My Favorite Fandom Fights Debut Singles Matches, Ranked
10. Jake Meltzer vs Andrea Malabag
Future Teams Champion Jake Meltzer went up against Andrea Malabag in their debut. Andrea would eventually exit Fandom singles, losing in a retirement match to Alec Miller. In hindsight, this should have been an absolute blowout. However, thanks to Jake’s reluctance to bet in his first match, it went all the way to the final question, with a real shot for Andrea to win.
Jake wins 16-14
9. Alex Martinez vs Kaiser Huang
Two future stars squared off against each other at the end of 2021. Alex and Kaiser went shot for shot, with very few misses. In what seemed to set the tone for Kaiser’s career, Alex won the match with a lower accuracy at the end of round three.
Alex wins 18-16
8. Brandon Cohen vs Maria Hammon
Not every great match has to be incredibly high scoring to be great. Sometimes it’s nice to get some great personalities in a match together and see which one can come out on top. Brandon vs Maria is a favorite of mine. Not knowing what these two likable players knew at the time made every question a nail biter, until Maria won in grand fashion.
Maria wins 10-8
7. Amaru Moses vs Jack Pinchuk
Again, some of the best debut matches feature future staples of the league. It’s always interesting to go back and see where they started vs where they are now. Jack vs Amaru was a back and forth match that Jack ultimately won (which today would be considered an upset), but really made you believe that either of these players would eventually make it big time.
Jack wins 19-16
6. Garth McMurray vs Brigit Colwell
Garth McMurray pitted against Brigit Colwell was my favorite match on paper. Just knowing these two people, they seemed like polar opposites. An older gentlemen surrounded by comic book memorabilia was facing off against a young woman who called herself the girl on fire. Their strengths were diametrically opposed, which meant the outcome was completely determined by luck of the wheel and randomization of the categories. It was as back and forth as I hoped.
Garth wins 13-12
5. Thomas Scully vs Caleb Boatman
These future teams champions started their singles careers against each other. The rise of Thomas Scully started right here against Caleb Boatman, who despite where each of their singles careers went in the future, put up a great fight against a future hall of famer.
Scully wins 15-12
4. Tyler Beutler vs Aaron Sellers
When Tyler Beutler played Aaron Sellers it was not the first time a debut match had gone to sudden death, but it was still equally exciting. Both players’ quiet and shy demeanor may have thrown you off when you saw how lethal they were in the ring. This was a great match, and kicked off Tyler’s streak of going to sudden death more often than not.
Tyler wins via Sudden Death 20-19
3. Bill Cariola vs Igor Kasic
Again, sudden death just makes things exciting. And it had been quite awhile where we saw a debut match as edge-of-your-seat as Bill vs Igor. What sweetened the deal was Bill’s lack of confidence in himself, coupled with the completely unknown quantity of Igor Kasic. Then they each came out and had two of the best performances in any debut match ever, with Bill taking it in sudden death.
Bill wins via Sudden Death 24-23
2. Nicholas Twohig vs Ruben Colon
A personal favorite of mine, for less than obvious reasons. I’m hoping I can come off objective, but if not whatever. At the time this was the first debut match to go into sudden death, and allowed me to set the singles record at the time. Needless to say it’s a fond memory of mine, but there’s one debut match I enjoy watching just a little bit more.
Nicholas wins via Sudden Death 26-25
1. Mark Menchaca vs Brittani Tapley
Mark vs Brittani may not have gone to sudden death, but it didn’t need to in order to be my favorite debut match. Yes, part of it has to do with where these two players went in the future. Mark is fantastic. He’s challenged for the singles belt and contended for teams belts, but Brittani is quite possibly the greatest to ever play the game. So, to look back and see her lose in a very close match to Mark when he gave the answer “Stallion: Spirit of the Cimarron”, is really something to behold.
Mark wins 18-16
