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On last week's WWE Monday Night RAW, we saw the NXT Champion Karrion Kross make his debut on the main roster. His first opponent? Bonafide first-ballot WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Hardy.
How'd the Bringer of Doomsday do? Well...
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Yep. The WWE star, who had not been pinned or submitted at that point, was beaten in just over a minute on his RAW debut. Kross' loss was incredibly controversial, as the WWE Universe questioned why the company would have Kross run through the best NXT had to offer just to end his undefeated streak like this.
Though rare, Kross isn't the first major star to lose his first match on WWE's main roster. Hopefully, like the men on this list, Kross will bounce back and rise to the top of the business in the next few years.
Today we'll be taking a look at five other times WWE Superstars lost their debut matches. We're kicking things off with a man who recently returned to the company last week. Play his music, Paul!
#5 John Cena shows his ruthless aggression on WWE SmackDown
The only reason this isn't higher on the list is because it's so well known. Seriously, who doesn't know this one? WWE have, themselves, parodied John Cena and his delivery of the line "Ruthless Aggression" a few times over in recent years. At WrestleMania 36, Bray Wyatt took Cena back in time to that moment, where the Cenation Leader screamed it like a battle cry before missing every single punch.
On an episode of NXT in June, Adam Cole faced off against Carmelo Hayes. When Cole asked why Hayes thought he could step up to the face of the brand, Hayes screamed "Ruthless Aggression" and attacked the NXT Triple Crown Champion.
It's a classic moment in WWE history. After finally accepting the fact that he was now bald, Angle issued an open challenge to anyone that he'd never wrestled before. The man to answer the challenge? A young John Cena wearing, of all things, tights. No jorts at this point, and it's pretty jarring.
Angle was met with a slap across the face, and Cena fired up on the future WWE Hall of Famer. It was a great showing for someone who would end up being one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all-time. Angle would catch Cena with a pinfall, barely escaping with the win over the debuting star.
#4 Daniel Bryan loses to Chris Jericho on the first-ever episode of WWE NXT
Daniel Bryan made headlines recently when news broke that the former WWE Champion had reportedly signed with AEW. Though Bryan nor AEW have confirmed the deal, it seems that he's indeed bound for Wednesday Nights.
Interestingly enough, Bryan's first official loss, not counting his sporadic 2002 appearances, was against Chris Jericho. In his debut match on NXT, Bryan took Jericho to his limit on the first-ever episode of the brand.
Dubbed by fans as the "game show" era of NXT, up-and-coming talent would compete on a live Tough Enough-Esque weekly show, participating in matches as well as partaking in ridiculous contests. It was terrible, though it did give us the first match-up between Bryan and Jericho.
Considering that he was called a "rookie" at the time, Bryan's loss to Jericho wasn't at all shocking. WWE at least made Bryan look like a million bucks, even though he'd eventually go on to be the first eliminated on the show.
If you want to be a stickler, Bryan's first match with the company was a loss against Sean O'Haire back in 2002. However, he wasn't under contract.
#3 Randy Orton loses to Billy Gunn on WWE Sunday Night Heat
Randy Orton's debut match was against The One Billy Gunn. The future multi-time WWE Champion was completely outclassed by Gunn. At 21 years of age, Orton faced Gunn on the May 6th, 2001 edition of WWE Sunday Night Heat.
For those of you who weren't watching around that time, Heat was similar to Main Event. WWE would tape dark matches in front of live crowds to play at a later date, usually featuring upcoming or lower-card wrestlers.
Though Orton lost in about four minutes to the WWE Legend, it was impressive with just how well he worked with Gunn, who, especially now, is an underrated in-ring performer. The two were quick and smooth, and it was clear from day one that Orton was going to be a major player.
Still, it's kind of crazy to think that the man that would become The Viper was embarrassed on this level, and in his debut with the company no less.
#2 Chris Jericho loses to Road Dogg on WWE SmackDown
That's right, WWE served Chris Jericho a loss in his first match with the company. The Ayatollah of Rock 'N Rolla, who had one of the greatest debut moments of all-time against The Rock, lost to Road Dogg.
Now, he wasn't beaten by the DX member, per se. Jericho drove his opponent through a table with a powerbomb, earning himself a DQ loss. At least Jericho wasn't pinned or submitted.
However, it was still terrible to see him lose his first match in WWE.
#1 Sting loses to Triple H at WWE WrestleMania 31
The Icon, the Franchise Player of WCW. He's the man called Sting, and he was horribly mistreated by WWE. We saw Sting debut with the company at Survivor Series 2014 when he helped Team Cena defeat Team Authority.
Nearly coming back from a 3-1 disadvantage all on his own, Ziggler found himself in the ring with Seth Rollins. Unfortunately, The Authority was around ringside and continuously saved The Architect from elimination. Once the referee was knocked out, Sting appeared.
He laid out the Authority and placed Ziggler on Rollins, essentially ending The Authority's reign over WWE. At least, he did for a month. Rollins would threaten to break the neck of then-retired WWE Hall of Famer Edge, forcing John Cena to bring The Authority back.
At WrestleMania, Triple H got his revenge on Sting, beating him in his first match in WWE and his only match at a WrestleMania event. It was a...strange call to say the least, with many fans believing it was WWE trying to "confirm" their victory over WCW in a war that had been dead for fourteen years at that point.
Sting would go onto have a 2-2 record, beating the Big Show in a singles match and joining John Cena to beat Seth Rollins and the Big Show in a tag team match. Rollins would beat Sting to retain the WWE Championship in a bout that would see the legend seriously injured.
Though Sting announced his retirement at his 2016 WWE Hall of Fame induction, he'd return to action with AEW. Thankfully, the Stinger hasn't missed a step.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
