Regardless of the fact that Tye Dillinger never really got over on the main roster, his Perfect Ten gimmick was a fan favorite. Naturally, Dillinger entered the 2017 Royal Rumble at No. 10. It would be sacrilege to rank his debut anywhere else.
In another world, Ember Moon could’ve been a top star in WWE. They seemed to never know how to properly book her. But at the beginning, they got it right. Moon debuted the night after defending her NXT title against Shayna Baszler.
WWE gave Lacey Evans a solid run in the 2019 Royal Rumble. In what was in main roster in ring debut, Evans immediately established herself as a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, her main roster run was a mixed bag and her star power never really got a chance to shine.
They may have gone on to have one of the worst Wrestlemania matches of all time, but Giant Gonzalez’s debut was incredible. The behemoth entered the ring and immediately dispatched The Undertaker.
There aren’t many good things to say about the 2014 Royal Rumble. One bright spot was the debut of NXT’s Alexander Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute never quite reached the main event scene, but his inclusion in the 2014 Rumble was a great start to his career.
Long before he was Uncle Howdy, Bo Dallas was one of the biggest stars at NXT. In 2013, he made his main roster debut at the Royal Rumble, eliminating then Intercontinental champion, Wade Barrett. For a brief time, he made sure everyone was going to Bo-lieve.
This was still during a time when surprises were possible. Although, many fans were wise to the likelihood of Tazz making his WWE. That didn’t damper the experience though, as the longtime ECW superstar got a huge reaction when his number hit.
Fans never quite took to Ronda Rousey the way WWE would have liked. But for all the criticisms of Rousey’s WWE run, none can be levied at her debut, which was perfect. After the Royal Rumble ended, Rouse came out to the ring with the winner, Asuka, and the Raw and Smackdown champions, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss already standing there. Rousey said nothing, merely pointing to the Wrestlemania sign.
Vader was a long time WCW superstar who had just crossed over to WWE, who immediately made him feel like a huge deal. Vader debuted at the Royal Rumble and looked unstoppable until he was eliminated by Shawn Michaels. It was, indeed, Vader time.
For years, A.J. Styles was synonymous with TNA. While the two companies may have a partnership now, back then, they were competition, to an extent. No one was sure how the fans would react to Styles or whether he was well known enough to the WWE audience. Well, it couldn’t have gone better, as the crowd erupted for the phenomenal one.
