10 Wrestlers Who Debuted At The Top
7. AJ Styles
AJ Styles has long been considered one of the greatest in-ring performers in the entire wrestling world. Sadly, it took Vince McMahon quite some time to recognise that fact.
Nevertheless, the universally glowing assessment was eventually shared by the WWE Chairman as 'The Phenomenal One' made his long-awaited WWE debut at Royal Rumble 2016. A surprise entrant in the match, Styles entered to a thunderous ovation at No. 3, lasting just under 29 minutes before being eliminated.
After his impressive showing in the Rumble, the former NWA, TNA, and IWGP Heavyweight Champion made his Raw debut the following night, kick-starting his high-profile programme with Chris Jericho in the process. The two had several stellar matches that led to a notable blow-off bout at WrestleMania 32.
From there, Styles immediately entered the WWE Title picture; however, he was unable to wrestle the strap from new champ Roman Reigns. Instead, AJ would head into a feud with WWE's top babyface, John Cena, eventually turning heel on 'The Face That Runs The Place'.
After defeating Cena twice in PPV singles competition, the TNA Grand Slam winner shocked the world when he defeated Dean Ambrose at Backlash, adding the WWE Championship to his long list of accolades.
A human highlight reel in every aspect, Styles has arguably been WWE's MVP ever since.