5 Most memorable Survivor Series debuts
On Sunday, November 20th, WWE will present its 30th annual Survivor Series event. The event has seen its share of both ups and downs. Indeed, the WWE Universe has witnessed some moments, during this PPV, that would best be forgotten.
For example, in 1990, Mean Gene Okerlund stood by as the Gobbledy Gooker hatched from an egg. Those on commentary attempted to make it seem like a grand moment, but in actuality, a person dressed in a turkey costume to represent the American Thanksgiving was not a highlight in the history of the event.
Survivor Series also came to mean, a style of match that has become traditional for the event, where teams would come together to fight a common foe. Often, feuds would culminate by combining all their combustible elements in the ring at the same time.
While Survivor Series hasn't always stuck with some of its traditions, it has remained consistent with featuring memorable debuts. The list of wrestlers that have made their initial appearance in the WWE at the event reads like a who's who of pro-wrestling.
And while their debuts may seem somewhat different from how they ultimately ended up, they initially received very special attention when they arrived at Survivor Series. Here are the five most memorable debuts in Survivor Series history.
#5 The Shield
Unless you were watching NXT or were familiar with the independent wrestling backgrounds of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins; there was a pretty good chance that you had no idea, who these men dressed in black, hopping over the guardrail at ringside, were. Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta; these were the letters that spelt their name: The Shield.
These three young men had carved a niche for themselves in NXT, and Florida Championship Wrestling before that. Rollins and Ambrose also built impressive resumes, while competing for promotions such as Ring of Honor and Combat Zone Wrestling.
Roman Reigns is a second generation wrestler, and his father, Sika, was one-half of the Wild Samoans. At the 2012 Survivor Series, Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins, jumped the barricade and came to the aid of the then-champion, CM Punk, by beating down Ryback and John Cena.
The reaction was incredible, because what just transpired showed fans that a new young alliance had arrived in the WWE, one that would prove to remain formidable.