00:00I mean what I'm about to say. Obviously, otherwise, what are we even doing here?
00:05But I think if I was offered an average long run as a wrestler, or a very, very short one, but I get an iconic debut, I'd pick the latter.
00:12So many of my favorite memories have been guys and girls turning up in new promotions, and it can turn you into a superstar.
00:18You just have to get the balance right.
00:20So what's the fallout when the opposite happens? Let's find out.
00:23Because I am CyberWattCulture, please hit that subscribe button, and this is 10 Big Time Wrestling Debuts That Were Totally Wasted.
00:31Number 10, DDP in the WWF
00:33The 18th of June, 2001, Monday Night Raw.
00:37We all knew WCW guys could now appear in the WWF as the company was dead, and rather than wait out his contract, Diamond Dallas Page decided to accept a new deal and try to make it elsewhere.
00:47He totally would have done this too, if we had given him a good gimmick.
00:51For you see, despite being a natural babyface and beloved in World Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon decided Page should be a bad guy.
00:59Worse still, we turned him into the stalker who had been going after The Undertaker and his wife.
01:03Over 20 years on, and I still cannot believe this was the role we gave to Dallas.
01:08It hurt even more as the reaction he got when he unmasked was excellent, but in a few weeks the bottom had fallen out and the whole thing was done.
01:14If DDP was just allowed to be himself, this would be on a totally different list.
01:18It was all there, and we dropped the ball.
01:21Number 9, The Big Show in WWF
01:23Another jumpy from WCW, Paul White could see the writing on the wall and made the shift at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre pay-per-view in 1999.
01:31Anyone in the know knew this was on the cards, as Vince McMahon had told people he had an idea how he could make this giant a big star.
01:38And then he arrived, and well, meh.
01:41The newly dubbed Big Show didn't have the best start, even if what he did looked cool.
01:45Ripping out of the ring as McMahon took on Stone Cold Steve Austin,
01:48White grabbed the rattlesnake and threw him so hard into the steel cage, the box-like structure broke, meaning Austin had won.
01:54That's ridiculous on so many levels, but it also meant Show had just helped his new enemy win.
02:00Whoops.
02:00This would tie into his first few years as the tone was all over the place, and he was doing comedy come 2000.
02:05He did find it in the end, and his career has been pretty damn good.
02:09But yeah, making a mistake on your debut just looked like a fool.
02:13Number 8, Razor Ramona Diesel Part 2 in the WWF
02:17I mean, forget waste, this was just an awful idea.
02:19Happening on Raw on the 20th of September 1996, everyone decided they didn't need Scott Hall or Kevin Nash to play the roles of Razor Ramona Diesel.
02:27So just told Glenn Jacobs and Rick Bognor to do it, you heard that correctly.
02:32It was doubly bad because it also trolled the audience, because they didn't think fake versions of these characters were going to walk out.
02:37They assumed a deal had been made, and then got slapped round the face when pretenders stood in other people's shoes.
02:43It was essentially two wrestlers being made to cosplay live on television, and it basically ruined Bognor's career, that is not cool.
02:50If you do go back and watch this now, make sure you take notice of the fans' faces.
02:54They are totally shocked here, and not in the appropriate way.
02:58Number 7, Will Ospreay in AEW
03:00I am not as enraged as this by some people, and actually thought it was fine.
03:04AEW has debuted so many people, we were always going to get to the point individuals just strutted out,
03:09especially when we're building to an inter-promotional pay-per-view.
03:12The gloves are just off by that stage.
03:14Fans were stunned though, that not only did Ospreay just walk out on the 8th of June 2020 Dynamite,
03:19but later on he was in the main event on Rampage, and he lost.
03:22I mean, it was a six-man tag, so he didn't take the pin, but his United Empire fell.
03:27And I do get this too, because if we had done the lights-off, lights-on gimmick,
03:30I bet the reaction would have been huge.
03:32But really, the fact that Will gets to be a New Japan employee,
03:35and turn up in AEW, plus here, there, and everywhere,
03:38well, it makes the whole thing kind of cool.
03:40We're just living in different times, I guess.
03:43All because of that damn, damn forbidden door.
03:45Number 6, Miro in AEW
03:47This really was an odd one.
03:48As a Rusev die-hard fan, I loved that he was an early recruit for AEW,
03:52because the man is a hero and deserves every opportunity.
03:55Therefore, on the 9th of September 2020 Dynamite,
03:58he did arrive as Miro, and he was really into video games.
04:01Now, I am really into video games too,
04:04but seeing Miro make gaming references, hang out with Kip Sabian,
04:07and call himself the best man was baffling.
04:09Remember that skit where Donkey Kong record holder Billy Mitchell
04:12was just in an arcade with these two?
04:14I don't think it was ever explained.
04:15Clearly everyone knew this, as Miro was soon transformed into the Redeemer,
04:19which was far better, and that's the main thing.
04:21We got there in the end.
04:22But there was this period when it was just not sticking,
04:25and pleased it eventually got wedged in there.
04:28Number 5, Rob Van Dam in TNA
04:29I swear, no one really ever understood the levels Rob Van Dam could have reached.
04:34Fans just gravitated to him no matter what,
04:36which is why on the 8th of March 2010, he appeared in TNA on Impact.
04:40It started excellently, as not only was he a surprise opponent for Sting,
04:44but RVD snuck up behind him, booted the icon in the face,
04:47hit the rolling thunder, and pinned him in about 30 seconds.
04:51Everybody went wild.
04:52Then within minutes, not only had this been used to further everything between Sting and Hulk Hogan,
04:56meaning Van Dam felt like he was in third place,
04:59Sting absolutely killed him with a baseball bat.
05:02It took away any momentum this would have had,
05:04and it was quite clear TNA wanted you to be thinking about two people here,
05:08and neither of them was Rob Van Dam.
05:09Now I don't know about you, but that seems to be the wrong way around.
05:13You only ever get one debut.
05:15Number 4, The Ultimate Warrior in WCW.
05:18What a spectacle this was.
05:19A month prior, Vince McMahon had made an offer to The Ultimate Warrior to try and get him to return to the WWF,
05:25simply because he knew WCW was also having conversations.
05:28As you know, it didn't work out on the once Jim Helwig was headed down south,
05:32but good grief, this was bad.
05:34All the way back on the 17th of August 1998,
05:37Warrior did arrive to pump and circumstance,
05:39and fans were pleased to see him.
05:41Then he started to talk,
05:42and then he talked some more,
05:44and he kept on talking and talking and talking,
05:46with none of it making any sense.
05:48He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke like he was Batman,
05:51meaning Hulk Hogan and his cronies had to act shocked.
05:53And when this segment was done,
05:54whatever hype there was had gone,
05:57and yes, it was that fast.
05:58Nobody cared.
06:00I just went to watch all this again,
06:01and it's actually 13 minutes of uninterrupted chat.
06:04My word,
06:05it is not well thought out at all.
06:07Number 3,
06:08The NWO in the WWF.
06:10You can argue this one.
06:11I would say I'm on the fence.
06:12The WWF version of the NWO had a great first intro,
06:15and Vince McMahon spun around in his chair,
06:18and I still remember being a child and going nuts.
06:20I couldn't believe this was going to happen.
06:22We soon learned this would be at No Way Out 2002,
06:24and that Hogan, Hall, and Nash were gonna destroy everything.
06:27Then they arrived and were very, very nice people.
06:30The real problem was that no World Wrestling Federation fan
06:33wanted to pretend that Hogan was anything but the red and yellow 80s hero,
06:36so within seconds, it was almost like we had a disconnect here.
06:39We also had no mention of what these three did first time around,
06:42and it was almost like we had our hand in different pies.
06:45It worked out because months later, we were gonna get that Hulk Rock match,
06:48but this was a slight disappointment simply because it was obvious
06:51this wasn't going to be the New World Order we wanted.
06:54So that makes you a sad, a sad panda.
06:57Number 2, CM Punk in WWE.
06:59Simply because it wasn't what you wanted.
07:01Although, to be fair, not even this should have happened.
07:03Nobody saw it coming either, as on the 12th of November 2019,
07:07during an episode of Fox's WWE Backstage,
07:10CM Punk returned.
07:11Kinda, not really, but maybe, I don't know.
07:14It melted down the internet because people couldn't believe it,
07:16and the reason this upsets so many individuals
07:18is down to what we've already talked about.
07:20If Punk was ever going to go back to WWE,
07:23they wanted a surprise Raw appearance,
07:25a mystery opponent, a big-time angle,
07:27and they didn't get it.
07:28I mean, if you were a Punk fan,
07:29you should just count your lucky stars,
07:30we got this because it was so out of left field,
07:33especially when you throw in all the things
07:34he has said about the WWE since.
07:37The dude was never going to work under that umbrella
07:38for a second time,
07:40so this is as close as you're going to get.
07:42Number 1, Bret Hart in WCW.
07:44Still hurts, doesn't it?
07:45WCW had the hottest property in the world
07:47after the nightmare that was the Montreal Screwjob,
07:49and they decided to do absolutely nothing with it.
07:53This was truly bonkers.
07:55It was alright at first,
07:55as Eric Bischoff made sure to tell everyone
07:57the hitman was coming to the company,
07:59the Nitro after the Survivor series,
08:01and then we didn't see him until the 15th of December.
08:03Want to know what his role was on that night?
08:06The special guest referee for Eric Bischoff
08:08versus Larry Sabisco.
08:10I still cannot believe this was a real thing
08:12that somebody signed off.
08:13For one, Bret was being used as a prop,
08:15and two, people had been desperate to see this.
08:18Have him win the flipping title or something,
08:20but no, he was a match official now,
08:22so he should have known how this was going to go
08:23from this point on, really.
08:24I mean, talk about a waste,
08:27and no, I'm still not over it.
08:29Now, for any other big-time wrestling debuts
08:30that were totally wasted,
08:31make sure you let us know in the comments below,
08:33and don't forget to like the video,
08:34share the video, and subscribe.
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08:47My name is Simon from WhatCulture.
08:48Thank you very much for joining me as always,
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