10 Big-Time Wrestling Debuts That Were Totally Wasted

5. Rob Van Dam (TNA)

Will Ospreay AEW
TNA

When: 8 March 2010 (iMPACT!)

Why It Was A Waste: Look above to see Rob Van Dam squashing none other than Sting during his TNA debut in March 2010. Fans popped huge for RVD's debut, and it was surely the start of something special for both wrestler and roster alike. So, why is it here?

TNA made an arse of it seconds later, that's why.

Instead of letting Van Dam look like the man, bookers scripted Sting to get up, batter Rob with his baseball bat and totally p*ss all over his celebrations. Then, almost immediately, focus changed to the Stinger and Hulk Hogan. Poor RVD ended up being a bit-part player during his own debut moment.

One would love to have been the proverbial fly on the wall during that creative meeting. 'OK, we'll have RVD (one of the hottest free agents in wrestling) squash Sting, then Stinger can get the last laugh and we'll concentrate on Hulk".

Terrible.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.