Name Someone You Knew Would Be A Top Star The Moment You First Saw Them

[Vincent Michaels]

In WWE, there have been many mid carders such as The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, Christian, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus rising up to main event status and challenging current top stars such as John Cena, Edge, Big Show, Rey Mysterio, ect. over the past few months. Every now and then, there is a caertain superstar that makes you feel like they could be something special the moment they first walked through that curtain. That being said, this topic is to name a superstar that you just had a gut feeling about when they first debuted that they would be one of those stars rising up to the main event. Whether it be because of there look, charisma, wrestling ability, or any combination of the sort.

Mine would have to be Alberto Del Rio. The videos that led to his debut didn't have me intrigued that much, but the moment he made his debut I just had a feeling that he could be a top guy eventually. He proved that he's a great talker, that he has charisma and has a certain feeling of arrogance and cockiness every time I saw him, much like JBL, but almost to a higher extent. He had a great match with Rey Mysterio in his debut and got a clean win on top of it. Since then he's dominated the upper midcard and after weeks of saying he would do it, won The Royal Rumble and is now going to challenge for The World Heavyweight Championship against Edge at his very first WrestleMania.

So yeah, who was that one person that you knew would be a top guy in the WWE the moment you saw him? Also while I just happened to name someone from todays WWE, your superstar can be from any period, whether it be from The 80s, 90s, 00s, or today.

Discuss!

 

[Jason Scene]

I remember when Randy Orton made his WWE debut years back. They brought him in with that generic "pretty boy" style crap, but from the minute he debuted I liked him, and I thought that he'd do something big! Instead he got injured, and disappeared, but when those Randy Orton News promos began to air, it was then that I knew he was going to go onwards and upwards.

And once he began his tenure within Evolution, it cemented the fact that Orton was going to go far. These days, they're like two different people on-screen. The Legend Killer and The Viper have so few comparisons.

But yeah, I always thought Randy Orton would do well. And alas he has.

 

[Dr.Shades]

Mine would have to be Rob Van Dam in ECW. I knew he was destined for greatness but when he reached the main event of the WWE he left! Now he is in the main event of TNA but thats like being upper mid card in WWE.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

I am not a fan of John Cenas, but the first time I saw him on smackdown get in the face of Kurt Angle talking about ruthless aggression I turned to my friend and told him he's the next big thing. You could see he just had "IT".

Now since then he has become the face of the WWE and the target of every grown up male wrestling fans hate, a multiple time WWE and world heavyweight champion, the kids and women love him, his merchandice sells like crazy and some times he makes me laugh, but on all that is holey I cannot stand him.

 

[thegreekhero]

John Cena. Even though his first character was a total failure, it was just a prototype. But from his debut match against Kurt Angle, I knew he had something unique. Then came his Thuganomics gimmick, which was really funny. I was so entertained by his weekly freestyles and his Rap Battle Challenges. Finally came the Superman gimmick. As much as I hate it, I [and many others] predicted that Cena would become a big hit. I didnt think he'd become the face of current WWE, but I knew he would be a top dog.

 

[DemonToSome]

Brock Lesnar. He debuted the night after Wrestlemania 18 and I knew he had the look and with Paul Heyman as his manager he'd be a big star. He was huge and I was slightly aware of his amateur credentials. I wasn't disappointed.

 

[iwinulose]

there have been so many superstars that i could see, however, right now, 2 that have yet debut awesome kong and sin cara, these 2 are going to be instant stars right off the bat.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Randall Keith Orton. The charisma I saw in his debut segment was the same he displayed in Evolution and as the Legend Killer. Unfortunately he's been in trouble a couple of times backstage so we didn't see much development from 05-06 but they gave him the ball back in 07 and he ran as fast as he could until getting injured in mid-08. Now he's 2nd behind Cena and sometimes gets the biggest pops of the night

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I'm gonna go way back in time for this one but the first name that came to mind for myself was The Undertaker.

His debut at the 1990 Survivor Series was the 1st time I ever saw Mark Calloway wrestle in any capacity and even the 1st time I saw the guy he was larger than life in my eyes. He just had this freakishly undead quality to him. I was only 4 when it happened but I still remember his debut clear as day. I remember being legitimately scared of the guy and I just knew that he was going to be a main eventer the first time I saw him. Its hard to explain (especially from a 4 year olds perspective) but I knew there were big things in his future.

Another guy who I knew would be a top star was Chris Benoit. I first saw him in WCW early '96 and I couldn't help but be impressed with his ability. I knew it would take a while for him to get there, but when I saw Chris Benoit for the first time, I saw a future top player. From his intensity in the ring to his technical mastery to his overall storytelling abilities in the ring I just knew he was going to be a big deal one day. Especially at a time when Bret Hart was a big deal I saw Benoit as the next Bret Hart in some ways, a great technical wrestler who always brought his A game whenever he came to the ring. Its unfortunate where his biggest fame came from, but before that he was a big deal in the wrestling world.

A couple other guys who were already mentioned were Orton and Cena, those 2 just had superstar written all over them from day 1, I think almost everybody knew those 2 were going to be the main guys eventually.

 

[EricRuthGames]

I watched a Samoan jerk turn on Farooq to head the Nation of Domination one Monday Night back in 97. I was sitting with my mom and told her that I liked him. "I think he's going to be in an important storyline soon." This was the second time I successfully pegged a superstar before their time. The first was Chris Benoit when I watched him battle Kevin Sullivan in a "pinfalls count anywhere match" during a WCW house show in Baltimore. I was there with my Dad and Sister and I told them both that he was my new favorite.

 

[Moe T]

I know Im showing my age, but when Shawn Michaels was with the Rockers, me and my uncle at the time said he'd be decent by himself. I alsoo agree with the poster who said Brock Lesnar.

 

[rko57]

Randy Orton. I don't know what it was about him when I saw him but I was an instant fan and knew he would be big. I wish he had more of the Legend Killer in him still...

Another was Edge. Mainly when it was E&C I had a feeling Edge would go on to be huge and that Christian would eventually follow. The way things look, I hope I'm becoming right

 

[Caitiff]

I'm gonna show my age a little bit. I'm sorry.

1988: I was 8 years old, living in North Carolina. One Saturday morning, I tuned into Memphis Wrestling, and say this huge guy fighting with Jerry " The King" Lawler. And, he beat Lawler. His name was the Master of Pain. I made it a point to keep an eye of this guy. He was huge, and was outrunning King, which was actually rather difficult in the 80's.

Fast forward a little bit, and I recognized him in WCW. He was in a tag team with "Dangerous" Dan Spivey, called the Twin Towers. He was wrestling under the name "Mean" Mark Callous.

Fast forward one more year, and I saw him again, this time being led to the ring by Brother Love. I guess I was right about The Undertaker.

 

[CelticCorey]

I have to agree with the OP concerning Alberto Del Rio. I mean we already know Sin Cara is gonna be huge and he hasn't even debuted yet.

However, Del Rio is a different story. At first I just thought this guy is another new guy with a bunch of vignettes and will be pushed at first and then lost in the shuffle. Then I read the spoilers for his debut that he beat Rey Mysterio CLEAN in his DEBUT!!! That moment, right then and there, I knew it, I smelled it from a million miles away, this guy was gonna be gigantic. I didn't know it was gonna be as soon as it has been but I knew he was gonna see the strap multiple times and I think that's definitely gonna happen.

Granted, I had no idea he would win the Royal Rumble in his first ever Rumble match and that he would be maineventing Wrestlemania (Not complaining, huge Del Rio mark who loves every second of it) but I knew it was gonna happen really soon.

 

[Dohara]

Mine would have to be Alberto Del Rio, the first time i seen him was at a houseshow last April in the UK, i had heard reports about him before the event that he was good, after his match i had to agree with these reports as he impressed me big time and i said to the people i was with that this guy is going to be a star someday . Then when Del Rio first appeared on TV he defeated Rey Mysterio after this i knew he would be World Champion soon as we could all tell that WWE had huge plans for him considering Rey Mysterio is retiring likely this year, this made WWE desperate to create a huge mexican star.

Dohara

 

[Mustang Sally]

Randy Savage.

I was only a kid when he first showed up in WWE; I had never heard of him before that. But the pro wrestling I was used to watching featured a bunch of heavy, slow men like Don Muraco and Big John Studd who spent more time writhing in pain on the canvas than flying around the ring.

Then came the Macho Man. You could see from the first moment he showed up that he was an entirely new generation of wrestler. His physique, his speed, his athleticism and his nasty personality captured my imagination immediately...... he was the first guy I ever thought was bound to become a champion.

Even at 58, I'll bet he could still show the young wrestlers things they've never seen before.

 

[wwe4ever]

1- John Cena:
when he started on smackdown against Kurt Angle, I had this feeling that he was gonna be something someday....when he turned to his thuganomics gimmick, i knew it would last for some time, and I wondered what he would do when it was over...I don't know if it's because of him or because of WWE, but he always had this edge over any other guy...and he always knows how to revive his character or gimmick.

2- CM Punk: *huge fan alert* I don't know much about his career before ECW, but when he started as a part of the new breed...with his straightedge lifestyle/gimmick, I knew he had a lot to offer...He was good on the mic, he was good in the ring, and he was physically convenient and believable for multiple top championship reigns. Now, all the "goods" are turned into "awesomes"...especially his mic skills....the best mic skills in the business today..( if we exclude the Rock)

 

[TheMainMan32]

The Rock. Notice that I said, The Rock, and not Rocky Maivia, the "blue chipper." The night that he joined the Nation of Domination, I knew that he was going to be somebody.

Brock Lesnar- I remember the first time I saw him F5 someone, I yelled "Daaaaaaamn!" out loud.

Goldberg- I liken Goldberg to Mike Tyson: He was so physically intimidating that it won me over. He sold his character extremely well. And that spear looked painful..

Y2J- I didn't see Y2J until his days in WCW, but even there he was a standout. Then, he has one of the greatest debuts in WWE history and takes off.

I didn't see John Cena's debut because the WWE switched Smackdown to a station that I didn't get on my cable.

 

[FSWWE]

Well obvious, since im only 16 years old (thank god )

My big impressions was with John Cena, Randy Orton and of course
Alberto Del Rio!!!

And i'm still with big hopes on Dolph Ziggler (not from Spirit Squad), i mean how much guys can say that slapped Batista face in his wrestling debut xDD


The guys I miss was:

Vladimir Kozlov - I really think that he can be good :s stupidities!!
MVP - I was expecting more than US Championship, that debut slap, what a slap!!

 

[Andy 2 Randy]

Now, as an original Miz-Fit, i would say The Miz, but i had no idea that he would be the star that he is now when he debuted...
But...Of course, the main one is Alberto Del Rio. Look at him, he's the biggest heel on smackdown, won the rumble on his first attempt and is headlining Wrestlemania 27...But you already knew that (see what i did there). However, i disliked him even before he wrestled, and only because of his extremley long promos. yes, the really gave the fans details about who he was...but why 8/9 minutes long? Why? because he is a great talent, theres no denying it...I'm just Sayin...

 

[midgensa]

Brock Lesnar.

The first time he came out and showed that F5 I was like "This guys is going to be huge." He had the look, the attitude and the mouthpiece with Heyman. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to be a WWE champion sooner than later.

 

[The Wrestler`s Wrestler]

Lesner and Orton are 2 of the popular picks. But when I first watched Cody Rhodes debut on raw he reminded me of the same raw natural ability that Randy Orton had when he debuted in 2002. When he went out on his own after legacy I didn't have much faith in the "Dashing" gimmick. Cody being the son of Dusty Rhodes must of made a silly gimmick work. I really like the next evolution pf this gimmick with Cody going from dashing to deranged, Which I believe could take him to a world title reign on smackdown.

Another one I picked although it wasn't from the 1st moment I saw them was The Miz. I remember a time in 2008 when Miz & Morrison was on raw defending the wwf tag team titles and I heard Jr refer to The Miz as a somewhat wrestler's wrestler. My ears pricked up because I heard Jr use my moniker in reference to The Miz. I watched Miz for the rest of the match although he didn't do anything flashy or indy-rific everything he did do was on point and done at the right time. I listened to the promo they both did after the match and when Miz spoke he delivered his promo like a main eventer, Though the crowd was booing him and not really allowing him to speak I knew it was a matter of time before he would be in the main event and then wwf champion.

 

[redeffect3]

I have two. John Cena and Alberto Del Rio. In cena's first match with angle, i knew right then he was going to be big in this industry. Also with del rio, I just had a strong feeling he would make it big as well

 

[nbrew2119]

No one has mentioned the Great Khali yet!!!!...and for good reason.

Anyway, my pick for this is, Kurt Angle.

Now, I honestly never expected him to be what he has become, but, from his debut at the Survivor Series, I knew he was going to be a good one. If you remember in his rookie year, he won the European/IC/World titles, thats a hell of a year.

Its a shame that he began to rely on pain pills in the WWE, because, who knows how good he could have become there. Im not saying that he isnt good in TNA, but, I think he could have been even better had he stayed in the WWE.

 

[Ding_Dong_#2]

Personally speaking, it would be Big Van Vader in WCW. Just an amazing, dominating prescence - I have never seen such an impressive debut. A great pity that the WWE did it's usual watering-down of skills when he arrived; great music, great intensity but few of the big moves that made him.

He would just have the edge over Goldberg for me. His debut was very impressive and people were on their feet and talking when he pinned Hugh Morrus; he was mysterious as well, saying nothing to Mean Gene when he walked away from the ring - not quite as polished as Vader though but unfair to compare the two as he had wrestled in Japan for some time.