Ranking What Was Really The Best Wrestling Debut Every Year 1990-2021
16. 2006 - CM Punk
ECW was a promotion that serviced the fans, their intelligence and their emotions.
It was never going to feel like ECW rebooted under WWE's corporate polish, but for one awesome moment, it did. The rabid ECW base was ready to accept a modernised compromise, provided that said modern performer would have theoretically fit in in the the old ECW Arena.
Punk's state-of-the-art work, killer promo game and uncompromising ideals exemplified the old trend-setting values of the promotion, and his fabulous showcase opposite Justin Credible doubled as a cruel glimpse into a WWECW that might have worked, had Vince McMahon allowed Paul Heyman full autonomy over it.
N.B. Kurt Angle's debut was better, but reports of his dismal health rendered it terrifying from a subjective POV.