10 WWE Wrestlers Who Survived HORRIBLE Debuts

9. LA Knight

This isn't technically a debut, as LA Knight had already appeared in NXT, but his main roster call-up was a complete disaster. In 2022, the former TNA Champion appeared on SmackDown as Max Dupri, the annoying head of talent agency Maximum Male Models. 

This was a gimmick straight out of the 1980s, and even then it would have been midcard at best. The worst part was that Knight wasn't expected to wrestle as Dupri, instead serving as a manager to Mace and Mansoor. Oops, sorry, that should be "ma.çé" and "mån.sôör". 

Mercifully, this entire angle was dropped almost as soon as Vince McMahon retired later that year. Knight publicly buried the Dupri persona and reverted back to his old ways. Shockingly, he got massively over. What a surprise! 

Though many feel Triple H has missed the boat on pushing Knight as a top star, he's now a very respected member of the roster with plenty of memorable moments under his belt. Considering he could have spent the rest of his career wearing a suit, that has got to be considered a win.