10 Most Disastrous Wrestling Debuts Ever
8. The Renegade
1995 was a dark year for professional wrestling in North America, and The Renegade goes down as a lowlight in WCW’s dismal calendar year.
In the lead-up to Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage’s feud with Vader and Ric Flair, the faces started teasing the “Ultimate Surprise.” Silhouettes of a man with long hair and arm tassels were showed, heavily implying that the Ultimate Warrior was on his way to WCW, and the fans were understandably excited.
The Uncensored PPV rolled around and the Ultimate Surprise was revealed, but it wasn’t as fans had expected. Instead of Warrior, WCW got “The Renegade”: an absolutely shameless Warrior knock-off who mirrored the former WWE champ’s act all the way down to his idiosyncrasies and painful-to-watch wrestling ability.
The crowd were not impressed, and no matter how hard WCW tried to push him down fans’ throats, The Renegade never won them over. Unlike other imitation gimmicks, this was no tongue-in-cheek parody: The Renegade was an imitation gimmick that fans were actually expected to take seriously, and it bombed.
Though the worker enjoyed a lengthy reign as WCW Television Champion, he was reaction to The Renegade was so negative that even a main event feud with Ric Flair couldn’t save his career.