10 Wrestlers Who Never Recovered From Awful Debuts
8. Mike Kanellis
To say that fans were a bit puzzled by the WWE debut of Mike Bennett and return of Maria Kanellis would be a bit of an understatement.
Bennett was a former IWGP Tag Team, TNA X-Division and ROH Tag Team Champion. Yet, for some reason, Vince McMahon felt he was best used as one half of a couple who enjoyed standing at the top of the ramp and staring lovingly into each other's eyes.
Needless to say, their anti-climactic first appearance during the 2017 Money in the Bank PPV didn't really land, and Kanellis' first match against Sami Zayn a few weeks later was met with widespread apathy from those watching on in the arena and at home.
Things didn't get much better after that as Kanellis was barely used on WWE television for the remainder of his time with the company. Even when he was afforded some precious screen time, the once-credible performer was often made to look like an utter fool and emasculated by his own wife for the sake of 'entertainment'.
In the end, the couple would both be released from their contracts in April this year, freeing Bennett from this disastrous run which seemed doomed from the very start.