Chairshot Top 5: WWE Debuts That Immediately Made a Wrestler Feel Like a Star

From AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble to Kane invading Hell in a Cell, these WWE debuts made their wrestlers feel like stars immediately.

A WWE debut can introduce someone slowly, or it can tell the audience immediately that a new star has arrived. From AJ Styles entering the Royal Rumble to Kane tearing the door off Hell in a Cell, these debuts made their performers feel important before they had even established themselves in WWE.

Professional wrestling does not provide many opportunities to make a first impression twice. Once a wrestler walks through the curtain, audiences begin deciding almost immediately whether the newcomer feels important, dangerous, interesting or destined to become another name somewhere in the middle of the card.

WWE has introduced plenty of future legends without treating their first appearance like a major event. Steve Austin debuted as The Ringmaster, The Rock arrived as an enthusiastic Rocky Maivia and John Cena had to spend months developing the personality that eventually made him a superstar. Their greatness came later, which makes the wrestlers who arrived feeling instantly important stand out even more.

Other performers were presented completely differently. WWE placed them directly into important situations, surrounded them with anticipation or gave them moments designed to communicate that the audience should remember this person immediately. Sometimes the wrestler already had a reputation elsewhere, as Chris Jericho and AJ Styles did, allowing WWE to acknowledge their history without spending months explaining why they mattered. Other performers, including Kane and The Shield, appeared as essentially new creations and needed the presentation itself to create credibility within minutes.

This ranking considers anticipation, crowd reaction, positioning and what the wrestler actually accomplished during the debut. The most important standard is simple: once the segment ended, did the newcomer already feel like someone WWE expected audiences to take seriously?

These are the Top 5 WWE debuts that immediately made a wrestler feel like a star.

#5 — AJ Styles — Royal Rumble 2016

WWE did not need to explain AJ Styles to everyone in Orlando when his music hit during the 2016 Royal Rumble because enough people already knew. Styles had spent years establishing himself as one of the best wrestlers outside WWE, becoming synonymous with TNA before eventually working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. By January 2016, rumors that Styles might finally appear in WWE had created enormous anticipation among wrestling fans.

The Royal Rumble provided the perfect environment to confirm them. Roman Reigns entered the match at No. 1 while defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and Rusev followed at No. 2. After Reigns quickly eliminated Rusev, the countdown began again and the No. 3 entrant was AJ Styles.

WWE initially focused the camera on Reigns while the unfamiliar entrance music began, delaying the television reveal slightly as the live crowd recognized what was happening. Once Styles appeared and his name filled the screen, the reaction made his status obvious. This was not being presented like a developmental wrestler receiving an opportunity; a star had arrived.

Styles immediately entered the ring opposite WWE’s reigning champion, which was another smart decision. His first significant WWE visual was not standing beside someone on the lower card or waiting for an introductory interview, but staring across the ring at Roman Reigns during one of the company’s biggest annual matches.

WWE gave Styles enough time to prove the debut was more than a surprise entrance. He lasted nearly 29 minutes, eliminated Tyler Breeze and Curtis Axel and interacted with several established WWE performers before Kevin Owens eventually threw him out. That performance accomplished exactly what a debut should accomplish, giving unfamiliar fans enough evidence to understand why everyone else was excited while telling longtime Styles fans that WWE understood the significance of signing him.

Styles would face Chris Jericho the following night on Raw and eventually reach WWE’s main-event level much faster than many outside stars had before him. The Royal Rumble made that trajectory feel possible before his first WWE match had even ended.

#4 — The Shield — Survivor Series 2012

Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose did not receive introductory vignettes or individual matches before WWE asked them to change the outcome of a pay-per-view main event. They simply appeared and caused damage.

The closing match of Survivor Series 2012 featured WWE Champion CM Punk defending against John Cena and Ryback. Punk had been champion for nearly a year, Cena remained WWE’s established franchise star and Ryback was in the middle of the undefeated powerhouse run that had rapidly pushed him toward the main event. Late in the match, Ryback appeared ready to win when three men dressed in black arrived from the crowd.

Michael Cole identified the attackers as NXT competitors Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, but WWE did not initially provide much more explanation. The three surrounded Ryback, attacked him together and eventually drove him through an announce table with the triple powerbomb that would become one of their defining moves, allowing Punk to retain the WWE Championship because of their involvement.

That was an enormous assignment for three wrestlers making their first main-roster appearance. The Shield did not debut by beating enhancement talent or confronting another new team. WWE inserted them into a championship match involving three of the company’s most protected performers and allowed their actions to determine who left Survivor Series with the WWE Championship.

The presentation also made them visually distinctive immediately. The black tactical gear, crowd entrances and coordinated attacks separated The Shield from traditional wrestling factions, while refusing to explain everything during the debut created enough mystery for fans to wonder who they were and why they had interfered.

Their follow-up reinforced the first impression. The trio described themselves as a “shield from injustice” and continued attacking high-profile wrestlers rather than drifting into ordinary mid-card programs. All three would eventually become world champions, WrestleMania main eventers and defining performers of their generation.

Nobody watching Survivor Series knew exactly how successful Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose would become, but WWE made one thing clear immediately: they mattered.

#3 — The Undertaker — Survivor Series 1990

The Undertaker debuted on the same night as the Gobbledy Gooker, which remains one of professional wrestling history’s stranger contrasts.

Ted DiBiase entered Survivor Series 1990 promising a mystery partner for his Million Dollar Team against Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware and The Hart Foundation. When DiBiase finally introduced the fourth member, WWE audiences saw something completely different from the colorful characters surrounding him.

The Undertaker slowly walked toward the ring accompanied by Brother Love, dressed almost entirely in black and gray with a long coat, hat and expression that suggested nothing happening around him was particularly concerning. There was no elaborate history yet, no WrestleMania Streak, no Paul Bearer and none of the smoke, lightning and mythology that would eventually surround the character.

The first appearance still worked because once the match began, Undertaker was booked like someone the other wrestlers could not understand. Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart struggled to move him, while Koko B. Ware became the first wrestler to receive the Tombstone Piledriver on WWE television. Undertaker eliminated him, then eliminated Dusty Rhodes as well.

The important part was how little effort Undertaker appeared to expend. He was not presented as a rookie desperately attempting to prove himself against established talent, but as something the roster had never encountered before. Even his eventual elimination protected the presentation, as Undertaker was counted out after leaving the ring rather than being pinned or forced to submit.

Within a year, The Undertaker would defeat Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1991. That rapid rise feels considerably less surprising when watching the debut because WWE had already established him as someone who occupied a different category from the rest of the roster.

The character would evolve tremendously over the next three decades, but the aura was already there on the first night.

#2 — Chris Jericho — Raw, August 9, 1999

Chris Jericho’s WWE debut began weeks before Chris Jericho appeared. A mysterious countdown clock repeatedly appeared on WWE television during the summer of 1999, counting toward an unknown event as the company approached the millennium. The presentation capitalized perfectly on contemporary fears surrounding Y2K while allowing wrestling fans to speculate about what would happen when the clock reached zero.

On August 9, Raw came to Chicago and The Rock stood in the ring delivering a promo when the countdown appeared. WWE could have introduced Jericho during almost anyone’s segment, but choosing The Rock was a declaration before Jericho said a word.

The clock reached zero, the arena went dark and the screen revealed “JERICHO” in enormous letters. Fans familiar with his WCW career erupted while Jericho stood on the stage with his back to the ring before turning around and soaking in the reaction.

Jericho then introduced himself as the answer to WWE’s problems and announced that Raw had become “Raw Is Jericho.” The confidence was absurd by design, but that was exactly the point. Jericho was presenting himself as though the entire company had been waiting for his arrival, and WWE reinforced that belief by allowing him to exchange words with arguably the most charismatic performer in the company.

The Rock ultimately insulted him and won the verbal confrontation, but Jericho had already received something considerably more valuable than winning an argument. WWE allowed him to belong in the segment rather than treating him like someone who had interrupted a star above his level.

That distinction mattered because Jericho was leaving WCW at a time when jumping between the two companies still carried enormous significance. WWE did not hide where he had been or ask audiences to forget that history. It presented the arrival as a major acquisition and trusted knowledgeable fans to understand why.

Jericho has said the millennium countdown concept was inspired by seeing a real countdown clock at a post office, turning one simple observation into one of WWE’s most famous debuts. The execution did the rest, with weeks of anticipation ending in Chris Jericho interrupting The Rock on Raw and declaring himself a star while WWE treated him like one.

Honorable Mention — Brock Lesnar — Raw, March 18, 2002

Brock Lesnar did not need a speech because Paul Heyman handled that part later. Lesnar’s first WWE television appearance came on the Raw after WrestleMania X8, when Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley were involved in a Hardcore Championship match.

Lesnar entered through the crowd with Heyman watching nearby and immediately began destroying everyone. The visual communicated everything because Lesnar was only 24 years old, yet his combination of size, speed and legitimate amateur-wrestling background made him look different from virtually everyone on WWE television.

The debut wisely avoided asking him to demonstrate personality or explain a complicated motivation. He was there to hurt people, and one of the most memorable moments came when Lesnar launched Spike Dudley into the air, caught him and drove him down with a powerbomb. The ease with which Lesnar handled another adult made the newcomer look less like a prospect than someone WWE had deliberately been keeping hidden.

Heyman’s presence added another level of credibility. WWE fans already understood that Heyman was not randomly standing beside people, and his reaction suggested that even he understood how dangerous Lesnar could become.

The following weeks confirmed the debut rather than undermining it. Lesnar destroyed The Hardy Boyz, made his pay-per-view in-ring debut against Jeff Hardy at Backlash and began a rise that eventually produced King of the Ring and the WWE Championship by SummerSlam.

Few wrestlers have ever moved from debut to world championship that quickly. Lesnar misses the main five only because the wrestlers above received debuts with a stronger sense of event surrounding the actual moment, but nobody needed much imagination afterward to understand WWE had found The Next Big Thing.

#1 — Kane — Badd Blood 1997

Kane had an advantage no other wrestler on this list received because WWE spent months making audiences afraid of him before anyone had seen him.

During 1997, Paul Bearer began revealing previously unknown details about The Undertaker’s past. The story eventually introduced the existence of Kane, Undertaker’s younger brother who had supposedly survived the funeral-home fire that destroyed their family. Undertaker initially refused to fight him, which mattered because The Undertaker was already one of WWE’s most imposing characters. If he was visibly uncomfortable with the possibility of Kane arriving, audiences had every reason to assume the unknown brother must be something extraordinary.

WWE kept waiting until Badd Blood on October 5, 1997. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were competing in the first Hell in a Cell Match, a brutal main event that had already established an entirely new level of spectacle by the time Undertaker appeared ready to finish Michaels.

The arena went dark, Paul Bearer appeared and Kane finally walked out. Everything about the presentation immediately worked, with the enormous red-and-black masked wrestler moving slowly toward the ring while the announcers reacted as though a legend had stepped out of a story and become real.

Kane reached the Cell and ripped the door from its hinges, then entered and stood directly across from The Undertaker. The two stared at each other before Kane raised his arms and brought them down as fire erupted around the ring, creating a visual connection to Undertaker’s supernatural presentation while establishing something distinctly his own.

Then Kane Tombstoned him.

This was not another wrestler attacking The Undertaker with a chair or catching him by surprise. Kane entered WWE and used The Undertaker’s own finishing move against him during one of the most important matches of the year, allowing Shawn Michaels to benefit from the interference and win the match.

Kane walked away having already accomplished what most monster characters spend months attempting to establish. He felt dangerous enough to threaten The Undertaker, and WWE remained disciplined afterward by refusing to rush him into ordinary weekly matches.

The company continued building anticipation before finally moving toward the inevitable match against his brother at WrestleMania XIV. By the time Kane actually wrestled Undertaker, fans already accepted him as someone capable of competing at that level because WWE had established that belief during the debut.

Chris Jericho interrupted The Rock and demonstrated that he belonged among WWE’s biggest personalities. The Shield changed the result of a WWE Championship main event, while AJ Styles arrived with years of worldwide credibility behind him.

Kane did something even more difficult. WWE created a completely new character and made him feel like a main-event star before he ever wrestled a match.

That is about as perfect as a debut gets.

The First Impression Can Change Everything

WWE history proves that a great debut is not necessary for a great career. Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena and countless other stars needed time before audiences saw the version that would eventually define them, but a spectacular debut removes some of the waiting and gives the audience a reason to care immediately.

AJ Styles walked into the Royal Rumble and immediately stood across from WWE’s world champion. The Shield entered through the crowd and decided the result of a pay-per-view main event, while The Undertaker required only one Survivor Series match to demonstrate that WWE had introduced something completely different.

Chris Jericho benefited from perhaps the greatest combination of anticipation and opponent possible. WWE spent weeks counting toward his arrival and then allowed him to interrupt The Rock, effectively telling fans that someone arriving from WCW deserved to share television time with one of the company’s biggest stars.

Kane’s debut went even further because WWE manufactured anticipation for someone the audience had never seen. Paul Bearer’s warnings created the mythology, The Undertaker’s reaction established the danger and the first Hell in a Cell Match provided the stage.

Once Kane ripped the door away and Tombstoned his brother, there was almost nothing left for WWE to explain. For one night in St. Louis in 1997, Kane looked like he might be the only wrestler in WWE capable of frightening The Undertaker, and that was more than enough to make him feel like a star.

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Research included archival and historical material from WWE.com covering Kane’s 1997 Badd Blood debut, Chris Jericho’s August 1999 Raw arrival, The Undertaker at Survivor Series 1990, The Shield at Survivor Series 2012, AJ Styles in the 2016 Royal Rumble and Brock Lesnar’s March 2002 Raw debut.