RedRooster Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 When AEW started, The Dark Order was just plain bad. Grayson and Uno were good wrestlers, but the entire gimmick stank. Rather than scrap the whole idea, AEW persisted with it and they suddenly became one of the best acts to watch in AEW. You had Brodie Lee, the bullying leader, and the vulnerable but lovable underlings trying to keep him happy. Even after Brodie's tragic death, they've continued to shine, with "he said yes!" one of the funniest moments I've seen in modern wrestling. It got me thinking, what other acts or wrestlers have managed to do this? I'm discounting gimmick changes here (eg. Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt etc) - what other examples are there of a gimmick or character utterly tanking before somehow becoming good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted February 9, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted February 9, 2021 They might be the two biggest babyfaces in wrestling history, one is the biggest draw and the other the biggest mainstream star so Steve Austin and The Rock probably merit a mention! Both had gimmick tweaks but it was more just natural evolution having both tanked as The Ringmaster and the blue-chipper Rocky Miavia respectively. Umaga is the other one who comes to mind, though his really bad run was only a couple of weeks before they tweaked the act, braided his hair and let him get over killing jobbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasingamymatt Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) New Day? from terrible vinces paws all over them Gospel singing to the whacky heels? I'm not exactly a fan but they really did change up and become something so fair play. Edited February 9, 2021 by Chasingamymatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021  Seriously.  Lashley wasn’t far off being one of the worst failed experiments they’ve had high hopes for, now he’s in his 40’s, has one of the best acts on the show and is a good shout to be WWE Champion by the end of the year and actually be credible in that spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 18 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:  Seriously.  Lashley wasn’t far off being one of the worst failed experiments they’ve had high hopes for, now he’s in his 40’s, has one of the best acts on the show and is a good shout to be WWE Champion by the end of the year and actually be credible in that spot. Definitely agree here. After all the good I'd heard about his Impact run I was hoping he'd do a lot better this time round in WWE but it's taken them fucking ages to get him right. Now is the most I've ever enjoyed him in WWE by a long shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 Another person that has come to mind is Santino Marella. When he debuted he was incredibly bland and seemed destined to fail. Then he started to show a bit of personality and humour, and all of a sudden he was one of the best comedy heels WWE had created in ages. They could easily have given up on him before then, but they didn't. And they reaped the rewards, even if I wasn't a big fan of much of his babyface run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 9, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted February 9, 2021 21 minutes ago, RedRooster said: Another person that has come to mind is Santino Marella. When he debuted he was incredibly bland and seemed destined to fail. Then he started to show a bit of personality and humour, and all of a sudden he was one of the best comedy heels WWE had created in ages. They could easily have given up on him before then, but they didn't. And they reaped the rewards, even if I wasn't a big fan of much of his babyface run. The first time Santino did real comedy stuff was, if I remember correctly, the WWE Dating Game - William Regal as host, Maria as the bachelorette, and Santino, Ron Simmons and Jim Duggan as the potential suitors, after GM William Regal decided it had been his lifelong dream to be a game show host. I haven't watched it in years, but at the time I thought it was honestly the greatest comedy segment they had ever done. It's the debut of Ron Simmons' "things that rhyme with Damn" phase, Regal obviously had superb timing throughout, and at one point Jim Duggan waves excitedly to camera, clocks that he's wearing his wedding ring, and slowly removes it and hides it in his pocket. All gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) 22 minutes ago, BomberPat said: The first time Santino did real comedy stuff was, if I remember correctly, the WWE Dating Game - William Regal as host, Maria as the bachelorette, and Santino, Ron Simmons and Jim Duggan as the potential suitors, after GM William Regal decided it had been his lifelong dream to be a game show host. I haven't watched it in years, but at the time I thought it was honestly the greatest comedy segment they had ever done. It's the debut of Ron Simmons' "things that rhyme with Damn" phase, Regal obviously had superb timing throughout, and at one point Jim Duggan waves excitedly to camera, clocks that he's wearing his wedding ring, and slowly removes it and hides it in his pocket. All gold. I couldn't remember this at all, but Regal is exceptional throughout all of this:  Edited February 9, 2021 by RedRooster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Yeah that RAW dating game is an example of when WWE humour doesn't hit a full run, but it's close. Maria was really good in that role, Santino finally got to stop himself from probably being sacked, Duggan brings his bit, Ron Simmons started something he couldn't finish and to keep a steady hand on the tiller you have William Regal who might be the best at delivering WWE comedy sketches, but then he's Regal innit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Blog Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Cena surely? From Prototype to Rocky Ruthless Agression Maivia to Thuganomics which led to him being the biggest star of the last decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackpot Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Angle? From being booed on debut to a Hall of Fame career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted February 9, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted February 9, 2021 He debut as a heel so he was supposed to be booed. Kurt was great from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cutting Edge Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 30 minutes ago, Jackpot said: Angle? From being booed on debut to a Hall of Fame career. From what he said on the Austin network show, that was always the plan that the apple pie straight laced American hero gimmick would get booed during the height of the attitude era, weather that's wwe revised history or not is another matter, but I believe it to be true because his vingettes were so ott cheesy face and during that time they had more clue what the fans wanted and to expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted February 9, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) Billie Kay. It seemed a certainty when they split up the Iconics that they wanted Peyton to be the breakout star and it was only a matter of time before Billie would vanish and eventually be released. But in almost no time at all she’s developed a great niche for herself. Similar to Santino, she’s proven herself to have such a great sense of humour that she can shine through WWE’s scripting and make stuff work that would otherwise fall flat. Peyton must be campaigning to move to Smackdown on a weekly basis by now. Also - Roman Reigns. Obviously. Edited February 9, 2021 by Supremo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted February 9, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted February 9, 2021 Yeah, Reigns definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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