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

13. 2009 - Desmond Wolfe

Desmond Wolfe
IMPACT Wrestling

TNA was more wildly uneven than the increasingly bland WWE.

By late 2009, it was actually shedding its asinine stigma - just in time for Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff to come in!

At least TNA had the nous to debut new acts from the independent circuit with conviction and respect. They went all in on the debuting Nigel McGuinness, stopping just short of course of actually allowing him to keep the name with which he'd built his rep. This was another "Well, that's what WWE do" display of weird awestruck admiration of the competition, but the comparisons ended there.

Wolfe immediately gunned for the hardest man in the yard and chinned him. That man was Kurt Angle. Wolfe chinned him twice, and threatened to break his neck before not following through.

Putting himself over as a contender, he wanted Angle at his best.

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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!