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The 411 Wrestling Top 5: The Top 5 Worst Debuts
Image Credit: WWE
The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…
Week 298 – The Top 5 Worst Debuts
Name your top five WORST debuts in wrestling. It doesn’t matter when and or where it happened, we’re going to discuss some of the worst ones that either made no sense or simply sucked…
Scott Rutherford
5. Fake Razor Ramon & Diesel – During one of the ill-fated Jim Ross heel runs, he intimated that in the depths of WCW killing WWF in the Monday Night Wars, that he had managed to lure Hall and Nash back to WWF. Because the WWF owned the rights to the Razor and Diesel gimmicks they though they could insert a couple of nobodies into the roles and this would cement JR’s heel status. What they didn’t count on was the crowd literally telling the fake twosome to fuck off out of their ring. All it did was make the WWF look desperate and completely out of touch.
4. Renegade – Just to show that WCW weren’t immune to the same type of slight of hand, when Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage started talking about “The Ultimate Surprise” many took for granted that The Ultimate Warrior was set to jump ship to Turner. After a series of vignettes aired showing a long haired, tasseled armed, muscle bound presence in silhouette, most assumed it was a done deal. Enter Rick Wilson doing his best UW impersonation and the crowd was NOT impressed. No matter how hard the push or how well Wilson imitated Warrior the crowd did not care. Less than two years after making his debut he was nothing but a jobber.
3. The Gobbledy Gooker – Just remember people, Vince used to have worse ideas than he does now. Hearing Pat Patterson in the last couple of years talk about this, only Vince McMahon really knew what was happening with the big Survivor Series 1990 reveal. The build-up in the weeks leading up to the event was quite the deal and most believe (as urban wrestling legend go) that this was going to be the debut of someone like a Ric Flair or some other big star. Personally I think that’s people trying to retcon a reason to something completely absurd that failed on an epic scale. The fact that Hector Guerrero was hired to play the character and Vince tried four or five times after SS to get some sort of reaction means this was likely a long term plan and the hiring of someone at the level of Hector meant the character was going to have legs. It’s no surprise the Gooker is one of wrestling’s greatest punchlines now.
2. Paul Roma – Horseman – If there was any better cautionary tale about why wrestlers need to avoid being typecast as jobbers this is it. While Roma had the looks, physique and just enough charisma to stand out from your ordinary job guy, he never really rose above being a WWF enhancement talent even when pushed in the tag teams of The Young Stallion and Power & Glory. So in 1993, two years removed from leaving the WWF, Roma debuts in WCW as part of the most illustrious wrestling stable in history…let’s just say it went down quicker than Ric Flair on a ring rat. When you sit below Mongo McMichael’s on the preferred Horseman scale, you really need to keep your ego in check.
1. The Shockmaster – If it’s really called for in any situation, there really is no need for explanation for this being the top pick. After all the hype and all the drama we get a stumbling Fred Ottman in a garish glitter clad helmet and weird looking fur coat falling flat on his face one second into his big reveal. Dusty Rhodes explained on the Legends of Wrestling show that after a rehearsal David Crockett had added a bracing plank of timber to the bottom of the entrance and neglected to tell Fred. So it’s not really his fault…poor guy. Although Dusty also tells a hilarious story of an adolescent Cody Rhodes watching the show at home and when Fred falls and loses his helmet he turns to the room and excitedly stating “that looks like Uncle Fred!”
MICHAEL WEYER
Author’s note: I’m going for actual wrestlers here, not just gimmicks, thus no Gobbledy Gooker or the Yeti
5. Trytan TNA was no stranger to poor debuts like Shocker and Tazz’s early entrance. But Trytan has to carry the biggest. For weeks, the company had been doing videos of some mysterious monster called Trytan with arenas going dark as he threatened Monty Brown and shown in dark alleys. The man was Ryan Wilson, best known before hand as a bodyguard for Johnny Fairplay. At “Destination X ’05,” he finally showed up looking like a cheesy Terminator rip-off with leather outfit and sunglasses, a poor moveset of stiff action and a terrible finisher called the “T-3.” The match was a five minute travesty with Brown ready to win before the lights went out, Trytan vanished and a masked Mideon there to be beaten by Brown. There was never an explanation for this, Brown turned heel at the end of the night and Trytan left. Thus, TNA spent who knows how much time and money promoting a guy who made absolutely no impact and no staying power, proving once more that when you promise something big, you need to deliver in some way or another to avoid fan apathy.
4. Seven You have to feel a bit for Dustin Rhodes. In terms of true wrestling ability, he’s miles ahead of his father but lacked Dusty’s fantastic charisma and mic work. He had a good run in WCW in the early ‘90’s with title runs but it wasn’t until he became Goldust in WWF that he really hit the big time yet soon was trapped by the makeup and persona. When he signed onto WCW in 1999, he was immediately put back in makeup, white face and bald and named “Seven.” That was crazy enough but then came the vignettes of him in a black coat and hat, like a character out of Dark City, riding a white horse and peeking into a boy’s bedroom. Yeah, selling your character as a possible child molester is a great way to get him over. His big debut came with smoke billowing in a dark arena and Seven levitated on wires to the ring, landing in it…at which point he grabbed a mic and immediately broke character to talk of how stupid this whole thing was and he hated it. That’s right, all that work, the money for the videos and entrance and they had Dustin throw it all away instantly just to “swerve” folks more. Even by WCW standards, that’s a terrible move and one of the worst examples of “being meta” for a wrestling show.
3. The Ultimate Warrior in WCW So with the Monday Night War tide turning on them, Eric Bischoff finally relented to Hogan’s talk and agreed to hire the Ultimate Warrior (now going by simply “Warrior”) to set up the big rematch everyone had wanted for years. Warrior had a big debut to pyro, smoke and fancy lights, marching to face a freaked-out Hogan in a segment that drew good ratings. He took to the mic and began to talk. And talk. And talk. For about twenty minutes, he rambled on in a promo that actually was among his better ones but still pretty damn out there and you could feel the energy of the crowd sink more and more as he went on. Hogan and Bischoff are clearly glancing at each other, realizing this is going bad and no idea what the hell this guy was saying. One thing that was clear was when he talked of how beating Hogan was no big deal which made fans immediately wonder why they should care about a rematch. It ended with him actually saying “Same Warrior-time, same Warrior-channel!” as a spotlight with his symbol was shone on the ceiling. It was the start of a run with teleporting smoke, magic mirrors, body doubles and one of the worst PPV bouts in history but this segment alone showed how the Warrior’s return wasn’t exactly the beautiful moment WCW imagined.
2. Renegade 1995, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage getting ready for a huge match at the horrid “Uncensored” PPV and promise “the Ultimate Surprise.” Outlines were shown of a man with long hair and tassels and thus fans reached the logical conclusion that the Ultimate Warrior was going to jump to WCW. Match time came, the fans were buzzing, everything was set, the rocking music played and out charged…a guy with bad hair, tassels, makeup but clearly not the Warrior. It was the Renegade and the fan reaction was one of the most horrid you can possibly imagine. Ripped-off big time, the crowd turned and poor Rick Wilson never really had a chance as he would win the TV title but still no real support, living always under the shadow of the big promise unfulfilled. The guy’s life came to a tragic end and while you can’t blame it all on WCW, let’s face it, the moment he ran out as a pale imitation, his career was pretty much over and a sad footnote to the horrors WCW could perpetrate.
1. The Shockmaster If this isn’t the number one on everyone’s lists, I’m stunned. It was probably always doomed: Rather than build a credible challenger to WCW champion Vader in 1993, the company took Fred Ottman, Dusty Rhodes’ brother-in-law, best known as Tugboat/Typhoon in WWF, put him in jeans and a Stormtrooper helmet covered in glitter and tried to sell him as a mysterious monster to face Vader. It was probably always doomed to failure but then came the moment that is the epitome of WrestleCrap: Announced on “Flair for the Gold” as Sting and Davey Boy Smith’s partner at the War Games, a huge explosion had Shockmaster crashing through a wall…and tripping over a loose board, falling flat on his face, the helmet rolling off to reveal him. He slid it back on as Ole Anderson’s voiceover did some threats and it’s a testament that Sid actually kept himself from openly cracking up. The crowd had no such problem as even Jesse Ventura was losing it on commentary. Any potential in the gimmick was blown in just two seconds, impressive even by WCW standards and gave us a classic moment in wrestling, for all the wrong reasons.
Alex Crowder
5. Seven – Seven was a really good catch on bad debuts. A child molester gimmick is too twisted even for pro wrestling, which is what most thought they were going for. The worst part is that the outfit looked pretty cool. Dustin Rhodes had an awesome attire and cool theme song. This had all the markings of an interesting character until the gimmick came into play and ruined all of it. Not only that, he denounced the gimmick as soon it debuted. This is the perfect example of a bad Russo idea. Imagine if Val Venis debuted and took the mic denouncing the porn star character. That would kill any character good or bad. This debut was a complete waste of time, and that makes it really bad.
4. Renegade – This like another example is a horrible example of a promotion trying to promote another well known wrestler. The worst part is WCW pushed this guy heavily despite no reaction. This was an imitation gimmick not played for laughs. Imitation gimmicks only work when they are not taken too seriously. Damien Mizdow, Charlie Haas, and The Showster were good imitation gimmicks. This was an imitation gimmick taken as serious as the wrestler it was imitating. The Renegade actually had lengthy title reign if I recall correctly. This one is just really bad because Bischoff thought he could fool the fans into thinking this was The Ultimate Warrior.
3. Fake Razor & Diesel – I’ll admit I have a soft spot for heel Jim Ross. I think it stems from the fact that Jim Ross put up with so much crap from the WWE and remained loyal. His heel promos are one of the few times he gets to release all his anger for the crap he deals with. Still, even a good heel Jim Ross cannot stop this bomb. I really wonder who thought this idea was good. No one was buying the fake Razor Ramon or fake Diesel. Why would anyone buy them? That is like having Gillberg debut as a serious threat instead of a mockery. This wouldn’t be so awful, if they didn’t take it so seriously. Also, in this case WWF one upped WCW by having two imitations taken seriously instead of one. This made the WWF look extremely petty and out of touch. I wonder if that ever happened again.
2. The Shockmaster – Honestly, Dusty Rhodes on the legends of wrestling roundtable for bad gimmicks describes this best. If you have not seen that one, check it out. Nonetheless, everyone else has already gone into detail of why this failed so badly. I’m probably going be the only one, but I will defend it a little. I imagine if I saw Shockmaster when I was a little kid, I would have thought he looked cool and probably bought him as a challenger. That all goes out the window, because of a loose board in true WCW fashion. Sid Vicious also proves himself as the best actor in the room by staying on script while Davey Boy is cracking up. I actually really feel sorry for Fred Ottman. This could have been his big chance. This one may not be the worst idea ever in my mind, but nothing erases a bad first impression. The Shockmaster will forever be remembered for futility.
1. The Gobbledy Gooker – They say the Shockmaster shocked the world, but really one choice shocked me more than any other gimmick or wrestler ever. The Gobbledy Gooker makes me ashamed to be a wrestling fan. The fact that Gobbledy Gooker debuted at a major PPV in Survivor Series makes it much worse. This was treated as a big event, which does not help. They choose a skilled wrestler in Hector Guerrero to play this part. The crowd actively booed it because it was beyond stupid. The egg looked fake, and Mean Gene dancing with him was moronic. Roddy Piper’s reaction said it all, because he seemed as shocked anyone with his fake laughing. The gimmick is probably the worst idea in wrestling and the debut was no better. Unlike The Shockmaster, this debut died the moment Vince thought it up. There is no excuse for the failure of this debut, because presumably the debut itself went off without a hitch. However, the crowd hated it and did not buy it. This debut makes Mantaur appealing. The Gobbledy Gooker will forever be remembered as probably the worst idea in wrestling history. There are not enough words to describe the stupidity of this gimmick and its asinine debut.
Kevin P
5. Glacier: Blood runs cold. You all remember the promos and hype videos. With Mortal Kombat being a hugely popular video game, WCW tried to capitalize on that with the Glacier character. Here’s the thing though. He was built up for FIVE WHOLE MONTHS with just vignettes. Then his actual debut doesn’t come on Nitro, but on WCW Pro. That was behind Nitro, Saturday Night and Worldwide in terms of relevance. Not a good investment considering reports say his costume and entrance cost somewhere around $500,000. Eric Bischoff likes to brag about how his idea was to have his show grounded in “realism” while the WWE was hokey, but this was the opposite of that. The crowd didn’t buy into it and for good reason.
4. Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon: Honestly, there was no other way this could have gone. After Kevin Nash and Scott Hall fled to WCW for those big checks, the WWE thought they could cash in themselves using the names Diesel and Razor Ramon. This was built up for weeks as Jim Ross, playing a heel, kept bragging about them coming in. When the time finally arrived and the fans saw it wasn’t Nash or Hall, they crapped on it and rightfully so. Were we supposed to take this seriously? At least it got Hall and Nash even more money because WCW somehow believed it was really them jumping ship.
3. Seven: I’ve always been a huge Goldust fan. The character is great and has some incredible longevity, second to only Kane and the Undertaker probably. But pretty much every other gimmick that Dustin had has been shit. Seven is at the top of the list as he seemed to be billed as a child molester. Obviously, not a good start. Things take a massive turn for the worse though as when he finally debuts he throws it all away. Whatever money they spent on the vignettes was wasted because WCW decided it should just be a work. Bad move.
2. The Yeti: WCW had just debuted Nitro and things were looking up for the company. They were putting on competitive matches and competing with Raw in the ratings. Re-watching this stuff on the WWE Network was fun…and then the Yeti showed up. During Hulk Hogan’s feud with the Giant, which already featured some of the weirdest booking ever, Kevin Sullivan revealed an iceberg or something. From it emerged the Yeti…but he looked like a mummy. And had no business in professional wrestling. To make everything a million times worse, Tony Schiavone pronounced it as “Ye-TAY”
1. The Shockmaster: I don’t think there could be another answer. Classic WCW here, as they took Fred Ottman, aka Typhoon and gave him this memorable moment. Sting introduced the Shockmaster and we were supposed to be in awe. What happened instead was a lame explosion and then the Shockmaster bursting through the wall and tripping. Not only that but his bedazzled Stormtrooper helmet, which was a god-awful look, fell off. Ric Flair’s reaction of “oh god” best sums this up. It even was near the top of WWE Countdown’s Biggest Blunders episode.
Jack McGee
5. Shockmaster/Gobbledy Gooker/Yeti – They all deserve a spot, so we’ll just put it here are the Justin Watry Memorial “No Explanation Needed”. Leave the Memories Alone Justin…
4. Phantasio – A wrestling magician. This was back in the day when wrestlers had second jobs, because they weren’t stars and didn’t reach for the brass ring. Fucking millenials. And since they weren’t real stars yet, they had to have a second job, and Phantasio was a really stupid looking magician. He made one appearance on Raw, it bombed, and after another live event appearance he was canned.
3. The Kiss Demon – Yes I am a wrestling fan. Yes I am a KISS fan. It seems as if I would have loved this, but it just didn’t work. You had a guy that wasn’t a very good pro wrestler, and you had a band that was performing to an audience that wasn’t there’s. Bischoff desperately wanted to be mainstream so badly, but all he got was one of the lowest rated segments in Nitro history for the “Concert/Debut” of the Kiss Demon.
2. Glacier – I will not lie. I was psyched for the debut of Glacier. I thought it was cool, it played to my Mortal Kombat fandom. But it was doomed from the beginning. From picking Ray Lloyd to play the character, to the money spent on the vignettes and even creating a fictional back story; the choices were questionable, but WCW’s change in direction screed Glacier even before his debut. He got pushed back due to the nWo debuting, and by the time he debuted, WCW fans weren’t into the cartoon presentation and it went over like a wet fart in church. It’s cool though, it only cost WCW approximately $750,000 in production and costuming as they built to the debut. No big deal…
1. Seven – So let me get this straight. WCW spends a ton of money to get Dustin Rhodes, and then realizes they can’ have him be Goldust. So they spend more money on the makeover, video packages and rigging to float him to the ring, so that he can be this odd Goldust/Undertaker hybrid only to have him shoot on the gimmick and become plain old Dustin Rhodes? I am pretty sure this is the definition of drizzling shits.
List your Top Five for this week’s topic in the comment section using the following format:
5. CHOICE: Explanation
4. CHOICE: Explanation
3. CHOICE: Explanation
2. CHOICE: Explanation
1. CHOICE: Explanation
