10 WWE Wrestlers Who Lost On Their Debut

John Cena rocked up on our screens for the first time on an episode of SmackDown in June 2002, looking a bit like the wrestler you get when you go to the creation suite on a WWE video game and click "default male".

There was nothing generic about the then-25-year-old in terms of attitude though. In fact, Cena's bold opening gambit - he promised fans that he was arriving on the main roster armed with "ruthless aggression" - was so memorable that it helped usher in a whole new era for the company.

The bit that they don't tell you, however, is that the man who would later become known as Big Match John actually tasted defeat on his debut. He was beaten by multiple-time world champion Kurt Angle in about six minutes, and he didn't even get to pull out the Five Knuckle Shuffle.

Fortunately, the guys in the SmackDown locker room were sufficiently impressed by his showing that they lined up to congratulate him backstage when he was finished in the ring. This is a novel thing in today's WWE: losing, and yet still being put over.