WWE is based on storylines. According to that theory, superstars are given a gimmick to follow. The specific gimmick becomes their personality. Irrespective of all the talent these superstars have, if the gimmick is bad, nothing can stop the wrestler from declining.
However, a few gimmicks turn out to be utterly exquisite on the first try, just like The Deadman while at a few junctures, WWE has to experiment before attaining success. The experimentation results in changes and sometimes, a change can save a dying career. So, come with us as we take a look at the top 10 Gimmick changes that saved the falling Career of a WWE superstar.
Top 10 Gimmick changes that saved the falling Career of a WWE superstar
10. JBL
JBL was majorly seen by the company as the tag partner of Faarooq and his singles career was really short. But then, the departure of Faarooq as well as Brock Lesnar gave him a chance to shine in the desolate. WWE Champion at that time, Eddie Guerrero was without an opponent at SmackDown, and John Bradshaw Layfield became the perfect fixture.
9. Jinder Mahal
Alongside Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal was a part of not so comical faction, 3MB. Following the faction getting disbanded, Mahal was quickly released from WWE in 2014. But interestingly, he re-signed with the promotion as “The Maharaja” and won the WWE Championship defeating Randy Orton. Jinder Mahal went on to hold the WWE title for almost six months.
8. Dolph Ziggler
When we talk about underrated superstars in the promotion, Dolph Ziggler tops the list for that. But it’s to fewer people that he made his debut as Kerwin White’s caddy, which failed brutally. Afterwards, he became a member of a name cheerleader stable, The Spirit Club. However, Dolph Ziggler is the only member of the Spirit Club who is currently active in the promotion.
7. Bray Wyatt
Do you guys really remember Husky Harris? The biggest achievement of Windham Rotunda as Husky Harris was to get a punt kick from Randy Orton on RAW. However, when He got introduced as Bray Wyatt in 2012, the whole WWE stopped for a while. The cult leader was highly credible and horrific at the very same time. He had monsters like Luke Harper, Erick Rowen and Braun Strowman in his team. Consequently, Bray Wyatt also evolved into the Fiend later on.
6. Batista
Batista’s physic is arguably the best in the history of the promotion. He was initially paired with Reverend D-Von as a side character and the career of both individuals started diminishing eventually. Later on, D-Von was drafted to RAW and Batista’s new partner was Ric Flair. After joining forces with the Nature Boy, Batista became a member of Evolution and from there, his career finally took off.
5. Rikishi
Rikishi was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. But do you know that he was struggling to find a place in the roster before becoming Rikishi? He picked up several gimmicks but failed in all of them. After failing with the gimmicks of a role model and The Sultan, in 1999, Rikishi finally found himself with a similar gimmick to Yokozuna.
4. Kane
The Mayor made his debut as a psychopathic dentist under the name of Dr Issac Yankem and then as “Fake” Diesel. However, nothing was actually working in his favour. A crazy dentist or scientist working with weird chemicals wasn’t really intriguing to the people. However, a gruesome assumed dead, merciless younger brother of Undertaker made the fans go wild and save another career from drowning.
3. John Cena
After Making his debut in 2002 wearing luminous shorts, John Cena was just another superstar on the roster. He wasn’t actually identified by the fans and as a result of that, the promotion was a thing of ending his contract. Interestingly, Stephanie McMahon heard John Cena rapping on a bus trip. When she got to know that the Boston boy can rap, she suggested him to bring it on the TV. And now the rest is history.
2. The Rock
Dwayne Johnson made his debut in WWE as Rocky Maivia. A babyface and another product of the Anoa’i family tree. However, Rocky was suffering from sheer hatred from the fans. In 1997, the Rock suffered an injury and afterwards, he returned to the company as a heel. He started talking about himself in the third person and developed a highly irritating attitude with great mic skills. From here, we got the Rock.
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Things were going down for WWF as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin when he got fired from WCW. He also joined ECW for a small spell but nothing worked. He was working as “The Ringmaster”. But as long as he became Austin 3:16, things jumped in his and WWF’s way. He became the star of the promotion and the promotion reached the top. So, it’s fair to say that Austin also helped WWF when it was needed.
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