Original subtitles

Tremendous newcomer here to the World

Wrestling--.

Making his debut.

I never heard of him.

Oh, take a look.

Holy cow.

There's nothing like a first impression to go

from a nobody to a somebody in an instant.

What a debut for Bill Goldberg.

From a unique presentation-

This is the greatest day

that professional wrestling has ever seen.

to a startling entrance-

Wait a minute.

My God, King.

What?

My God.

What?

That's Paul Wight.

to a harrowing display of power.

My God.

Oh, my God.

He just ripped the door off its hinges.

Today, we look back at some of the most

dazzling debuts of the 1990s.

Unbelievable.

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

If you smell-

Oh, my God,

what the hell are you doing?

Absolutely unbelievable.

Hulkamania is here.

Welcome, everyone,

to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole.

And on this edition, we're taking a look back

at the most spectacular debuts of the 1990s.

Look at that.

Who is he?

There was no decade more distinctive,

as the '90s ushered in some of the most celebrated icons

WWE has ever seen.

And our fist moment is no except.

The grandson of Peter Maivia, the son of Rocky Johnson.

Rocky Maivia was Sports Entertainment's first-ever

third-generation superstar.

This guy could be the standard bearer

for years to come.

With such a deep wrestling pedigree,

Maivia had big shoes to fill in his debut at the 1996

Survivor Series taking place at Madison Square Garden.

I just want to give 110% effort,

and I don't want to let my teammates down, and, hopefully,

I can do something tonight

that would really make my family proud.

Rocky Maivia.

There's gonna be the man right there.

That blue chipper right there.

When you think about debuts,

there are only a few

that you really think about being, like,

a huge deal when it happened.

Rocky Maivia, it stood out.

It jumped off the page.

Oh.

Oh.

He's 6'5", 275 is Rocky Maivia.

Holy crap.

Good-looking kid.

Good physique, athletic.

Now the rookie, Rocky Maivia,

is left with two men on one.

Flying body press.

He got him.

Woo.

Survivor Series was more than just an event,

it was a hell of a learning experience.

And yes.

Oh.

One, two.

I can't believe it.

That's it.

And on top of that, I win the whole thing.

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair had spent nearly two

decades wrestling all over the world for various promotions,

becoming one of the biggest names in professional wrestling.

You see, I wrestle the top guys

night in and night out.

In 1991, Ric Flair was an eight-time

and current, that's right current,

WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

There is only one world heavyweight champion.

A dispute with the company brought

the Nature Boy to WWE and lead to one

of the most controversial debuts ever.

I have here the belt that belongs

to the greatest world heavyweight champion

in the history of wrestling.

The real world's champion, Ric Flair.

I got to talk to Vince on the phone and said,

"I will come if you want me."

He said, "I don't believe you."

I said, "I got the belt."

He said, "Send it, and I'll believe you."

I overnighted it to him.

The man that has made everyone

in the World Wrestling-- shake.

And the audience for Prime Time at that

time, which was cable on USA Network,

was larger than our syndicated audiences,

so we did it to the largest audience first.

The real world's champion, Ric Flair.

To people that were wrestling fans,

not just, like, WWE fans, it was huge.

The real world's heavyweight champion

was going to be coming to the WWE.

Well, lo and behold, did you think it wasn't gonna happen?

That was really huge.

That could be one of the top three moments right there.

I'm Ric Flair, and I'm the real world's champion.

In 1996, American Kurt Angle shocked the world

when he won the Olympic gold medal as a freestyle wrestler.

Angle then became the most sought-after athlete

in professional wrestling.

Finally, three years later in 1999,

WWE signed the most coveted athlete in the nation.

I do respect the athletic ability

of the superstars from the WWE, and I'm sure some of them

could've competed on the Olympic level, but I believe you have

to have a little extra something to win the Olympic gold.

Angle would make his official in-ring debut at

Survivor Series where he'd teach us all

a little lesson about respect.

Making his World Wrestling-- debut,

the most celebrated real athlete in WWE history, Kurt Angle.

He knows championships,

he knows Olympics.

Being a legitimate

Olympic gold medalist, you can really do anything.

I don't believe when I started that WWE was

looking for Kurt Angle to have a huge connection with the fans.

Uh-oh.

Wow.

Nice waistlock takedown by Kurt Angle.

I think they were thinking that I was gonna be

more of a wrestler that would get in the ring

and have some great matches.

This is a different style of WWE competition than

we're used to seeing, King, quite frankly.

They're showing you that this guy can do the

wrestling aspect of it.

A lot of these people--

they're probably not exactly with this-

Oh, man.

What a suplex.

Woo.

this style of wrestling that Kurt Angle does.

This was a time where breaking

the rules was cool.

Me being a baby-face gold medalist, I said,

"There's no way in hell they're going to boo me."

You do not boo an Olympic gold medalist.

I'm the best in the world.

I came here for you.

You do not boo me.

It was the right time to initiate what would be, perhaps,

the top heel in the business, eventually.

Angle with a modified slam.

A fall-away.

The leg hooked.

Oh, beautiful.

You do not boo an Olympic gold medalist.

You have respect for an Olympic gold medalist.

There is no better storytelling device

in all of professional wrestling than that of the vignette.

Goldust.

A vignette is a video segment used to build

excitement outside of the ring

showcasing a wrestler's persona and background.

Throughout the 1990s, nobody's vignettes were as dark,

chilling or mysterious than the character known as Mankind.

Only Mankind could be this evil.

The WWE Universe had never seen a superstar

as eerie and complex as The Deranged One.

Coming down the aisle, Mankind.

The impact of his first night on Raw

would send shock waves throughout WWE.

Look at this.

Those thrashing hard right hands.

Look, battering Bob Holly.

Mankind was introduced to the WWE Universe.

I had Bob Holly in the ring,

and Bob was a really strong wrestler.

Wait a minute.

Good grief.

Wait a minute.

Look at that.

He's got his-

he's got his

fingers jammed down his- down his throat, down to the--

down his esophagus.

Here is your winner, Mankind.

Incapacitating him with the Mandible Claw,

it was a big deal,

but not as big a deal as coming out later in the show.

Wait a minute.

Mankind.

Look at this.

Back in.

The Undertaker character, it was so strong.

They'd line them up and I went through them, but this guy's

willing to hurt himself just to hurt you a little bit.

Look out.

Down below.

Look out.

Oh, my gosh.

Then Mankind puts the claw on me.

It definitely made an impression,

because it was something people really hadn't seen a lot.

The Undertaker,

he's being manhandled by Mankind.

To vanquish Bob Holly and then to put

The Undertaker on his back with the Mandible Claw?

It was a big night.

We knew he'd be deranged, but not this sick.

The 1990s brought us heartbreakers, rattle snakes,

and even Amazons, but there was only one sports entertainer

who brought the total package.

This is "The Total Package" Lex Luger.

Nobody had a physique quite like Lex Luger.

In the 1993 Royal Rumble, silver-tongued Hall of Famer

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan would introduce

the WWE Universe to The Narcissist.

The greatest specimen walking on earth.

It's-it's-it's an honor to introduce and to unveil

"Narcissist" Lex Luger.

On my actual debut at-at the Royal Rumble,

it was nerve-wracking, but at the same time it was--

it was exhilarating.

Oh, yes.

Look at that.

You have a reason to love yourself.

You have a reason.

You are truly The Narcissist.

Lex never met a mirror he didn't like

and had a very narcissistic personality.

I didn't even know what the hell a narcissist

was until we met Lex Luger.

Everybody here wishes

they looked like Lex Luger.

Yeah, he was full of himself and he-

he had every right to be.

He was the total package.

I truly am incredible.

This is history in the making.

That whole "I'm perfect" and "In love with myself,"

I guess if you had a lot of wrestlers back that fit my-

my personality back then pretty well.

You have been part of history.

This is what it's all about, "The Narcissist" Lex Luger.

The 1990s brought us one of the most heated

rivalries in all of Sports Entertainment,

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and the boss, Mr. McMahon.

You can kiss my ass.

What?

Oh, God.

But it was at St. Valentine's Day Massacre

in 1999 when they clashed inside a dreaded steel cage

that would truly remain unforgettable.

The boss would do just about anything to win,

including enlisting the help of a giant.

Mr. McMahon has insane hatred for Stone Cold.

Stone Cold versus Mr. McMahon

was the best of all time.

Into the steel cage.

Oh, no.

Don't worry, this ain't over yet.

Here we go now.

He's got to be 20 feet off the floor.

No.

Mr. McMahon.

How much more can the boss take, King?

You couldn't possibly get any more eyeballs

on that ring than right then.

Oh, no.

No.

Stunner.

Stunner.

He may be dead.

Wait a minute.

My God, King.

What?

My God.

What?

That's Paul Wight.

When I came in in '99,

I gave "Stone Cold" Steve Austin a run for this money.

King, he's huge.

This guy's got to be over seven feet tall.

Big Show came straight up from,

like, from hell.

You knew the boss had to have

something up his sleeve.

This is the largest athlete in the world,

now a part of World Wrestling Entertainment.

King, he's huge.

Look at this.

He's colossal.

Money is power.

A sentiment that "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase

had been preaching his entire charmed life.

Money isn't everything, it's the only thing.

In 1990, when it came time for The Million Dollar

Man to find a tag team partner at Survivor Series,

he went all out and purchased one of the biggest,

strongest and otherworldly superstars WWE had ever seen.

We got an ace up our sleeve.

He's the mystery partner, and I promise this to be a big,

very big surprise.

Survivor Series 1990,

nobody knew what to expect.

I'll introduce to you now my mystery partner

from Death Valley.

I give you The Undertaker.

The Undertaker,

the mystery partner is now revealed.

I never heard of him.

Oh, take a look.

Holy cow.

Look at the size of that ham hock.

His entrance, watching that from the ring

is just impressive, especially the first time.

320 pounds, looks to be 6'9", 6'10",

somewhere in that neighborhood, Rod.

Those slow methodical movements,

the composure, and everything was by design

when he made his debut.

It was very powerful.

The hardest thing to do is to walk that slow and

be that ominous character when on the inside, man,

I am just bouncing off my-my internal walls.

The Harts, and Rhodes, and Koko gotta be just

trying to figure what-what's going on here.

It was a different vibe hit the arena

as soon as I came out.

You knew that it was gonna have

a major impact in WWE.

How on earth are you gonna stop this guy?

In 1999, the global public grew worrisome

of the Y2K bug.

A veered computer glitch that had the potential to crash all

processing systems when the calendar changed to the new

millennium, so when a mysterious countdown clock began appearing

throughout WWE programming, it sparked wild speculation

throughout the world of Sports Entertainment.

What was it counting down to?

And what would happen when the clock finally hit zero?

It's counting down.

Tonight, we're finally gonna unravel the mystery.

We're gonna find out the significance

of the new millennium clock.

Tonight, in front of all The Rock's fans,

you will go one-on-one with The Great One.

The Rock is in the ring.

The big 10 count comes on, 2, 1.

The lights go out.

Light, spotlight,

arms out and Chicago loses it.

People go crazy.

I went crazy.

I remember watching it at home.

Welcome to Raw is Jericho.

I was standing in a post office that had the sign that said,

"Countdown to the new millennium."

It'd be a great way for me to come to the WWE.

Chris Jericho has come to save the WWE.

We crafted it so beautifully.

Has there been a better debut?

I hate to sound egotistical, but I don't think so.

And now that the Y2J problem is here, this company will never,

ever be the same again.

WWE's greatest hero throughout the 1980s

was none other than "The Immortal One" Hulk Hogan.

Train, say your prayers,

eat your vitamins and believe in yourself, brother.

In 1994, the Hulkster decided

to leave WWE and join rival promotion, WCW.

Red and yellow still ran through the veins of millions

of Hulkamaniacs around the globe, and what better way

to welcome in wrestling royalty

than with a parade fit for a king?

Fans all over the world,

thousands of them here at Disney MGM Studios,

as Hulk Hogan makes his way

for the official signing of his contract with WCW.

When I moved our syndicated shows to the Disney MGM lot,

we had access to the back lot.

We knew that bringing Hulk Hogan, we wanted it to feel as

big and as important as we possibly could,

so we came up with the idea of staging a parade.

This is the greatest day

that professional wrestling has ever seen.

We were able to put it together with Disney

and make it look good.

All those people that were there, they weren't hired extras

or anything else.

They were park guests.

Welcome, Hulk Hogan.

I didn't know how powerful Hulkamania

was at the time.

It made everybody look and not look away,

so you could feel people were interested

in what we were gonna do.

Well, you know something, "Mean" Gene?

I told you Hulkamania was gonna run wild in the WCW, brother.

For Hulk to make that move,

and leave WWE and come to WCW, was one hell of a big statement,

and we wanted to squeeze every ounce of energy

that we possibly could out of it

and make it feel like a bigger deal than it already was.

And whatcha gonna do,

"Mean" Gene, when my maniacs run wild on the WCW, brother?

It's now time for our number one moment,

and it's one that the WWE Universe will never forget.

There was no force in all of WWE quite like The Undertaker.

The Deadman overpowered his opponents with supernatural

strength and struck fear into all

with his intimidating exposition.

But did you know that The Undertaker had a brother?

The Phenom's former manager, Paul Bearer,

revealed to him that his long-lost sibling

was coming to attack him.

Kane is alive, Undertaker.

The only questions left unanswered

were when and how?

We're just about ready for Hell in the Cell.

So, Bad Blood was gonna be the kind

of the blow off match between Shawn and I.

The cell itself just came, again, as an idea of

wanting to have something bigger than just a regular cage match.

This is truly Hell in a Cell

for Shawn Michaels.

Oh, and by the way, the blow off was, you know,

the introduction of Undertaker's brother.

It's all over.

Now will come the Tombstone.

No.

Oh, my God.

Wait a minute.

It's Paul Bearer.

That's got to be--

that's got to be Kane.

That whole match was actually built around my debut.

My God.

Oh, my God.

He just ripped the door off its hinges.

You can see it in my eyes like,

"Holy crap. This is my brother that I thought was dead."

The Undertaker looking into the eyes

of that giant who stands in front of him.

Probably one of the coolest debuts I've seen.

Undertaker set up for the Tombstone,

driven down to the canvas.

It was almost like wow.

You just hit a home run in the World Series.

Paul Bearer said that Kane was alive,

and now we know he is.

It just had to be Kane.

That's got to be Kane.

This countdown just goes to show you never know

who might walk out on that stage at any given moment

and make professional wrestling history.

Well, that'll do it for this edition

of WWE's Greatest Moments.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back at some of the biggest

debuts from one of the most exciting times

in professional wrestling, the 1990s.