10 Awesome Wrestling Debuts That Quickly Faded Away
How to ruin a good first impression.
First impressions are important in any field, and professional wrestling is no different. A wrestler's debut can not only shape the path they'll take in their first few weeks and months within a company, but their career's direction as a whole. The likes of Chris Jericho, Kane, and The Undertaker saw their WWE careers explode following near-perfect debuts, but a calamitous debut can wreck a career before it ever truly starts - just ask The Shockmaster.
A strong debut is no guarantee of a strong run, however. The follow-up is every bit as important, and a memorable first appearance counts for nothing if the aftermath stinks. Unfortunately, wrestling promotions have developed a terrible reputation for taking initially awesome ideas and running them into the ground over the past few decades, and countless wrestlers have fallen off after making epic debuts.
Whether through suspect booking, an ill-timed injury, or self-destructive personal habits, numerous debutantes have gone from white-hot, to tepid, to ice-cold, all in a matter of weeks. Many of the wrestlers within were eventually able to recover from their post-debut slumps, but others weren't quite so lucky, and these scenarios have ruined many a career over the years.
The momentum gained from a great first impression can't sustain a push forever, and these guys are living proof...
10. Paige
Few WWE women’s wrestlers have had a career trajectory quite like Paige’s. Still considered one of the most talented women in the division, Paige is about to enter her eighth month away from WWE television, and there’s no word on when her injury/suspension-induced purgatory will end. Regardless, nothing can take away from the initial impact of her debut, even if it wasn’t to last.
Paige’s arrival was completely unexpected. In April 2014, one night after WrestleMania, WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee was in the ring celebrating her successful title defence the night before. The reigning NXT Women’s Champion’s music hit, and Paige came out to initially congratulate AJ, who didn’t take the interruption kindly. AJ became enraged, slapped her across the face, and challenged her to an impromptu Divas Title match… big mistake.
On her first night on the main roster, the 21-year-old Paige quickly defeated AJ to become the youngest Divas Champion in history. She’d gone from relative nobody to the most important woman in the company in a matter of minutes, and the entire division was turned on its head.
The impact of Paige’s debut soon wore off, however. Weak Champion Syndrome suddenly kicked-in, and Paige was losing non-title matches left, right, and centre. Her first title defence ended in a no contest when Kane attacked her challenger, Brie Bella, and Paige scraped through another defence against Naomi. Her character development was non-existent, and Paige was made to look weak and powerless throughout her run before eventually dropping the strap back to AJ at the end of June.