10 Wrestling Debuts That Changed Everything

"They" say first impressions (as in life) are everything in pro wrestling, and "they're" right, but what if those first impressions also have ripple effects beyond the actual person debuting? What if they were so revolutionary, so ahead of their time and so impactful that they changed everything in their path, smashed the wrestling compass to bits and charted a new course for others to follow?

It's happened way more than you might think in pro wrestling's annals.

Everyone loves a good debut. If the character has credibility coming in, the hype has been well-worked beforehand and that actual first appearance proves to be memorable, then it can totally shake up a promotion anyway. Add some tasty consequences around that debut and you're onto a winner.

The sign of a good debut is impact. The sign of a great one is the emergence of other events because of it, and that's the case for every single one detailed here. These are the game changers, even if they didn't know they'd be called that at the time.

First impressions with lasting after effects are the best...