10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2002

8. OVW Debuts Are Worth Revisiting (Except Batista’s)

He wasn't "Bluetista" back in 2002, he was 'Blew-tista'. In other words, WWE totally blew big Dave's first forays onto the main roster after he'd been booting bums as Leviathan down in OVW. Deacon Batista debuted alongside the ill-fated Reverend D-Von on the 9 May episode of SmackDown, and it was as horrible as it sounds. No, time has not been kind to this gimmick at all.

Incredibly, the Deacon Batista thing could've been even worse!

There's a more positive side to this entry, at least. A fresh faced young Randy Orton debuted vs. Hardcore Holly on the 25 April show, and he looked like he was full of enough beans to make a splash. It's obvious even from watching Randy's first TV match that he always had something about him. The same could be said for John Cena, who debuted vs. Kurt Angle on the 27 June SmackDown.

By the second half the year, new WWE Champion and all-round wrecking machine prospect Brock Lesnar had joined team blue alongside the other newbies. It's pretty crazy to look back on this glut of debutants now and realise that future great Batista was the only duff one of the lot.

Imagine Cena had been cast in that Deacon role instead?! Or Mr. RKO?! That sounds outlandish, but it wouldn't have been inconceivable at the time. WWE's creative team tripped itself up with Batista. Maybe they thought he simply wouldn't be believable as a spunky, spitfire babyface like Randy or Cena.

That's probably true, but the religious thing was a bust.