#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.