10 Wrestlers That Shouldn't Have Lost Their WrestleMania Debuts
AJ Styles was far from the first wrestler to come up short in their premiere WrestleMania match.
From Zack Ryder becoming Intercontinental champion to John Cena coming to the aid of The Rock, WWE WrestleMania 32 played host to several surprises. But few moments were more shocking than Chris Jericho besting AJ Styles in their one-on-one affair.
The two have been embroiled in a ruthless rivalry dating back to their initial encounter in the 2016 Royal Rumble match and the story they have been telling seemed to be leading to a WrestleMania victory for Styles.
After all, this marked Styles' first ever appearance on the grand stage; he should have been in line for an easy win, but that proved not to be the case. The loss didn't at all hinder The Phenomenal One's momentum, however, as he became the new No. 1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the next night on Raw, but it will be a glaring blemish on his WrestleMania record forever.
If history has taught us anything, it's that Styles is far from the first Superstar to come up short in his WrestleMania debut when he should have won. He should be just fine going forward, but others who suffered a similar fate at The Show of Shows didn't have that same luxury.
Styles is in exalted company when it comes to unjustly defeated Mania debutants, and it seems the company has learned very little over the years on that front.
10. Booker T
In the midst of a failed Invasion angle in the summer of 2001, Booker T was one of the few major names from WCW to jump ship to WWE. He mixed it up with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker upon his arrival, but was rarely was awarded the victory. Although he remained over with the audience, his stock within the company dropped significantly by WrestleMania 18 - his first ever.
On a show stacked with star power from the returning Triple H, Hulk Hogan and Rock, it came as no surprise that Booker T found himself on the undercard against an up-and-comer in Edge. However, the least WWE could have done was build the bout up to mean something, rather than having their feud ignite over a shampoo commercial.
They contested a competent match, and it was a big singles win for Edge in his own Mania singles bow, but the six minute affair hardly benefited Booker T. He spent the better part of that year working his way back up the card, before gaining enough traction to establish himself as a main event player. Sadly, he was then squashed by Triple H the following year at WrestleMania 19 in a World Heavyweight Championship match.
He went on to win a world title in WWE several years later, but his rookie year in WWE wasn't what it could have been.