10 Embarrassing NXT-Era Creative Failures You Totally Forgot About
9. CJ Parker: Eco-Warrior
That Juice Robinson has become one of the most compelling gaijin babyfaces in recent New Japan history is shocking, considering where he came from.
Assigned the hippie-ish eco-warrior gimmick in mid-2013, Parker was sent down a dead-end path, with the fans immediately rejecting what was intended to be a babyface character. It failed to get over. Full Sail University rebelled against him, and when they did, WWE had no choice but to turn him heel, yielding only marginally better results.
Regular promos saw Parker would railing on the audience for their supposed crimes against the environment. He was gloriously whiny, but largely garnered go-away heat throughout his tenure, eventually becoming a sign-carrying enhancement talent. Though his rants offered slithers of entertainment, he only ever showed up to get his sh*t pushed in by guys WWE actually wanted to promote.
Dismally, CJ is best remembered for breaking Kevin Owens' nose in the future Universal Champion's TakeOver: R Evolution debut match. He'd leave the company just four months later, have spent his four years with WWE making next to no headway in developmental, before arriving in NJPW fuelled by past failings, ready to prove his former employers wrong.