10 Weirdest Wrestling Debuts Ever
Imagine covering up Rick Rude's body. Imagine.
On Monday's RAW, WWE sort of...half-debuted?...a new raft of Superstars from NXT.
We write half-debuted, because they did not really debut; instead, we were told that they will appear across both RAW and SmackDown before being permanently picked up from the pound. The McMahons now control both shows, so there's no bidding war, no tense negotiations to be held. Besides which, they didn't really do anything to impress, nor much at all. They were just...sort of there? It was all very weird.
EC3, Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross enjoyed mixed fortunes. Now, EC3 occupies the top 1% of the wrestling world. A muscle monster equipped with much charisma, some sort of beat-down and supplementary verbal segment was surely the way to introduce us to an act that by definition is special, but no: instead, before even wrestling a match, one of the best talkers on the roster, boasting one of the best physiques, was framed in picture and picture - downsized! - and did not say a word.
Nor did Lacey Evans, who was spotted backstage holding court with Dana Brooke and Mickie James. Nikki Cross at least received the customary treatment, by wrestling and winning - which is the way to actually debut a wrestler we are told is primed for the big time.
Heavy Machinery's first flagship appearance was the strangest of the lot...
10. Otis Dozovic
On Monday's RAW, Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery made his main roster debut.
Interrupting a really not good at all Moment of Bliss segment, in which Paul Heyman entered a rare, poor performance - putting over Baron Corbin as a credible threat to Brock Lesnar was just too much, even for an orator of his standing - Otis, in a well-filmed reveal by WWE standards, was seen peeking over to the foreground from the back. He then ran through his indecipherable catchphrases - "BOOMSHAKALOU!", "OOOWWEYEEAUH!" before turning his attention towards Alexa Bliss, and likely making her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he watched backstage on the monitor when she was filmed getting undressed, and thought "OOOWWEYEEAUH! "BOOMSHAKALOU!"
The whole thing was delightfully batsh*t, though many were concerned that the new Women's Title belts were overshadowed. As if there's any bloody chance of WWE promoting a serious and competitive Women's doubles division with any quality and depth.
This must be what Kevin Dunn's internal monologue sounds like whenever he sees a woman: Otis was portrayed as a juddering non-verbal mess, managing only to squeak out the actual words "Pretty lady! Pretty lady!" in her presence, mirroring what Dunn must say whenever Vince asks him who should win the Rumble.