10 Terrible Wrestling Debuts (That Led To Awesome Careers)

8. Bray Wyatt

Evolution Of Triple H
WWE.com

The Debut:

Teased with well-produced vignettes that somehow conspired to make credible a supernatural character in the 21st century, initial signs were deeply promising for the Bray Wyatt character. It seemed like a perfect storm: a performer they raved about on the inside chartering his own, off-road path to superstardom. Wyatt was the new Undertaker in broad daylight, surfacing from the depths of a Louisiana swamp, until he relied on his henchmen to put out a fire with the same blanket you or I could use in his shockingly normal, boring, and damaging SummerSlam '13 match with Kane. The great horror of the 21st century went over a great horror of the 20th through shenanigans in a stark metaphor for everything.

The Career:

From April to September is a Hulk Hogan run by 2019 standards, so while charitable, 'awesome' is about right. And why not live in the moment, with (tentative) optimism? The Fiend is a revelation - a burst of unsettling creativity in primary colours and blackest black alike, a colour scheme that mirrors the absurdly diverse tone Bray Wyatt's rebirth brings: horror, comedy, dance, meta in-jokes and, at long last, credibility.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!