Throughout the history of professional wrestling, the importance of the debut has fluctuated in importance. In 2015, debuts arguably don't mean quite as much as they once did, when wrestlers could jump between the likes of WWE, WCW and ECW, cleaving an impact as they did so. Nowadays, performers are often introduced more inconspicuously, but there are exceptions to that rule, such as The Shield or Bray Wyatt, characters the company truly believes in. When a wrestler makes a big impact upon their debut, it's a nice moment, and watching on TV it becomes infinitely more entertaining when the live audience are equally as enthused by this new star. In addition, the wrestler feeds off the energy of the crowd, and the end result is something special, when both performers and audience work in harmony, creating wrestling television at its best. Even though there have been many memorable re-debuts, such as that of The Undertaker at Judgment Day 2000, or Shawn Michaels in 2002, this article aims to explore the initial forays of talent into a promotion, when they all seemed so fresh to that fanbase, or carried with them significant weight from another. All of these moments will likely bring back a lot of nostalgic goodness for wrestling fans.
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.
