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| WWE Top 10 The biggest signings in WWE history in WWE Universe |
WWE Top 10 The biggest signings in WWE history in WWE Universe
#10 Finn Bálor
Perhaps it’s fitting that many fans are linking The Bullet Club to WWE NXT. Bálor — then known as Prince Devitt — was both the rogues’ gallery’s first leader and its first to take a crack at WWE; his highly anticipated debut was shrouded in mystery until his surprise appearance as Hideo Itami’s partner against The Ascension in 2014. Even then, the best was still saved for last, as Devitt’s signature comic-book paint was later re-debuted as well, under the guise of Bálor’s heart-stopping alter-ego of the Demon. For those keeping track, that’s two debuts for one man. Not bad.
#9 Big Show
In this case, “biggest” signings can be taken literally. The man who had intimidated WCW as The Giant was a shoe-in to become a WWE Superstar; the only question was when Mr. McMahon would scoop him up. Then, on Valentine’s Day 1999, Big Show — still going by the name of Paul Wight — surged up from beneath a Steel Cage to disrupt the main event of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, kicking off a thunderous, Grand Slam-winning career that continues to this day.
#8 Hideo Itami
When he was known as KENTA, this Japanese grappling expert was credited as both the inspiration and the greatest foil of mat masters like Daniel Bryan. And when WWE signed him, it was, to put it mildly, a very big deal. Interviews were commissioned, photos were taken, tweets were tweeted and congratulations were given, right up until the day he debuted. Independent acquisitions like Itami have become somewhat commonplace in NXT these days, though both his introduction — William Regal brought him out as KENTA and he became Hideo Itami before our eyes — and its buildup were unprecedented.
#7 Samoa Joe
#6 Goldberg
Who didn’t want to see Goldberg step foot in WWE during the heyday of the Monday Night Wars? The fantasy-match possibilities for WCW’s nigh-unstoppable human hurricane were endless, but red tape prevented Goldberg from coming over once WWE acquired Ted Turner’s money-flushed promotion. Of course, eventually WWE was going to get its man, and, Goldberg ultimately picked up right where he left off, winning the World Heavyweight Championship and locking up with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX. Unfortunately, Goldberg’s time in WWE was shorter than many in the WWE Universe would have liked, but hell if he didn’t make the most of it.
#5 Eddie Guerrero
When WCW’s Cruiserweight Division began setting the wrestling world aflame in the heat of the Monday Night War, it was practically a given that WWE would try and snatch up some of the cutting-edge talent for its own roster. They grabbedtwoof them — Eddie and Dean Malenko, as part of The Radicalz — but it was Guerrero who proved to leave the biggest mark on WWE. A beloved figure both in and out of the locker room, Latino Heat carried the WWE Universe with him on a journey of heartbreak and triumph; had he not been taken before his time, there’s little doubt he would continue doing so today.
#4 Sting
For a long time, Sting’s legacy was not only as the face of WCW, but as the most famous holdout in sports-entertainment history. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion had seemingly made it his business to try his hand in every promotionexceptWWE, though he admits to coming close on several occasions. Then came the WWE 2K15 promotion and a few sporadic panels and signings, all whispers of something big that hadn’t quite happened yet. It all came down to Survivor Series 2014 and a long-awaited debut, orchestrated under a cloud of secrecy and executed in pulse-pounding fashion. Since then, The Icon has suffered an injury that leaves his career up in the air, but is there really anything else left for him to accomplish? Well, besides that one match that hasn’t happened yet
#3 Kurt Angle
When it was revealed that bona fide Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle was breaking into the pro game, any promotion with a few bucks in its pocket was lining up for a crack at the American icon. And even though Angle was famously off-put by the demented menagerie of ECW, he had no qualms about becoming a WWE Superstar. Angle’s debut was heralded with all the fanfare of a five-star general and he delivered in full, running the gamut from no-nonsense wrestling machine to side-splitting comedy alongside “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
#2 Rey Mysterio
Much like Goldberg, Mysterio was among the WCW talent whose contract stipulations prevented him from jumping to WWE immediately after Mr. McMahon bought the promotion out. But when he did, in 2002, he did so in epic fashion. Vignettes hyping Mysterio’s arrival promised a human highlight reel, and that’s exactly what the WWE Universe got, from his SmackDown debut all the way through a WWE Championship victory in 2011. Injuries would eventually cut Mysterio’s WWE career short, but his legend in the ring will loom large for decades to come.
#1 Chris Jericho
Who would have thought that when WWE signed the conspiracy-theory obsessed Corazón de León, they were getting a near 20-year boundary breaker who finds ways to reinvent both himself and the sports-entertainment business each time he shows up? Not only was Jericho’s countdown-clock debut one of the best moments in WWE history, but his two big returns — the “Save Us” code and the creepy end-times vignettes — the unification of the WWE and WCW Championships, his record nine Intercontinental Title reigns and reincarnation as a Live Event specialist have made clear that the only thing predictable about Y2J is his unpredictability. Don’t believe us? Roll the footage, monkeys.
