5 WWE Survivor Series debuts that went nowhere
WWE's Survivor Series is known for a lot of things. Elimination tag matches. The Montreal Screwjob. An attempt to kill WCW's Starrcade in 1987. It also has a reputation for being the debut of some legendary WWE Superstars.
Not every single debut - in general, much less at Survivor Series - can be one for the ages. It's the law of averages and all that. Sometimes, things don't work out too. In the immortal words of Hulkathord T. Hogan IV, "What are you going to do?"
So, here's a list of five debuts that happened at WWE Survivor Series over the years that just didn't pan out into anything special. Keep in mind, a bunch of this is going to be subjective, but in the end, you're totally going to agree with us.
#5. The Boogeyman - Survivor Series 2005
OK, Boogeyman fans, put the pitchforks down. Where did you even get those pitchforks, anyway? We're certainly not disparaging the greatest WWE Superstar to ever eat live worms on live TV. Not to his face, anyway. That guy is terrifying.
Prior to Survivor Series 2005, the Boogeyman had appeared in various TV segments backstage and pre-recorded vignettes.
It was during that year's Survivor Series that the man who carried a clock with him everywhere who isn't named Falava Flav first came to the ring. This particular show saw Boogey help Teddy Long overcome Eric Bischoff in what was billed as a "Battle of General Managers."
Boogeyman rates this high on the list because, let's be honest, he was never meant to be a main event guy to start with. He was certainly entertaining and deserves all the credit in the world. But, in the big scheme of things, this Survivor Series debut didn't do much.
#4. Scott Steiner - Survivor Series 2002
Obviously, Survivor Series 2002 wasn't the first time Big Poppa Pump made an appearance in WWE. Years earlier, he made the jump from WCW in 1992, along with his brother, as part of the Steiner Brothers. In fact, he and his brother, Rick, had a big role to play on Survivor Series less than a year later as part of the "All-Americans."
However, upon returning to WCW after that particular stint in "New York", Scott would eventually embark on a solo career. And with that singles run came a new persona - "Big Poppa Pump": a jacked-up monster who wore chainmail on his head for some reason.
It was this version of Scott Steiner that debuted at Survivor Series and, we're not gonna lie, it was pretty incredible.
Sadly, for whatever reason you want to imagine, Steiner's run in the WWE post-WCW didn't work out as well for him as it went in Ted Turner's promotion. He found himself losing to World Heavyweight Champion Triple H on numerous occasions and, before too long, he found himself out of WWE altogether.
#3. Rocky Maivia - Survivor Series 1996
OK, shut up for a second.
Obviously, we're not saying that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's debut at Survivor Series 1996 didn't lead to anything. It led to mind-boggling success for "The Rock," in the ring and outside of it. That's not who we're talking about.
We're talking specifically about the character who debuted at Survivor Series 1996 - as part of the team of Barry Windham, Jake Roberts, and Marc Mero facing off against the legion of Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler, and a pre-DX Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
It was this version of the guy who would eventually become The Rock first entered the ring. And, for his first major WWE match, it turned out pretty well - the "Blue Chipper" ended up being the sole survivor for his team.
Of course, "Rocky Maivia" wasn't long for this world, as it wouldn't take long for the future star of Jungle Cruise to transform into The Rock, and become pretty much the biggest star - wrestling or otherwise - on the planet.
#2. Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon - Survivor Series 1996
The landscape of WWE is littered with tag teams that had major success elsewhere - just not there. Such is the story of the 'Can-Am Express" (not to be confused with the "Can-Am Connection" team of Rick Martel and Tom Zenk in the 1980s.)
Beginning their tandem in All Japan Pro Wrestling in the late 1980s, Furnas and LaFon (real name Dan Kroffat) would make names for themselves in both the AWA and ECW before getting signed to WWE. They would make their debuts at the previously mentioned 1996 event (apparently, that show wasn't a good one for debuts.)
Furnas and LaFon would only last in WWE for a year before moving on. They would return to ECW a year later - including winning the ECW Tag Team Championship - before eventually splitting up.
You know WWE doesn't have a high opinion of you when the only video they have posted of you on YouTube is titled "Boring Tag Teams."
Sadly, in 2012, Doug Furnas passed away from a heart attack at the age of 52. LaFon wrestled his last match in 2014 before retiring due to injuries.
#1. The Gobbledy-Gooker - Survivor Series 1990
At the same Survivor Series show that brought us The Undertaker, we were introduced to The Gobbledy-Gooker.
For weeks leading to that year's show, a giant egg had been paraded around WWE television, such as "WWF Superstars" and "Prime Time Wrestling." Announcers and personalities such as WWE Hall of Famer "Mean" Gene Oakerlund would speculate as to what would hatch from said egg.
Of course, now that we're all years past that particular reveal, we can revel in the silliness that was Hector Guerrero (a guy who clearly deserved better) running around in a turkey costume. But, when the giant bird erupted from the fake egg on November 22nd, 1990, WWE tried their damnedest to convince us that the Gobbledy-Gooker wasn't just the new mascot for the company's "Thanksgiving tradition" - it was their next big thing.
Obviously, nobody was buying that - and it was clear that, in introducing this mystery egg in the first place, WWE had painted themselves into a corner. Vince McMahon and his company played it off as best they could, but they obviously knew that wasn't going anywhere.
Like a lot of their past that could be potentially embarrassing, WWE has had some fun with the giant turkey. At WrestleMania-X7, for example, the Gobbledy-Gooker was part of the show's Gimmick Battle Royale.
It didn't win.
Were there any other Survivor Series debuts that you feel went nowhere? There probably isn't, but if there is, let us know in the comments section below.