WrestleMania season is arguably the best time in all of wrestling and the first quarter of 2018 will be no different. Earlier this week fans around the world witnessed New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, including Chris Jericho’s highly anticipated return to the promotion. Up next: WWE’s Royal Rumble on January 28th.
The Royal Rumble has more than earned its place as one of WWE’s premiere annual pay-per-view events. The Rumble has produced countless memorable moments since it’s inception back in 1988. Today, we’re looking at 3 of the most memorable WWE Superstar debuts that took place in the Rumble match.
Rusev
The ‘Bulgarian Brute’ made his main roster debut for WWE during the 2014 Rumble, making his appearance as the 6th entrant in the match. Whilst still using the first name Alexander (before WWE began dropping the first names of several Superstars), the former NXT standout was made to look like an absolute powerhouse alongside WWE’s more established acts such as Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk and Seth Rollins.
Rusev also played an integral part in one of the match’s best moments, the annual “Kofi Kingston spot,” when he caught Kofi as he was falling to the outside and rested him on the black mat guardrail, allowing the New Day member to leap back to the safety of the ring.
Rusev’s current run alongside Aiden English is arguably some of the best work of his WWE career and his ‘Rusev Day’ campaign has really taken off. With some momentum behind him, it will be interesting to see how Rusev performs later this month in the match that got him started on the main roster.
Vader
Vader is considered to be one of the greatest big man ever to compete in pro wrestling ring and for good reason. The 3-time WCW World Champion made his WWE debut during the 1996 Rumble match entering as the 13th participant. The ‘Mastodon’ eliminated Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert and Savio Vega before being sent over the top rope by eventual winner, Shawn Michaels.
The following night, Vader took part in a memorable angle on Monday night RAW when he viciously assaulted then-WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. It was the first time that an ‘authority figure’ was attacked on WWE television.
Vader actually made an appearance on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s January 4th show in 1996, then dubbed ‘Wrestling World,’ he fought (in a losing effort) against Japanese legend Antonio Inoki…fairly similar circumstances to our final name:
AJ Styles
Was there really another choice for the top spot? The ‘Phenomenal One’ made his WWE debut during the 2016 Rumble and has been tearing through the WWE ever since.
Making his entrance as the third participant in the match, Styles received a thunderous ovation from the live crowd after weeks of rumors that he was WWE bound. The excitement over Styles’ WWE debut was amplified by the fact that the only other man in the ring was the controversial “chosen one,” Roman Reigns. AJ Styles’ entrance into the 2016 Royal Rumble was an iconic moment that will be remembered for years to come.
The former IWGP, TNA and Rev Pro Champion is now a staple of WWE programming, but a possible Rumble debut from AJ Styles seemed almost too good to be true after he competed at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 event just weeks prior. Styles battled Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on that show, a match that many are hoping is replicated in a matter of months at Wrestlemania 34.
