Every Major Wrestling Debut TV Show Ranked From Worst To Best

4. WWE SmackDown

Dynamite Chris Jericho
WWE.com

It's sobering how jarring the debut episode of WWE SmackDown isn't; wrestler cuts in-ring promo, rival interrupts, authority figure emerges to make match for (conveniently) unscheduled main event.

This sh*t has been going on for 20 years. For perspective, in 1979, the company was still named the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

But it was different then because the formula was fresh, over, and entertaining. Triple H was still in the Early Installation Weirdness phase of his Game gimmick - a bizarre glitch caused him to add "uh!" to the end of every word! - but his confidence and emerging World Champion aura made for a captivating verbal exchange and a basic but dramatic and heated main event with the Rock.

Elsewhere, this was a Russo Attitude special of a show. Pepper! Howard Finkel craps his pants! Evening Gown matches! But no swerve turns, strangely.

Swerve!

Special Guest Referee Shawn Michaels turned on Rock in the main event, costing him the chance to win the WWF Title.

Tropes and jokes aside, this was actually a well-written show with a watchable rhythm to it; several segments flowed into the next with a keen sense of craft, and the swaggering roster was great value. X-Pac managed to glean something entertaining from a match involving '99 Big Show, and Shane McMahon was on great form as the little prick begging for a slap in the mouth.

Even the over-familiar swerve worked: in the main event of a new, major show, the WWF promised a main event - but delivered a wild angle.

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!