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

[AntiChristDeicide]

Me it was The Giant (A.K.A Big-Show). Man the first time i saw him in WCW, i was like wow look at this dude. Obviously feuding on and off With Hogan helped him alot.

 

[achromat666]

Brock Lesnar. Especially the way he came in and hit his F-5 and multiple powerbombs on the Hardys. That's how you make an impact.

Can't really think of anyone else that came in that dominating that you knew was going to get the strap. Didn't think he'd be anywhere near as good as he was.

 

[AK2V8]

Mine would be CM Punk. His promo on being straight edge before his debut match was...dull, but the crowd reaction he got in his first match on ECW against Justin Credible caught my attention. Usually when a superstar wrestles his first match (usually against a jobber) they get no reaction whatsoever. But in his first match on ECW he was already getting CM Punk chants. I knew this man would go far and instantly knew he would be a top heel in the WWE one day. And look whats hes accomplished, the world heavyweight title money in the bank intercontinental title world tag team title and leader of the New Nexus.

 

[Zigglerfan227]

Alberto Del Rio is an easy and obvious choice to make. I definitely could tell that he would go places. If I were to pick someone else it would have to be Sheamus. I definitely did not know that he would become the WWE champion, especially so soon, but from his debute on ECW I saw something really special in him. Check out how totally awesome Sheamus was in his debut! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDSRmocJvQU

 

[A1sauce518]

I'd say there's a few for me.... Brock Lesnar was the easiest, his pure size strength and athleticism blew me away when I first saw him. Randy Orton is second, he's got the pedigree and ability. Lastly is Kurt Angle, loved him from the second he walked down the stage

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

1. The date was 8/1980
2. The Venue was Shea Stadium in Flushing NY.
3. The Match was Andrea The Giant VS Hulk Hogan.
4. The result Andrea won by DQ, but was a bloody mess and Hogan wasn't.
5. The next month in PA there was a rematch Andrea won again but Hogan became the 1st person to body slam Andrea.
6. After watching Hogan manhandle Andrea The Giant, I knew this guy was going to be huge in wrestling.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I'm really, REALLY not good at spotting these things, so it must have been glaringly obvious when I immediately knew, when I saw Alberto Del Rio's first debut promo, that he would be a main event star. I don't know what it was about that promo; it wasn't too much different than anything we've seen before, but I took one look at Alberto Del Rio, and I knew he was going to be huge.

 

[GLOBAL ICON]

Has to be Cena for me. The "Ruthless Aggression" had me on notice and the match was good. That second, I knew he would become big in the company (though not the face). He's proven me right. Another guy is Alberto Del Rio as many said and for the same reasons. And the last for me, has to be, Drew McIntyre. He was good, had the look and I thought and still think he has a lot of charisma. But, he was the guy who made me think again about him. He's not gone anywhere after losing the I.C title. But still, he's got many years in front of him.

 

[Hazardous]

Easy, Brock Lesnar. The guy had the look, and the in-ring ability to go with some of the greats. When he first attacked the Hardy's, I knew there was a star in the making.

 

[TheMainEvent]

I am going to be 100% honest here and say The Miz....I had been following him in UPW and when he debuted with Tough Enough I was a big fan. I remember going to a Smackdown during Tough Enough and bringing a sign that had the MTV style Miz logo with "#1 Mizfit" on it and catching "fan heat" from everyone around me that saw the sign....the way he carried himself in the ring and attempted to cut promos while on Tough Enough, I told my friends that one day he was going to be a big deal (they all laughed). We were just talking about that last weekend that I was right and predicted him becoming something nearly 7 years ago. I dont know what it was but he just had that "it" factor to me.


Another is CM Punk. I first caught him in ROH against Raven in a very personal feud and I remember thinking...man if this guy goes to WWE and gets to be himself he could be huge...I always predicted him to really rise to the level of a Steve Austin even...and I still believe that he can in a few years with a solid face turn as a loner/tweener....

 

[Nate DaMac]

Edge. The first person I remember seeing debut after vignettes and I was fully enthralled with him. Ever since his debut, he's been getting pops from the crowd. Even as a rookie. But this was my perspective as a child, at one point I used to love The Patriot.

For those saying Alberto Del Rio, you do realize that you're not right just yet don't you? You guys may think he's a big deal in your own mind but he really isn't yet. So that's more of someone who you think will be a big star, not someone who is.

 

[Davi323]

Brock Lesnar, no question. If ever there was a guy that immediately said Main Eventer, it was him. From the first day he ever appeared on TV, you just knew. Between his size and wrestling ability, it was a forgone conclusion that he was gonna be the champion in a short amount of time.

My runner up would be Randy Savage. When I first started watching wrestling, he was feuding with Tito Santana over the Intercontinental Belt. But, I watched the program more for him than any other wrestler, even though he was a midcarder at the time.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

The mot recent one would have to be Alberto Del Rio, I just knew they were going to hype him up to the next level as they were looking for a new mexican star and when he debuted you could see a winner and future world champion.. He made instant impact, going after some top dogs and now main eventing Mania..

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

For it was John Cena and Edge. In the Case of Cena his first night on a televised WWE show he was able to hang toe to toe with a red hot Kurt Angle. There were actually times I thought he was going to win. He had the look, the ring skills, and the fans behind him.

For Edge it was his aura. I believe the first time I saw him was against a Los Bariquas member on RAW. It was cut short due to some injury caused when Edge dove through him but it at that time I knew he had it. He had a fast paced move set (something that was lacking during the attitude era) to make him stand out and a personality that fit him perfectly.

Then of course there were those in which I was wrong. Namely that would be Test. At the time he had the look, presence, and intensity and I felt could have been a headliner. Well at that regard I was wrong.

 

[steinerscrewdriver]

The first time, WCW in either late 96 or early 97 and I saw a match between two men who I was like wow these guys should be champions. It was Y2J and Eddie Guerrero. I remember just thinking these guys are so good and I bet they could be the US champion or maybe even WCW Champion.

Another, the first time I saw Goldberg in his match against Hugh Morrus I thought he was one of the scariest people alive ( could be b.c him and my dad look excatly alike and I was young) and I just wanted to see him get into the ring and beat up the NWO.

Now one I hope I am is right on is a guy I saw on ROH a few months ago, Kevin Steen. In his match he was doing the commentary while beating up a jobber and I thought if he lost 5-10 pounds and kept a simliar moveset in WWE or TNA he could be a great heel for years.

 

[Starchild]

I'm actually not ashamed to admit that I didn't think much of Cena when I first saw him. I thought he had a cool debut, but I just saw the generic name and attire and didn't really see a great future with him. Obviously, I have never been more wrong.

As for guys that I knew would be stars, I the the first that come to mind are Lesnar, Angle, and Orton.
Angle was a gold medalist and was a pure wrestler like the Harts, Jericho, and Benoit types. I knew that was gonna take him far and the fact that he got over quickly sold me on it. He was going to be big before too long.
With the way Lesnar debuted, I knew he'd be booked strong. I'd never actually heard of him but I learned quick. He went right after some popular guys in the Hardys to make an impact and with Heyman as his manager, I knew he was going to be a star.
Orton I think maybe more than other people, I bought into the hype and really saw that "it" factor in him. I knew it would take time, but I saw that he was world championship material. When he joined Evolution I knew this kid was the future.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

For me, there are a few.

Bobby Lashley

I remember seeing his debut match and I was amazed by his size and power. He may not have made it as an absolute megastar because of his lack of charisma and then leaving the business, but when I saw him in the ring for the 1st time and how dominant he looked, and knowing Vince's hard-on for bodybuilders, I knew Lashley was going to get a major push


John Cena

To be booked as strongly as he was against Kurt Angle in his debut showed me that the WWE had BIG plans for Cena. He looked good, he could hang in their with the best in the business and not many rookies get that much offense in on their debut against a top star. Cena seems to have got worse in the ring since then, but on his 1st appearance he already looked like a star.

Brock Lesnar

He just looked incredible. He destroyed Al Snow, Spike Dudley etc and I had never seen anyone deliver a powerbomb in the way he did to Spike, picking him up and slamming him over and over. Lesnar was a monster, he looked unbelievable and the fact he had Paul Heyman with him, and was referred to on commentary as "the hottest free agent" made me think that this was a guy who would dominate

Kane

Introducing a brand new character into a feud with Undertaker, and having Taker look fearful of him was unheard of. Kane was huge, he looked scary, he had Undertaker's former manager with him and when he ripped the door off the Cell to get to the Deadman, it was awesome. Kane immediately looked like he belonged in the ring with a performer like Undertaker and I immediately saw him as a future World Champion after that debut.

Chris Jericho

Who interrupts The Rock when he is in full flow. Someone who WWE have major plans for, thats who! Y2J never got a real chance in WCW, but WWE realised what a talent they had and allowed him to go toe to toe with their biggest star, and Jericho held his own perfectly. He moved up a level in his WWE debut and you could see he was going to do great things in the 'E.

 

[gurvinder372]

Quite a few guys for me as well.
Umaga: On his debut, he did his thumb strike to HBK, and HBK was flat on the mat and didn't moved for some time. He had such an intimidating presence in the ring since his debut.
Great Khali: I know many wont agree, but this man is a hit in India and may be that is the reason he is still there. He came down to ring and slammed down taker with a single hand chop on the head.
Kane: Kane debuting as a brother of a dead man was scary. And he made an immediate impact on taker as well, at a time when taker was unstoppable.

There were a few others which i thought will be top star but that didn't happen, like Cryme Time and Ezikiel Zakson to name a few.

 

[TheKingHustla]

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.

I remember that "Samoan jerk" when he debuted. Me and my older cousin were watching survivor series and my favorite wrestler HBk was supposed to defend the title against sid. My cousin was a huge Sid fan. We watched the event together and The rock, well rocky maivia was in a match. He had an ugly looking hairstyle and I kept hearing them talk about he went to miami. My cousin was a huge miami fan so he started liking rocky. I thought he looked stupid and started to root against him. On the other team was Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He had a championship so I started rooting for him, and he lost. Rocky ended up winning and ever since then, my cousin would taunt me with the fact that Hunter Hearst Helmsley's team lost to Rocky's team. Next thing I know, Rocky was cheated (acting like he was knocked out) and was beating Hunter Hearst Helmsley again, this time for the championship. My cousin was ecstatic. Fast forward years later and now both men are superstars that are larger than life.

 

[Cherry Cola]

CM punk I had never even seen ROH but i knew he was awesome. I thought kizarny was going to be HUGE but swing and a miss on that one.

 

[Miro_A12004]

Surprised few mentioned Kurt Angle, well obviously his history with the Olympics made many recognize him but that wasn't a guarantee that he'll be a top star in the business, but the moment he debuted on the 1999 Survivor Series and got on the mic, I knew that the WWE was onto something big and huge in the making. His mic skills were very good for someone who was just having his first night on TV (I don't count the one of HEAT! appearance) and within less than a year the man was a WWE Champion already beating The Rock, Undertaker & HHH in his first title reign.

 

[mister_b1LL]

Back in the day I was relatively unfamiliar with Chris Jericho in WCW and that was simply because I was more interested in whatever the NWO was doing at the time. Now that that backstory is out of the way, the day Jericho debuted in WWF interrupting The Rock, I knew this guy for sure was going to cement himself as one of the greatest of all time. They must have had a lot of faith in Y2J to have him interact with The Rock as his first act in the WWF.

 

[wwfan]

There's actually quite a few I've called in the past but one that sticks out for me is Edge. Like has been said in above post's I just felt he had "it" .. I was hopeing for years that he'd break through the glass ceiling and finally in 05 he won the big one and has gone on to become a double figure world champ which is impessive on anyones resume...

 

[Calderownz]

Recently, I would go with Alberto del Rio. However, anything could happen with him,s o you never know.

A more concrete answer to this question, so to speak, would be Batista. I could tell that he simply had the look Vince and co. love with their stars and he seemed to handle the situation well. I was worried that his role was too gimmicky as he came out as Deacon Batista. However, I figured that it was just a reason to get him on TV and try him out.

Once he went to Raw, I felt it was inevitable.

 

[Hardcore Heathen]

By top star do u mean atm? Because i would say Sheamus. He just has tht look and the few matches with dustin really helped especially with his experience.