Ranking What Was Really The Best Wrestling Debut Every Year 1990-2021

17. 2005 - Christian Cage

Christian TNA
ImpactWrestling.com

At last, another actual jump - the sort of sh*t that makes pro wrestling halfway interesting.

This was excellent. Eventually. Staggeringly competent, and even better than that after an inauspicious start.

The close-up of his feet in a drastically outdated baggy jeans and school shoes combo. The on-the-nose picture of a star on his dressing room door. It looked chintzy in the extreme for a while, though the idea was sound. The slow reveal effectively made him feel like an act worth waiting for.

Christian Cage's theme was awesome, his promo struck the requisite anti-WWE sentiment, and a Team Canada association was teased as a hook for his first TV appearance.

Mike Tenay was good value too. He was very adamant that Cage wasn't a knockoff. "He jumped!" Tenay said with an inordinate yet endearing sense of pride.

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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!