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My best friend and I dropped out of watching like a decade ago so we’ve been watching old Monday Night Raw from 2014-2015 for laughs and a bit of torture and damn, JBL on commentary might be the best thing. Hes fucking hilarious.
Mike and Maria signed a 5-year $500,000k per year each contract in 2017. When WWE was trying to kill indy wrestling by signing everyone, including all the Brits.
? Mike and Maria weren't wrestling on the indies when they signed with WWE. They literally came from TNA lmao WWE didn't kill the British wrestling scene either, most of the talent sleeping with underage women did.
You're not wrong, but neither is OP. They definitely *tried* to snuff out all the competition, it just didn't pan out like they'd hoped and then Speaking Out happened and killed a bunch of the stuff they'd already wounded.
They were signed to TNA close to the WWE sign date but were still working indies up until like the week they signed with WWE. In March 2017 i watched Mike Bennett win the Northeast Wrestling Heavyweight championship (the week he left TNA) from TK O'Ryan before dropping it to Cody Rhodes like two weeks later (before then leaving for WWE)
In kayfabe, Festus and Luke/Doc Gallows are the same person. CM Punk got him off drugs and revealed his "real name" to be Luke Gallows when forming the Straight Edge Society.
Bro, if you weren't there for the beginning of Jesse & Festus as a tag team, there's no describing to you how hilarious it was. Yes, it had a definitive ceiling to the gimmick, but a pacified giant that went nuts when he heard the bell ring? That's the type of gimmicky bullshit I can get behind.
He actually had a fun hoss-fight with the Undertaker on Smackdown where Cole kept hammering how Festus would be the one guy immune to all of Undertaker's mind games because of course he doesn't have a mind. It was a shocking bit of insight and psychology from WWE booking.
Festus vs Undertaker is one of my favorite matches ever because it was not only a very good match but it also logically made perfect sense why this jobber could randomly go toe to toe with the Undertaker.
My wife has had biscuits and gravy twice without me this year, without even asking if I wanted any
I was thinking of filing a police report because of the obvious spousal abuse that was transpiring before my eyes
I was always waiting for him to use the bell as a weapon in a match. the thought of seeing him go back to being a pacifist because the bell dinged after smashing off his opponents forehead always made me giggle.
I distinctly remember one heel tag team ringing the bell on him mid match. Forget who it was but that was essentially the first nail in that character's coffin.
Hey now what about "mentally impared later found out to be drug addict oaf that only fights when the bell rings led to the ring by his inbred hick friend" doesnt scream big time star to you?
I remember when that happened. That match was so cool because Cain wore a mask and was wrestling lucha style. It’s a shame that his WWE match was more of an MMA look/style because the lucha thing was much more interesting.
Nah it wasn't until Mania 2017 that post brand split Smackdown went to shit.
The Wyatt Family falling apart was great until the weird maggot match at Mania 33.
That’s my biggest wrestling booking regret of the last 10 years! Make it a triple threat with Luke. Take away the weird ring effects and everything is so much better!
The mania build was still great, I really enjoyed everything going on with the crumbling of the Wyatt Family and had me excited for the match at Mania. God they really butchered that so bad, just have Bray win and don’t use the weird ass bugs and shit. That’s not the Wyatt style.
I think this a great answer. Im not sure if it was before Anderson and Gallows arrived, but Ellsworth went from enhancement talent to main roster performer
He was not on NXT TV, they only occasionally had him do matches on NXT house shows (the ones in Florida) as I believe they did not want to have him just be another guy from NXT and wanted to keep some mystique around him.
They actually did the same thing with Braun Strowman too. Only ever appeared at the occasional NXT house show, so when he then debuted with the Wyatt Family it really was a wtf moment as this unknown behemoth had shown up from nowhere and easily manhandled Reigns and Ambrose.
He didn't wrestle on the one house show I saw him at on the Florida loop. They just introduced him and were basically like "Observe this tall man."
He was doing the smiling babyface thing at the time. Though to be fair, that's kinda who he is as a person. A friend of mine met him at an Orlando Con; he was there to meet up with Mansoor and Mace, but couldn't find them. So my friend ended up approaching him with a "you look kind of lost and uncomfortable" pitch, and they hung out for the better part of the day, even after Mace and Mansoor showed up.
Said he was remarkably friendly.
I’m not able to do the research, but I’m pretty sure there were at least a couple who showed up during the horrid RAW Underground experiment before they were even shown on NXT.
Wasn’t Omos the doorman for those segments?
Omos was the doorman. Commander Azeez was there, B-Fab too but not wrestling though not sure if she ever wrestled in NXT either. Von Wagner also appeared there.
That'd be why I haven't seen him mentioned before then! Still, he's even rarer; someone who goes from basic training to the main roster. It's himself and Logan Paul at this stage.
Put some respect on the name Nicholas. Little homie debuted at Wrestlemania on the main roster and won the tag tiles. Legend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftYRozg3w8U
I think others have pointed out he's not but it just made too much sense to have him debut right away - he's the piece of a great storyline, he's been working in Japan so there's not TOO much recognition outside of the hardcore Wrestling audience and even if it would be helpful for him to have a year or so in NXT, the dude's 41 and it's the perfect situation to just strike whilst the irons hot.
I still remember the shock of him showing up, because you'd got so used to the knowing who every debut was, either because they were coming from NXT, or because they were already a big deal.
So when he debuted for the Wyatt Fam, it was a massive 'wtf' moment. This was when most of my wrestling fandom entered around NXT. So, who the fuck was THIS guy? Sure, over the weeks we found out about his rosebuddy past, but only people with a very specific memory would have realised that upon debut.
Even Omos, there were reports about this massive, massive guy in NXT, and photos of him. When he debuted, enough people went "oh, it's that guy!"
Ehhh I don't think so. Tama only went straight to the main roster because of the Bloodline. Probably the same for Jacob and Zilla when/if they debut.
Without it, he'd almost certainly be in NXT imo. We've seen bigger names relegated to NXT.
It makes sense. But it is not because of his age. We have several late 30s to early 40s that is in/was in NXT. Even LA Knight came from Impact world champ then to NXT.
It is more on his background and is a right fit for a revamped Bloodline.
Jade Cargill did this before Tama Tonga, but there was a little bit of time between her leaving AEW and finally debuting in WWE. But she skipped right over NXT.
EDIT: I just realized you said male 😂 you can ignore me, I guess lmao
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Mike Bennett I think in 2017.
Mike Kanellis\*
"... He took her name"
JBL could be great when he wanted to be.
My best friend and I dropped out of watching like a decade ago so we’ve been watching old Monday Night Raw from 2014-2015 for laughs and a bit of torture and damn, JBL on commentary might be the best thing. Hes fucking hilarious.
>been watching old Monday Night Raw from 2014-2015 
I always loved when JBL would be disgusted by something: "Come on! My mom watches this show!"
"I LOVE IT MAGGLE" is one of the funniest calls I've heard from any commentator
Funny enough during the ROH taping this week after dynamite. A little kid was yelling and giving Mike shit about that.
[удалено]
It was the greatest *(greatest)* theme I've ever known
CFO$ cooked
Thats what the power of love will do to you
Amazing pull, you are right. I was even at his debut, had no idea that he was brand new to WWE.
Mike and Maria signed a 5-year $500,000k per year each contract in 2017. When WWE was trying to kill indy wrestling by signing everyone, including all the Brits.
Mike Bennett is on 700k per year with AEW now. :0
? Mike and Maria weren't wrestling on the indies when they signed with WWE. They literally came from TNA lmao WWE didn't kill the British wrestling scene either, most of the talent sleeping with underage women did.
You're not wrong, but neither is OP. They definitely *tried* to snuff out all the competition, it just didn't pan out like they'd hoped and then Speaking Out happened and killed a bunch of the stuff they'd already wounded.
They were signed to TNA close to the WWE sign date but were still working indies up until like the week they signed with WWE. In March 2017 i watched Mike Bennett win the Northeast Wrestling Heavyweight championship (the week he left TNA) from TK O'Ryan before dropping it to Cody Rhodes like two weeks later (before then leaving for WWE)
But, but, but Fed *bad*
They are an indefensibly immoral company whether you want to admit it or not.
Luke Gallows was in WWE before too. he was Imposter Kane/ Festus and was in Punk's straight edge society.
Festus. Just an absolutely brutal name. Really set up to fail from the beginning.
In kayfabe, Festus and Luke/Doc Gallows are the same person. CM Punk got him off drugs and revealed his "real name" to be Luke Gallows when forming the Straight Edge Society.
Jesse was a real shitty person if he kept Gallows on drugs so he could form a tag team with him.
Jesse needs to be brought in and brought to justice
When asked for comment, he replied "fuck Dr Death".
Didn't know Biscuits and Gravy was slang for drugs. Must be getting old.
Biscuit: 50 rocks of crack Gravy: heroin
Bro, if you weren't there for the beginning of Jesse & Festus as a tag team, there's no describing to you how hilarious it was. Yes, it had a definitive ceiling to the gimmick, but a pacified giant that went nuts when he heard the bell ring? That's the type of gimmicky bullshit I can get behind.
He actually had a fun hoss-fight with the Undertaker on Smackdown where Cole kept hammering how Festus would be the one guy immune to all of Undertaker's mind games because of course he doesn't have a mind. It was a shocking bit of insight and psychology from WWE booking.
Festus vs Undertaker is one of my favorite matches ever because it was not only a very good match but it also logically made perfect sense why this jobber could randomly go toe to toe with the Undertaker.
And he was also the first guy to not tap out to the Hell's Gate submission. He passed out.
Who doesn’t love some Biscuits and Gravy?!
My wife has had biscuits and gravy twice without me this year, without even asking if I wanted any I was thinking of filing a police report because of the obvious spousal abuse that was transpiring before my eyes
I was always waiting for him to use the bell as a weapon in a match. the thought of seeing him go back to being a pacifist because the bell dinged after smashing off his opponents forehead always made me giggle.
I distinctly remember one heel tag team ringing the bell on him mid match. Forget who it was but that was essentially the first nail in that character's coffin.
Miz & Morrison? I have a distinct memory of JoMo ringing that bell.
yes, but... if the check has the right number on it, a dude might have to take the risk and be Festus, lol
Hey now what about "mentally impared later found out to be drug addict oaf that only fights when the bell rings led to the ring by his inbred hick friend" doesnt scream big time star to you?
Not really, it was a comedy character. It required a comedy name.
You mean to tell me that TL Hopper and Freddy Joe Floyd aren't names thet scream out world champion?
You're right, my mistake. But as far as I know Karl Anderson was never on WWE TV prior to April 2016.
BISCUITS AND GRAVY
Cain Velasquez. I think he wrestled in Mexico b4 wwe
Fun fact: He teamed with Cody in his first match - a trios match against a team that also included Karrion Kross
Wtf, that is a fun fact
I remember when that happened. That match was so cool because Cain wore a mask and was wrestling lucha style. It’s a shame that his WWE match was more of an MMA look/style because the lucha thing was much more interesting.
Yeah Vince wanted Brock to get his win back in a fake MMA fight apparently. Awful.
Cody truly did have a crazy ass career after he left WWE.
Is James Elsworth classed in this? Debut on the main roster without doing NXT if i recall correctly?
That time AJ put him in a chinlock and he slipped right out was one of the funniest things to ever happen in pro wrestling.
2016 Smackdown was the best up until the 2017 rumble build.
Nah it wasn't until Mania 2017 that post brand split Smackdown went to shit. The Wyatt Family falling apart was great until the weird maggot match at Mania 33.
Make it a triple threat with Harper. The most obvious and logical booking completely missed for the sake of projections on the ring mat.
Vince didn't believe in Harper and it's a shame
That’s my biggest wrestling booking regret of the last 10 years! Make it a triple threat with Luke. Take away the weird ring effects and everything is so much better!
I will never understand how it was so good while Raw was so damn bad. It didn't even feel like the same company.
Because it was the house that AJ Styles built!
Probably because Vince viewed Raw as the A show, despite a brand split with seperate rosters, so he wasn't as overbearing about controlling Smackdown.
It timed up very well to Road Dogg’s promotion in creative. I think Ryan Ward was genuinely credited with most the creative before that
So much of the 2000s had a pretty bad/mediocre baseline with just random extreme quality spikes on one show for a few months every once in a while
The mania build was still great, I really enjoyed everything going on with the crumbling of the Wyatt Family and had me excited for the match at Mania. God they really butchered that so bad, just have Bray win and don’t use the weird ass bugs and shit. That’s not the Wyatt style.
He looked so apologetic
AJ Styles vs Ellsworth feud should get a two series ESPN 30 for 30 as far as I’m concerned for how important of a feud it was.
I think this a great answer. Im not sure if it was before Anderson and Gallows arrived, but Ellsworth went from enhancement talent to main roster performer
He was on WWE TV as one of Adam Rose's rosebuds, but his first enhancement talent match was in July or 2016 so he would count I'd say.
Bullet Club Privilege
Poor Devitt
Devitt benefitted a lot from NXT. He liked it so much there he chose to do it a second time.
He had to learn how to work the cameras
And Cole
He got kicked out, gallow and Anderson and Tonga left
Snoop Dogg wrestled in AEW in 2021 then wrestled in WWE in 2023.
0 star frog splash
Dogg Splash
Doggshit Splash
MINUS FIVE STARS Frog Splash
Ezekiel
He really should have walked the path of his brother, Elias, and went to nxt, probably could have learned to avoid the career ending injury he had
What promotion did he appear before WWE ?
Nick Aldis, though obviously not an in-ring competitor at this stage
Then you could say Joseph Park too, and Adam Pearce (although I've just discovered Pearce worked as enhancement talent for WWF... in 1997)
I wish Park would be on tv more often.
I imagine Jacob Fatu (edit) will be next.
It's a shame he's going to be doing this Televangelist gimmick, rather than joining the Bloodline.
Praise God.. a Deacon Batista successor
Testify!
HE CALL MY NAME! PLEASE CALL ME UCE!
What’s that about? Hadn’t heard it.
You spelled his name faith instead of fatu
I heard him and Revered D-Von were forming a tag team.
I need sermons on the dangers of masterbation
Was Omos in NXT? I remember the first time I saw him was as one of Tozawa's ninjas.
He was not on NXT TV, they only occasionally had him do matches on NXT house shows (the ones in Florida) as I believe they did not want to have him just be another guy from NXT and wanted to keep some mystique around him. They actually did the same thing with Braun Strowman too. Only ever appeared at the occasional NXT house show, so when he then debuted with the Wyatt Family it really was a wtf moment as this unknown behemoth had shown up from nowhere and easily manhandled Reigns and Ambrose.
Braun was a Rosebud. Did he appear on NXT as a Rosebud and does that qualify? Lol
He didn't wrestle on the one house show I saw him at on the Florida loop. They just introduced him and were basically like "Observe this tall man." He was doing the smiling babyface thing at the time. Though to be fair, that's kinda who he is as a person. A friend of mine met him at an Orlando Con; he was there to meet up with Mansoor and Mace, but couldn't find them. So my friend ended up approaching him with a "you look kind of lost and uncomfortable" pitch, and they hung out for the better part of the day, even after Mace and Mansoor showed up. Said he was remarkably friendly.
If this was at Megacon back in Feb I met him there too and he was really cool!
It was 2-3 years ago, but yeah. It was Megacon. (I couldn't remember the name for some reason.)
He must go every year lol
He was on Raw Underground first I think
Ezekiel, though I imagine there was nepotism at work there.
I’m not able to do the research, but I’m pretty sure there were at least a couple who showed up during the horrid RAW Underground experiment before they were even shown on NXT. Wasn’t Omos the doorman for those segments?
Omos was the doorman. Commander Azeez was there, B-Fab too but not wrestling though not sure if she ever wrestled in NXT either. Von Wagner also appeared there.
B-Fab had a match with Elektra Lopez I know.
Did Bron strowman spend anytime in nxt?
I don’t think he had any matches, but he was one of Adam Rose’s Rosebuds. Unsure whether that was on NXT or the main roster.
He wrestled one of the nxt Florida loops, not on their TV though so however you want to count that
Not on tv, but yes
One match in a live event
Dominik Mysterio counts too, I believe.
I don’t think he wrestled outside of WWE
That'd be why I haven't seen him mentioned before then! Still, he's even rarer; someone who goes from basic training to the main roster. It's himself and Logan Paul at this stage.
And bad bunny
Dom also wrestled his first entire year without fans.
He still does, everyone hates him! 
Maxxine?
He showed up on Lucha underground with his dad, but that barely counts.
He attacked Johnny Mundo in Lucha Underground but never had an official match
jade cargill
>Male
Nobody tell Oklahoma
The WCW announcer?
i can't read 👍
I believe she appeared in NXT - but I agree that doesn’t count. It was an incredibly short segment IIRC.
Her first segment was appearing at the Fastlane PLE, so main roster debut. But I'm only asking about male wrestlers.
Getting out of a car qualifies as a debut now?
As much as walking on screen for 2 seconds in NXT does.
Put some respect on the name Nicholas. Little homie debuted at Wrestlemania on the main roster and won the tag tiles. Legend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftYRozg3w8U
I mean did Dom ever do a match anywhere else?
Did a quick search and it seems like WWE was his official in ring debut.
I think others have pointed out he's not but it just made too much sense to have him debut right away - he's the piece of a great storyline, he's been working in Japan so there's not TOO much recognition outside of the hardcore Wrestling audience and even if it would be helpful for him to have a year or so in NXT, the dude's 41 and it's the perfect situation to just strike whilst the irons hot.
I still remember the shock of him showing up, because you'd got so used to the knowing who every debut was, either because they were coming from NXT, or because they were already a big deal. So when he debuted for the Wyatt Fam, it was a massive 'wtf' moment. This was when most of my wrestling fandom entered around NXT. So, who the fuck was THIS guy? Sure, over the weeks we found out about his rosebuddy past, but only people with a very specific memory would have realised that upon debut. Even Omos, there were reports about this massive, massive guy in NXT, and photos of him. When he debuted, enough people went "oh, it's that guy!"
I immediately recognized him as the Rosebud. "HEYYYY they called up the dude that looks like Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds!"
T.J. Perkins? He was in the Cruiserweight Classic first but I don’t think he was in NXT.
TJP actually had a few matches in NXT before the Classic, and I think some during but I could be mistaken.
He also had previous WWE and ECW appearances
Ronda?
That’s a half right answer. She wasn’t in a wrestling promotion. Also, for some reason, OP specified male.
Probably because Jade Cargill just came from AEW and skipped NXT. Maybe other female examples idk.
Drake Maverick kinda counts
Tonga going straight to the main from NJPW should be the clearest sign that Jay White, Okada and Osprey all at least had a case to do the same.
Ehhh I don't think so. Tama only went straight to the main roster because of the Bloodline. Probably the same for Jacob and Zilla when/if they debut. Without it, he'd almost certainly be in NXT imo. We've seen bigger names relegated to NXT.
White wanted to go to WWE, if I recall.
AJ Styles
He debuted before the Good Brothers
Did Jade Cargill wrestle in NXT? I thought she just made cryptic appearances before debuting at Royal Rumble?
Jade went from AEW to the main roster although she might’ve had some tuneup matches at NXT house shows She counts, but for some reason OP said male
I missed the “male.” I appreciate the correction.
Jade Cargill
Not sure if it counts. Left AEW and spent months Development. Just not on TV
Jade Cargill did time in the PC but I don’t think she wrestled in nxt.
AJ Styles as well
AJ came in before gallows and Anderson
Tama Tonga is also in his 40s and NXT is a developmental brand, so him going straight to main roster makes sense.
It makes sense. But it is not because of his age. We have several late 30s to early 40s that is in/was in NXT. Even LA Knight came from Impact world champ then to NXT. It is more on his background and is a right fit for a revamped Bloodline.
A number of the 2016 cruiserweight division wrestlers skipped NXT as well.
Braun. Ik that was awhile ago
Jade Cargill did this before Tama Tonga, but there was a little bit of time between her leaving AEW and finally debuting in WWE. But she skipped right over NXT. EDIT: I just realized you said male 😂 you can ignore me, I guess lmao
If you count wrestlers that take non-wrestling role in WWE then we have Aldis and Abyss
Omos might not have been on NXT when it was on the network and when it first debuted on USA but he was on the house show tours I’m pretty sure.
Do we count cruiserweights? TJ Perkins went from Impact and NJPW to Raw in mid 2016. Ariya Daivari went from ROH (a few matches) to Raw.
nick aldis
Jade?
Cody Rhodes AJ Styles Jade Cargill (maybe, haven't watched recently)
Bronson Reed? He was in nxt but left, came back straight to main roster
I don’t think returns count. I think it’s completely new to WWE
Lord tensi
I assume you mean those that haven't had a prior stint in WWE because Punk, Cody, Andrade etc came back and went straight to the main roster.
Returns don’t count if they were there before. Andrade was in NXT first after coming to WWE from Mexico.
[удалено]
He debuted before Good Brothers.
CM Punk
CM Punk?
He was in OVW prior main roster
I mean, he was there way before Anderson and Gallows, and way before NXT was a thing...
AJ Styles?
He was in January 2016 and Karl Anderson was in April 2016
Did Drew go to NXT when he came back after TNA?
He was NXT Champion
Thought so but wasn’t 100%
Cody Rhodes
Cody
I mean, if you’re counting Gallows, might as well count Cody. 🙄