8 Disastrous WWE Debut Matches
You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
It always helps to get off to the best possible start, regardless of what it is you're doing, but this is especially true of wrestling. After all, fans have long memories and can sometimes be rather vicious in not letting a performer forget an inauspicious start, reviving the memory as that performer tries to climb the ladder of success.
WWE management can be similarly brutal in their assessments of debuting talent. All it takes is one flubbed line or a slip or a missed cue for Vince McMahon and his cronies to deem that a guy isn't 'ready' for the big time and that another stint in developmental or, worse, a pink slip, could be in their immediate future.
When you're performing on television in front of an audience of millions, as well as all the important people backstage, the pressure is undoubtedly on, especially if it's your first time doing so for WWE. This can throw even the most experienced pro off their game, harming their chances in the big time.
It's a fate that has befallen a few WWE superstars in the past, as they dogged it in their debuts. Perhaps they injured an opponent, or injured themselves, or maybe they failed to follow pre-match instructions and managed to bore fans senseless.
Hey, we all have an off night, but it doesn't help when it's your first night wrestling in a WWE ring.
8. Chris Masters
Vignettes hyped the incoming 'Masterpiece' for weeks, showing his undeniably impressive physique and likening it to great works of art. That was all well and good, but a good body does not a good wrestler make. The question was, could the young Chris Masters get it done in the ring, as well as in the gym?
The world found out on the February 21st, 2005 episode of Raw, when Masters went one-on-one with the underrated Stevie Richards. Richards was on something of a career downslide at this point, mainly being used on Heat or as an enhancement guy. It was pretty obvious who was going over in this one.
The match was typical squash match fare, with Masters looking big and strong and dominant and Richards getting one or two little hope spots en route to staring at the ceiling. What makes it is a disastrous debut for Masters was the fact that, towards the end of the contest, he completely obliterated Richards' face with an overly stiff Polish Hammer.
You could hear the sickening impact and it became very apparent that Richards was in trouble. The move had actually moved his nose to the side of his face and broke his orbital bone. Needless to say, when you're a young, green guy that WWE have plans to push, it pays take care of the more experienced guys putting you over.
Masters didn't do that here. He was reckless (he has said in previous interviews that he was sick during the day), almost ending the career of a co-worker right off the bat.