.
Makes sense to ignore it. People do the same thing with Kane when they say he “debuted” at the first hell in a cell match between Taker and Shawn. Even though using you’re logic that technically also wasn’t a debut since he already appeared as Issac beforehand.
@@qbincashion8058 they didn’t claim he was a different character (like Kane though). They acknowledged his history and just said his name was being changed.
Sweet goodness, Tempest and I both did the Sting call at the exact same time.
Fan....dan.....go
I suppose
Hearing someone say quitting is “totally reasonable” tells me everything I need to know about a person