10 WWE Wrestlers We Initially Misjudged

First impressions are all-important in wrestling. Put your foot in it on your debut and you could find yourself burdened with an unflattering image for the rest of your career.

Often times, though, that's not entirely fair, and fans have been made to eat humble pie on more than one occasion after writing off a wrestler following an unimpressive debut (which is often less the fault of the wrestler themselves than it is those booking the show).

This dismissive attitude is particularly prevalent when it comes to wrestlers who have emerged through WWE's Performance Centre, whose ability in the ring is far more likely to be called into question than those who have done the hard yards in the independent circuit.

And sometimes these unfairly maligned stars change our harsh first impressions to such an extent that we end up lamenting the company for sidelining them, despite being opposed to their being pushed in the first place.

Wrestling fans can be weird, basically - even though there have been times when it seems like WWE has done its level best to shine a light at a performer's weakest (or least formed) attributes.

Nobody really believed that Santino was just a random Italian man plucked from the Milan crowd and put in an Intercontinental Championship match with Umaga, but many fans acted like he was, fearing that he had irreparably sullied the legacy of the once-great IC title.

His appearances in subsequent weeks seemed more grating than they were entertaining, and it was only when he turned heel the following year, and began a slightly weird (kayfabe) relationship with Beth Phoenix that we began to realise: this guy isn't bad.

Whilst he was never main event material, Santino eventually became a valued member of the WWE roster, and there weren't many complaints when he finished as unlikely runner-up to Alberto Del Rio in the 2011 Royal Rumble. That's a serious turnaround.