It’s incredibly rare for a wrestler to enter the business and instantly be a star. Sure, a few guys do have the talent, skills and just pure luck to make it big right off. Steve Austin was seen as a future superstar from his debut and it took little time for that to happen. Kurt Angle and Goldberg likewise had little training before becoming huge stars in their rookie years. But for the most part, many of today’s big stars all had to pay their dues and that often involved jobbing. It’s fun for fans to look back at the early 2000s to see how AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Daniel Bryan all did time on WWE syndicated shows before later becoming champions for the company.

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Even the legends have had to do that. Sure, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes had fast starts yet their early careers had them jobbing a bit before becoming famous. Yet it’s remarkable to see how once upon a time, some of WWE’s biggest names, including Hall of Famers, were the guys you’d see being beat up every week on TV. Here are 10 of the most notable WWE Legends who were once jobbers to prove you can’t always judge a guy by his first matches.

10 Roddy Piper

On his DVD bio, Roddy Piper laughed at the photos of himself as an incredibly skinny 15-year old kid breaking into the business. From his debut in 1970 to the mid-70s, Piper was a jobber in the AWA, NWA and Texas territories. He had to cut his teeth learning the business while also getting into better shape and mic skills.

It wasn’t until he hit California in 1975 that Piper was getting pushes which led to a run in Portland. That was followed by Georgia and Mid-Atlantic before becoming a star in WWE as early ‘70s fans got the first glimpse of “Roddy the Piper.”

9 The Undertaker

Over the last three decades, the Undertaker has become such an iconic part of WWE that it’s forgotten he ever wrestled anywhere else. The reality is that Mark Calaway started out in World Class Championship Wrestling in 1987. His very first bout was as the masked Texas Red, where he lost to Bruiser Brody.

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His WCW tenure had him as “Mean” Mark Callous who had promise but often ended up losing to Lex Luger and others. He moved to WWE where he took what should have been a stupid gimmick about an undead zombie, but he transformed it into one of the greatest acts in wrestling history.

8 Bret Hart

Bret Hart had paid his dues in Stampede Wrestling. He started out as a jobber to guys before learning his craft to be a terrific worker. Sure, he got a push because of his father but Bret’s skills led him to the top of the territory.

When he joined WWE in 1984, Bret started with a stupid “cowboy” gimmick and even rumors they wanted him to ride a small horse to the ring. Thankfully, that didn’t last too long as WWE paired Bret with Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart. The Hart Foundation was soon one of the top teams and tag champions with Bret using that to launch his legendary career.

7 Triple H

Today, the idea of Triple H jobbing would be absolutely hilarious to his many detractors. But yes, Jean-Paul Levesque was just a struggling wrestler once. He began in the independents and then WCW as “Terra Ryzing,” a name Hunter himself laughs at today. He was then shifted to a “French aristocrat” who had a mild push but still mostly jobber material.

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He had a minor push at first in WWE as Hunter Hearst Helmsley but after the infamous “Curtain Call” in 1996, he was sent to job for months. He managed to bounce back by winning the IC title and launching the epic career to the top of the company.

6 Edge

After seeing Hogan face the Warrior at WrestleMania VI as a teenager, Adam Copeland was taken over by the wrestling bug. After spending time in Canada as Sexton Hardcastle, he got some shots in WCW as Damon Striker. He was simply used for a couple of WCW Saturday Night tapings with a brash manner and crazy behavior.

His early work in WWE had him as a jobber on weekend shows before he landed the role of mysterious loner Edge. He and Christian were soon a top team in WWE and Edge later a major solo star to boot.

5 Kane

Today, Glenn Jacobs is alright with leaving wrestling behind to be the mayor of his town. When he started out in wrestling, his huge size helped him stand out but he had some rough gimmicks. In the USWA, he was known as Doomsday then the rather insultingly named Unabomber. His first WWE gimmick was Isaac Yankem, an evil dentist who got a minor push but soon jobbing to guys half his size. Yes, really.

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He was then saddled with the “fake Diesel” gimmick that should have killed his career. Luckily, Jacobs was just the guy to wear a mask and debut as Kane. From there on, he was a huge star who held scores of titles to show how he could tower over others in the end.

4 Shawn Michaels

The idea of the Heartbreak Kid being a jobber seems bizarre but in the 1980s, Michaels was just a guy trying to make do in Texas. He had several matches in World Class and the NWA and while very raw, was already showing the skills he’d use later in his career.

It was in the AWA that Michaels hooked up with Marty Jannetty and before long the Midnight Rockers were the hottest team around. Even when he started in his singles run as a heel in 1992, Shawn could job to some other stars but by October of that year was IC champion. Once he reached that level of stardom, he never looked back.

3 Randy Savage

Even the greatest stars have to start somewhere. Despite being the son of legendary Angelo Poffo, Randy wanted to try his hand at baseball first. He eventually did get in the ring to earn money during the off-season. To protect his identity, he would wrestle as the masked Spider and do jobs in the Midwest.

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It was Ole Anderson who gave him the “Savage” moniker, as Randy realized he liked wrestling more than expected and focused on it full-time. He hit his stride in Memphis before becoming an icon for WWE, proving that he made the right career choice.

2 Mick Foley

In his first book, Mick Foley discussed one of his very first matches in 1986 WWE. As “Jack Foley,” he and Les Thornton faced the British Bulldogs for a TV taping. Foley made the mistake of telling the Bulldogs before the match to do whatever they wanted to him. This resulted in a busted lip via a clothesline from Davey Boy and a nasty top-rope suplex from Dynamite Kid.

Foley actually thanked the Bulldogs for the battle as he spent a few more years as a jobber. He eventually became Cactus Jack to lead him to his true fame in wrestling.

1 Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan a jobber? The greatest star in WWE history, the man who brought wrestling into the mainstream, once nothing but enhancement talent? Believe it or not, it’s true! When Hogan started out in the 1970s, he and Ed Leslie (better known as Brutus Beefcake) were working in Memphis as the Boulder Brothers.

They were pretty much used to put over teams like the Wild Samoans and Terry coming up short against Ron Bass. Even in his early WWE run, Hogan would come up short against Andre the Giant and others. It’s astounding to think one of wrestling’s greatest icons was dismissed as just a muscleman jobber in his early career.

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