10 Disastrous Wrestling Debuts

1. Xavier Woods

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WWE

Triple H has done an incredible job with NXT - but his insistence that WWE should not arbitrarily promote developmental talent to WWE proper, without a sufficient, long-term plan in place, is beyond irritating. The evidence to the contrary is overwhelming - and Xavier Woods, pre-New Day, remains the preeminent counterargument.

One could fairly accuse the company who renamed Colt Cabana Scotty Goldman, precisely because he was Jewish, as, if not outright racist, then myopic in the extreme. It's therefore easy to conjure an image of the think tank on the fateful day Woods' die was cast.

"He's got an afro. And he's black. There must be something in that?"

"Who else is black again? Oh, yeah: R-Truth. Just put 'em in a tag team."

And thus, the mercifully short-lived tag team of R-Truth and Xavier Woods was born. Upon defeating "The Rhinestone Cowboys" of Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal (what was this, 1995?), Truth and his new buddy naturally shucked and jived out of the arena.

There have been more counterproductive debuts. There have been more catastrophic debuts. There have been more nonsensical debuts. But is there anything more underwhelming than being introduced as R-Truth's mate?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!