10 Weirdest Wrestling Debuts Ever

7. The KISS Demon

Otis Dozovic Alexa Bliss
WWE.com

Nu-metal was the "in" rock thing at the turn of the millennium. KISS, with their correctly-spelled name, lack of crunching riffs, DJs and woeful, white, woe-is-me rapping, stood very little chance of connecting with the youths. So, in a harebrained attempt to recapture that youth from the runaway WWF, Eric Bischoff selected KISS for a cross-promotional extravaganza.

It yielded one of lowest-rated segments in the history of WCW Monday Nitro, and one of the most notoriously awful pro wrestling characters ever: The KISS Demon.

Brilliantly, the KISS Demon endured two of the weirdest debuts ever. With Brian Adams suddenly thrust into the role at the expense of Dale Torborg - and at the expense of Bischoff's executive career - the Demon debuted after the main event, as wrestling fans tuned out in their droves after the wrestling had ended. Emerging from a crypt as KISS belted out 'God of Thunder' - "Here, simply, is a guy who looks like us!" - the character wasn't even deemed fodder for the Thursday show.

Despite the financial catastrophe, with the rights secured, WCW pressed on, installing original choice Torborg under the paint. Making his pay-per-view debut at SuperBrawl 2000, The Wall, reflecting WCW's frayed patience with the character, struck him from behind immediately - and squashed whatever life the character had left out of him.

Going just 03:37, WCW billed this, the cheeky b*stards, as a 'Special Main Event Attraction' in order to make good on the contractual obligation.

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!