10 Most Disastrous Wrestling Debuts Ever
1. The Shockmaster
Who else could it be? Fred Ottman had built a solid career as WWE’s Tugboat and Typhoon through the late 80’s and early 90’s, but he became responsible for the most infamous fail in wrestling history after signing for WCW in 1993.
Sting, Dustin Rhodes, and Davey Boy Smith were set to clash with Sid Vicious, Vader, and Harlem Heat, and found themselves a man down after Road Warrior Hawk had fallen to injury. A face-to-face confrontation took place at Clash of the Champions, with Sid and Harlem Heat demanding Sting and Smith reveal their mystery partner’s identity.
Sting’s response became one of wrestling’s greatest soundbites:-
“All I have to say is, our partner is going to shock the world… because he is none other than The Shockmaster!”
The camera cut across the set, where two torches set off a small burst of pyro in front of a sheetrock wall. Dressed in a glittery Stormtrooper helmet and a black, puffy vest, The Shockmaster attempted to make a dramatic entrance by bursting through the wall, but tripped on a wayward piece of lumber and literally fell on his face.
The helmet fell off and slid across the floor. Ottman desperately scrambled to put it back on his head and tried the shrug the mistake off by continuing as planned, but the damage was already done. With everyone around him breaking character, Sid (bless him) did his absolute best to sell the incident, but it was far too late to salvage The Shockmaster.
The character faded away shortly after, and his wonderfully bedazzled Stormtooper helmet hasn’t been seen since.