wrestling / Columns

The Magnificent Seven: The Top 7 WrestleMania Debuts

February 23, 2017 | Posted by Mike Chin
John Cena

WrestleMania season is upon us! Like many lifelong fans, I look to this annual event as something of a holiday. Growing up, I watched and listened to the scrambled signal of ‘Mania on pay per view because my parents couldn’t afford it, until catching my first ever pay per view live and in real time for WrestleMania 9. I’ve journeyed hours across state lines to attend in person twice. I’ve hosted parties to watch the event. While the waters are murky regarding whether ‘Mania is really the best show WWE puts on each year (particularly as the show has catered more and more toward mainstream audiences and casual fans) it remains the flagship event of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, and thus remains a fundamentally important event for the wrestling business. So, from this week up to WrestleMania, I will be dedicating this column to different WrestleMania-themed countdowns.

This week, I’m looking at WrestleMania debuts. To be clear, this doesn’t mean a performers pro wrestling or WWE debut, period, but rather his or her first time a performing in a match on the main card of a WrestleMania. A variety of factors went into this countdown, most certainly including quality of the match itself and the individual’s performance. A part of what makes WrestleMania what it is, though, is not only work rate but memorability—that a performance was not only good but iconic. Some of that has to do with the stakes—a top-tier performance in a world title match is more memorable than a similar caliber performance that furthered a forgettable mid-card feud. Inextricable from the moment itself is what it represented in the broader scheme of a performer’s career or WWE lore—The Undertaker did not end up making the countdown, but his performance with Jimmy Snuka at WrestleMania 7 did put him in the conversation given the remarkable career, and particularly the ‘Mania legacy that it led to.

Note: this countdown is about PPV appearances—pre-show matches did not count.
As always, personal opinion weighs very heavily in this countdown. In addition, I need to make mention that I have taken some serious liberties here and made some unconventional decisions. Regular readers will know that I typically avoid ties in my countdowns. They generally feel like cop outs. In compiling this list, however, I found some pretty intriguing parallels between what different performers had accomplished during different eras, and made the executive decision to count some of them in the same spots. Argue all you want in the comments section.

#7. Cesaro at WrestleMania 30

This was a tough pick, particularly with The Shield’s debut at WrestleMania 29 and the young lions of Evolution debuting with a win over The Rock and Mick Foley nipping at his heels. When the conversation turns to legacies, that’s five would-be world champions, four of whom have already gone on to main event WrestleManias, falling behind a guy who has yet to truly break the mid-card glass ceiling.

Here’s where, for my formulation of this countdown, the glory of the moment just barely supersedes the legacy to follow.

The first ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal had potential. No, battle royals that aren’t the Royal Rumble do not tend to produce great matches, but with a deep roster of thirty performers, it seemed entirely possible WWE would use this match as a vehicle to give someone a huge push. At the time, I remember looking to Big Show as the favorite, to pay off the story WWE was telling about him not having a big battle royal win to seal his giant legacy, with Big E and Sheamus the next most likely victors to renew their respective momentum toward being upper card players, and guys like Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio having an outside shot. No one saw Cesaro coming—in fact, I’m not a hundred percent sure (and could not reliably confirm in my research) that he was even announced in advance for this match.

But the Swiss Superman, after losing in a pre-show four-way tag match, seemingly turned face, and did show up in the battle royal. And as the crowd thinned, it was down to Cesaro and The Big Show. On a night when WWE had Hulk Hogan playing host and celebrated history with legends’ cameos; on a night when Daniel Bryan delivered some of the best purist wrestling in ‘Mania history, Cesaro made history—game against the giant and ultimately lifting and carrying the big man to body slam him over the ropes. There were no shenanigans, little in the way of contrivances, just Cesaro’s badass power put on display for one of the most spectacular shows of strength and one of the best battle royal finishes in WWE history.

As noted above, this moment might rate higher had Cesaro gone on to take up residence in the main event scene, but his direction has been muddled since, including a fumbled run as a Paul Heyman guy, a face turn, and trading wins and losses in a fashion that’s never allowed him to escape the mid-card. Just the same this moment—Cesaro’s first night performing at a ‘Mania—remains a career highlight, and one of the best WrestleMania debuts ever.

#6. Micke James at WrestleMania 22 and Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 32

WWE has a long and wildly uneven history with women’s wrestling, but in recognizing these four women in the same breath, I aim to honor four performers and two matches that transcended any perceived limitation of their division.

The Attitude Era represented some of the best and worst of women’s wrestling. On one hand, it’s the period when the WWF took smut to the extreme with Bra and Panties Matches, Pillow Fights, and the Gravy Bowl; a period in which Sable was the division’s truest star for a year-plus period. On the flip side, particularly in the later stages of the Attitude Era, the women came into their own with performers like Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, and Victoria rising to the fore. The women’s division delivered a handful of solid ‘Mania matches in these latter Attitude years and the years to immediately follow, but I’ve always felt that that era’s female performers both peaked and kind of had their swan song at WrestleMania 22, when Mickie James made her ‘Mania debut opposite Stratus, capping a creative, if somewhat salacious feud by finishing off Stratus after groping her.

By WrestleMania 32, WWE’s agenda had changed, from needing sex to sell a women’s feud to fully, consciously honoring female performers as talents in their own right. Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch had proven themselves as primetime talents in NXT. While they’d shown flickers of their potential on the main roster, ‘Mania seemed to represent an opportunity to really showcase what they were capable of without tight time constraints, and with the recognition that the winner would be crowned Women’s Champion, as the promotion formally dropped the Diva moniker. The three delivered, and while some were disgruntled that this didn’t turn out to be Banks’s anticipated crowning moment, the quality of the match was the real story, as it landed safely in four-star territory.

And so, James and the leaders of the Women’s Revolution share this spot for me, after all giving statement performances. I’d argue there are only two WrestleManias ever when it wouldn’t be totally absurd to claim a women’s match was the best on the card. Admittedly, it’s a reach at 22, but I could get an argument Stratus-James should be in the conversation. Meanshile, at WrestleMania 32, I’d say it’s hard for anyone to argue that the women’s triple threat wasn’t the best the show had to offer. At WrestleMania 22, James gave a great performance both as an athlete and as a character—the climax of a crazy maybe-lesbian arc, after which point she was firmly entrenched as a top female performer for years to follow. Following WrestleMania 32, we’ve seen Charlotte, Banks, and Lynch continue to shine, putting on four-star performances, main eventing Raw and Smackdown, launching a new and viable women’s championship on Smackdown, getting the first women’s Hell in a Cell bout, and still rolling along.

#5. Edge, Christian, The Dudley Boyz, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 2000

April 2, 2000, seven men made their WrestleMania debuts in two very different three-way matches. Besides launching their ‘Mania careers on the same night, these seven men shared another important quality—they were hungry.

As both the Attitude Era and the Monday Night War approached their final years, things were changing. After the WWF had taken a drubbing from WCW for over a year and a half, the two had pulled even and started trading ratings victories, before, in 1999, the WWF and Raw caught a strangle hold on the ratings and would never be touched again. There are a lot of reasons for the WWF’s surge, including creative at the time, character work, and in-ring work. WCW’s mismanagement was also a factor to be sure.

Part of it had to do with the men involved in these matches, each working a ‘Mania for the first time, though each become entrenched in WWE programming months before. In the Dudleys and Edge and Christian (not to mention the Hardys, but they worked ‘Mania the year before), we had a tag team renaissance with legitimately great, exciting teams electrifying crowds via innovative violence. Their triangle ladder match at this WrestleMania was wildly successful, and arguably the best match of the night (admittedly at a less than stellar ‘Mania).

On the flip side of the coin, we had Angle, Jericho, and Benoit—purist talents, one a homegrown Olympian turned sports entertainment prodigy, the other two underappreciated WCW castoffs who were blossoming into superstardom under proper management. While their triple threat over the European and Intercontinental Championships was far from the best work we’d see from different permutations of these three men over the years to follow, it was a solid, exciting piece of business in its own right that gave Jericho and Benoit singles gold while both relieving Angle of the mid-card titles to free him up for main event endeavors and protecting him because he never actually ate a fall.

One year later, The Hardys, Dudleys, and Edge and Christian would one-up themselves with an even better, historically great TLC match at WrestleMania 17, not to mention the fact that Edge would go on to main event WrestleMania and compete in world title matches at multiple ‘Manias. Angle, Jericho, and Benoit would each main event WrestleMania, too, within the following four years.

#4. Kane at WrestleMania 14 and Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 17

OK, this is the biggest of the stretches when it comes to different acts sharing the same spot in the countdown, and rest assured, it’s only single wrestlers in each spot to follow. Kane and Vince McMahon get this spot for epic ‘Mania debuts that saw them go down in defeat.

In the case of Kane, WrestleMania 14 marked the payoff for years of failed gimmicks on a talented performer, after characters like Isaac Yankem and the Fake Diesel failed to take off. In Kane, like The Undertaker before him, the WWF had unearthed a truly monstrous heel character that would nonetheless stand the test of time and his legacy arguably started in earnest here by going toe-to-toe with The Phenom. While The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania had started seven years earlier, I’d argue Kane gave him his first great WrestleMania match, in what would become an institution years later.

McMahon had exploded into quite arguably wrestling’s greatest heel over the course of The Attitude Era, and had his share of matches, though he was conspicuously absent from any WrestleMania card, perhaps thinking it better to leave the big show to his better trained performers, or wanting to focus his energies on backstage work for the top show of the year. But as the Attitude Era came to a close, McMahon put in his first of a few ‘Mania in-ring efforts at 17, squaring off with his son. The match was everything a McMahon match ought to be—leaning heavily on sports entertainment shenanigans, and built to feature run-ins and swerves over athletic spots (though the debut of Shane’s Coast-to-Coast finisher was eye-catching). Perhaps most importantly, in his WrestleMania debut, McMahon did what he’d done so well for Steve Austin throughout the Attitude Era—eat crow and put over the hero in wonderfully cathartic fashion for all of the wrestling fans who had issues with their bosses, dads, or other authority figures.

Both McMahon and Kane gave great heel performances in their own styles in their first WrestleMania outings, and each performance was representative of the best parts of their career work. Kane—a monster who would never really be stopped (though he would job to ‘Taker); McMahon—a megalomaniacal ass who would take an ass-whooping when the lights were on brightest.

#3. Mr. Kennedy at WrestleMania 23

Like Cesaro’s placement on this countdown, ranking Mr. Kennedy’s WrestleMania debut is difficult. Take the debut match in a vacuum, and it’s undeniably great. Consider the broader context of the man’s career and it’s almost sad to see how little potential was realized and how little this ‘Mania push amounted to.

When Cesaro won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the meaning was unclear. It was the first year of that match (at least under that title) and it was unclear if this victory would be tantamount to a Royal Rumble or King of the Ring victory that might really elevate somebody, or more like winning the forgettable pre-show battle royals of yore. Money in the Bank, however, in its third year when Kennedy won it, was a more proven commodity. The first winner, Edge, had used it as a vehicle to ascend from mid-card purgatory to main event mainstay. The second winner, Rob Van Dam, had not only won his first world title, but the cash-in was intertwined with the launch of a whole new ECW brand.

So, there was very little ambiguous about Kennedy’s victory in the WrestleMania 23 Money in the Bank ladder match. He got the star treatment with a special intro—a microphone descending to the stage so he could announce himself. The match itself was excellent. And Kennedy won, without controversy or that much contrivance. The message was clear—he was heading to the tip-top of the card, and when he claimed he’d keep the briefcase to challenge for a world title at WrestleMania 24, it was completely believable to think he’d be main eventing in Orlando. WrestleMania debuts just don’t get much better than that.

Then it all fell apart.

In the months to follow, both Kennedy and World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker got hurt and, in panic-mode, the WWF scrambled to get the MITB briefcase off Kennedy so Edge could cash-in and preserve storyline continuity. Kennedy was purportedly going to be the beneficiary of the Who Killed Mr. McMahon angle that got nixed in the wake of the Benoit tragedy, and then the chosen one in the Mr. McMahon’s estranged son angle before that got rewritten. A mixture of Wellness Suspension and injury-related absences, capped by alleged backstage politicking by top stars pushed Kennedy out of the upper-mid-card into his eventual release—one of the bigger busts in WWE history.

But he’ll always have WrestleMania 23. One of the greatest WrestleMania debuts of all time.

#2. John Cena at WrestleMania 20

When you consider factors like longevity and degree of kayfabe success, I’d argue John Cena falls into the company of Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H for WrestleMania’s brightest stars of all time. Unlike ‘Taker, Michaels, and Helmesley, Cena never had a period of wandering through the mid-card of WrestleMania with uncertainty as to his long-term trajectory. In his most recent outings, he’s appeared on the show as a bona fide legend. From WrestleManias 21 through 29 he was either competing for a world title or appearing in the main event. And then there’s WrestleMania 20, where it all began (again).

At WrestleMania 20, Cena had his first ‘Mania match and, in the process, won his first championship on the main roster, beating The Big Show for the United States title. By this point, Cena was already gathering steam as not only McMahon’s chosen one, but a legit fan favorite. In retrospect, this particular victory represents something notably old school—an ascendant star beating a well-established veteran to take a secondary title, en route to the main event scene (not to mention doing so in Madison Square Garden). It’s not so dissimilar from the road traveled by Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Edge before him. Sure, the tradition of US and IC titles had taken some hits over the Attitude Era, but this victory for Cena nonetheless demonstrated logical career progression and character evolution toward a greater goal.

You can add onto all of history and a solid in-ring performance the accoutrements of Cena still playing up his rapper gimmick, spitting a memorable verse up on his entrance, plus still working a bit like Eddie-Guerrero-lite—a face who lovably cheated to get the better of a heel—and this match is a fun time capsule into who Cena was, and how he rose through the ranks to become the establishment in the years to come.

#1. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19

Few and far between are the men who have had their first WrestleMania matches in world title, main event scenarios. There’s Sgt. Slaughter, who lost the strap to Hulk Hogan in a solid enough, but not great bout at WrestleMania 7. Sid lost to Hogan in a non-title main event and lousy match at WrestleMania 8. Yokozuna played his role well, but got blown up early and didn’t exactly shine opposite Bret Hart and Hogan at WrestleMania 9. Diesel didn’t get the main event spot, and for as well as Lawrence Taylor performed as a non-wrestler, his main event showing nonetheless had its limitations at WrestleMania 11.

And then there’s Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar debuted shortly after WrestleMania 18, and thus made his first ‘Mania appearance one year later at 19, in the main event, challenging world champ Kurt Angle. The bout was excellent, capped by the spectacle of enormous Lesnar going for a shooting star press. Though the move came up short, and transformed what might have been a transcendent moment into a legendarily bad and scary one, Lesnar proved just how tough he was, getting back up on his feet, following ring general Angle’s instruction and nailing him with an F-5 to still win the match in convincing fashion.

Love him or hate him, Lesnar always has been, and I suspect always will be special in the WWE landscape and a big deal whenever he’s around for WrestleMania time. He ended The Undertaker’s streak. Out of only five WrestleMania appearances, he’s main evented twice. His every WrestleMania match has been opposite a past, future, or current world champion. For all of his work, I’d actually argue his first WrestleMania match was also his best WrestleMania match, and the very best WrstleMania match ever worked by a first-time ‘Mania performer.

Which ‘Mania debuts would you add to the list? My top honorable mentions included Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 29, Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 1, Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9, King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania 1, The Undertaker at WrestleMania 7, Sting at WrestleMania 31, and Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 27. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Read more from Mike Chin at his website and follow him on Twitter @miketchin.