Who has had the best debut or return in wrestling history?

[The Brain]

There have already been a lot of great choices listed. Rather than repeat any I will throw out a few others. Some my not be popular so I’m prepared for criticism.

Giant Gonzalez: Yeah you read it right, Giant Gonzalez. I know he was awful, but I will always remember his debut at the 1993 Royal Rumble. He wasn’t a participant, but he came out to attack the Undertaker. I was only 13 and was mesmerized by his size. I felt like I was watching something out of a sci fi movie. He put a beating on Undertaker like no one had before. Over the years the announcers have said that several times about Taker beatdowns, but Gonzalez was the first one to manhandle Taker.

Roddy Piper: I’m talking 2003 here. I loved that Piper made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania during the Hogan vs. McMahon match. The debate was who created WrestleMania, Hulk Hogan or Vince McMahon. Leading up to mania I wondered what Piper thought of this storyline. I thought it would be great if he would make an appearance, but I didn’t think it would happen. I marked out a little when he actually did show up.

John Cena: I’m talking about the return in 2008. I know there’s a lot of Cena haters here (not entirely sure why) but this was a great return. Cena suffered an injury in October 2007 and was expected to be out for about nine months. Only three months later Cena made a surprise return at the Royal Rumble. Even the tough NYC crowd gave him a standing ovation for his unlikely return. The best part about this was it was kept secret. In an age where everything is reported on the internet before it happens it was refreshing to have a real surprise again.

Those are some off the top of my head in addition to the others that were mentioned. By the way I love the Warrior return at WrestleMania VIII. Just had to mention that one again. I’m sure there are more. Maybe I’ll be back when I think of them.

 

[rellik l'aires]

I think one of the best returns was undertaker in summerslam '94. Just for the fact of him dissappearing after he lost to Yokozuna in a casket match, then for them to promote an undertaker versus untertaker match. At the time still being young I didn't have the any idea how they where going to do this but the fact that when paul bearer finally opened the urn and the light came out of it, just the chill that came down my back just to see a second undertaker, I just had a feeling that he was the real deal.

 

[DaGhost]

My immediate thought was Jericho in 1999. That was so well done. Being a WCW/NWA guy I am gonna go back a little ways here for another one.

When Ricky Steamboat returned to the NWA as a masked wrestler and pinned Ric Flair on TV and then unmasked. I loved that! That led up to his great matches with Flair. Perhaps the best matches they both gave us.

DaGhost

 

[Paradox]

I think there are to that stand out in my mind...

John Cena on 08 was huge... It was at a point when a lot of people were tired of him and really didn't care about him, but. When his music hit that place erupted... Everyone was going nuts, it was insane. As good as that one was at the garden.. it doesn't top the best return ever in my opinion.

I'm really surprised I haven't seen anyone post about this one... (maybe I missed it.) January 02... Madison Square Garden. Ring any bells? When Triple h return. That was the loudest I had ever heard a crowd roar. Not only was it loud it was one of the longest sustained pops I've ever heard. That place didn't die!!! I had chills watching that...

[youtube]EV3h34tUIcQ[/youtube]

Yeah, I think that's the best...

 

[Lancer]

Jericho, hands down. 1999 or 2008, take your pick. Each was very well done, although the second time around it was a little bit easier to guess who it was.

I remember the ticking of the "Millenium Clock" and thought that it was a legitimate countdown to the year 2000. But when the countdown drained to zero on an episode of Raw, who knew it was one of the best wrestlers finally getting to ply his trade in the WWE.

I'll never forget the crowd reaction to the word "JERICHO" being shown in huge letters on the Titantron. Massive pop. Well executed...

 

[MrPlatano1989]

Great choice, there has been many great debuts or returns, Taz's debut at Royal Rumble 2000 deserves a mention, he kind of ended Kurt Angle's undefeated streak.

But I'm going to mention a more recent debut, in a way smaller venue... Kurt Angle in TNA, when the video played at No Surrender the crowd went nuts, and his actual debut was epic as well, Samoa Joe had everyone behind him, and out of no where Angle comes with an epic theme song, rising from the ground, most unique entrance in TNA at the time, and they standoff face to face, and bang what a headbutt out of nowhere, that was the simple set up for an amazing multi-month fued

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[mdj2010]

Just to add something different Im gonna go with Lesnar's in ring debut, spinebuster through a trashcan, an F-5 and then a triple powerbomb. Sure as hell made me want to see him in the ring again.

Also he was with heyman, that just made him a more dangerous figure.

 

[Tastycles]

Kane, definitely. Kane's debut was built up for ages and he then came, and was this huge and genuinely frightening character. The brilliance of it was shown because he got the crowd to be sympathetic with The Undertaker, who was literally the most frightening character possible in many people's eyes. Kane was able to have a long career of his own, but he also injected longevity into The Undertaker's career, who had spent the mid 90s at a canter.

 

[chosimba]

I have to agree that the shockmasters apperance on WCW was amazing, it's one of those moments that will always make you laugh

Though to be serious, my favourite appearance was the arrival of the radicalz when they came from WCW. Although they didnt really do anything at their appearance, being a fan on benoit and guerrero in particular at that time made me really excited about seeing them in WWE

 

[Барбоса]

I love Chris Jericho's debut in WWF. The anticipation of the Countdown to the Millennium and the explosion of the crowd when JERICHO appeared on the Titantron was electric.

I also loved Cactus Jack's first appearance on RAW. The skit with Dude Love and Mankind talking about how they weren't going to face Hunter Hearst Helmsley was excellent.

"Somebody spank me, I thought he was dead!"

"He's alive... HE'S ALIVE"

"...It's Madison Square Garden and Mrs. Foley's little boy is coming home. BANG BANG!"

The subsequent roar from the crowd, JR and the King's reaction on commentary along with HHH going ballistic in the ring really made you believe that Cactus Jack was an absolute fucking maniac.

 

[maar130]

Well Kane's debut and Jericho´s Debut were awesome for all things that were prepared for them.

"Kane is alive!" was great by Paul Bearer on Raw, waht a way to debut in the first ever Hell in a Cell.

Returns, well there are so many, every return of the Undertaker brings somethin special to the table, but I outside of him two fo the returns of more present times:

2008 Royal Rumble: John Cena, someone mentioned it perfectly, None saw that one coming.

2008 Survivor Series:Edge. Right when everyone though Jeff Hardy was about to comeback for his Title shot after being attacked by "someone", Vickie intorduced Edge as part of the Triple treath match for the WWE title, the crowd became extatic and a couple of spears and a few chairshots by Jeff later, Edge became the WWE Champion once again.

 

[Billie Jean]

Originally posted by dandawolfman
Chris Jericho in 2008 no doubt about it. SAVE_US.222 the first time i saw that promo video i knew it had to be Jericho.The buildup and the hype was so big.As soon as that code lit up on the screen the whole arena was into it.

Yeah man, I agree here. This was spectacular. The promos were amazingly intelligent and thought out, and if it were not for this site I would have probably thought it was The Rock or something. Looking back now I know how stupid I was. This was a great way to bring someone back. They even had JR and King play it as if it were not a big deal up until the last two to three weeks. Every ppv, all the fans were chanting Jericho's name, and it was like the WWE of old, it was amazing. Vince knew the fans knew, which I think is why it was delayed. His face at Vengeance 07 , I think it was that, was priceless. Here is the promo here actually.

[youtube]gBOb0Kjm4SA&feature=related[/youtube]

Wow, this was spectacular, I think the only reason this one holds a special place in my heart, is because I was only a young Wrestling fan,and this was, to me, my first real big moment in watching wrestling. It was also a great way of building up what could have been a great feud with Chris Jericho and Randy Ortan. I just feel that maybe they could have handled it a little bit better. I feel over all, this is one of, in my opinion of course, one of the best returns, not only in WWE history but in wrestling histroy. It happend at a time when Cena had just been injured and they were lacking in star power, and Jericho was a superb fit, to fill that Main Event void.

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

One of my favorite returns is when Undertaker came back in 2004. That was so sick. Return of the dead man. That blew me away because a legend like him returned to the WWE.

I definitely have to agree totally. The Undertaker's Return was sick. It really was a perfect finish to the match, very climatic and was a great start to a feud. Although I was never really fond of the "American Bad Ass" gimmick, at it's inception, I for one was NOT KNOCKING IT, it worked very effectively.

Now I am sure that this thread has been done before but for kicks lets do it again and see if we can get some good arguments out of it. Personally I think that the best debut/return in the history of wrestling was the debut of Chris Jericho to the WWF back in August of 1999. That debut was great. He had the iconic countdown clock which was counting down for months. It was great that he made his debut while The Rock was in the ring. He interrupts The Rock and starts what is the career of one of the greatest in the business. It was also one of those debuts before everyone knew who it was going to be because of the internet. Now discuss.

Yes, I also agree here. I've said before this is easliy my favorite debut. Jericho really burst on the scene that night and had the crowd hanging on his every word. He was at his best and he had the perfect guy to cut a shoot with, The Rock. The countdown clock was cool, Jericho's intro and music are amongst my favorites of all-time.

I wish Rocky, Y2J and the WWE in general would've built on this, it had the makings of 5 star feud. Maybe Jericho would've been a major player sooner, looking at him now. He really has come a long way.

 

[RKO_me]

It was when I first started watching wrestling. Right after Bishoff got Paul Heyman in the draft he just goes off about how great he his. When Edges music his. This being the first time seeing Edge I wasn't sure what to think. He gets in the ring, doesn't hesitate one second and SPEARED the hell outta Eric Bishoff was amazing. Haha, all I knew is that Eric was a douchebag and Edge was the shit. I've liked Edge ever since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMrMRH_XFd8

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I don't know who's had the best debut exactly, but some debuts that I'll always remember include John Cena, Carlito, Santino Marella, Goldberg, and more. John Cena's debut was something that we all know about and he made quite the impact on his debut against Kurt Angle. Carlito and Santino Marella are people who won titles on their debuts, and while their debut might have been less than spectacular, I'll remember them for the simple fact that they won titles. Goldberg made quite the impact on his debut interrupting and 'Spearing' The Rock. "I guess The Rock was next!"

Some returns that I have to always remember would have to be many of The Undertaker's returns. His return at Wrestlemania XX as "The Deadman" was epic, that "Oh, yessss!" from Paul Bearer in the beginning of his theme. Awesome! His return in Jugdment Day 2000 was great, if I remember correctly. His return at Summerslam last year and this year is something I'll always remember. The Undertaker's return at Royal Rumble 2006, where he was looking to intimidate Kurt Angle was cool! The Undertaker's returns, in general, are just awesome.

Another return I'll always remember would be Batista's return in 2006. When he called out Mark Henry and whupped his ass in his return... I completely marked out!

Christian's return to WWE in February was something that I was waiting for, for about 4-5 months, and I was ecstatic to see his return. Him on ECW? I was disappointed at the time, but now... I think he's the best thing that's ever been on the new ECW. Better than R.V.D., Big Show, Matt Hardy, etc.

There are many returns and debuts in wrestling that amazed me. And it isn't even just wrestlers. The return of Chris Jericho's "Highlight Reel" was great for me. The return of Jim Ross. Many.

 

[Morrison_Fanboy]

Brock Lesnar. After watching that, it easily became the measuring stick for brutality in the ring. Said brutality won't be transcended in these days due to the *****fication of the WWE, sadly.