10 Successful Gimmicks You Forgot WWE Tried Again

10. Female Superhero (Mighty Molly/Nikki A.S.H)

Nikki A.S.H was at least partly inspired by The Hurricane. To pretend otherwise would be silly, because Shane Helms set the template for getting a quirky superhero character over. That's true, but his Hurri-sidekick Mighty Molly was a blessing in disguise for Molly Holly at a time when she badly needed something other than being Hardcore and Crash's on screen cousin. A short romance with Spike Dudley was never going to be her long-term solution.

Buddying up with The Hurricane right as that character hit a sweet spot (it even helped Rosey and Stacy Keibler, amongst others) was great for Molly. So, it's no shocker that WWE figured they could pivot Nikki Cross out of her union with Alexa Bliss into something radically different for 2021. Nikki A.S.H, which stood for "Almost (A) Super Hero" was something Nikki came up with herself.

It came from a good place. The Scot wanted to inspire young wrestling fans to always believe in themselves and chase their dreams without fear of failure. In a way, she was an even more cartoonish version of the message John Cena pushed during the PG era. Initially, things looked great for A.S.H; she won the Raw Women's Title and seemed to be more over than ever, but the magic wore off quickly.

WWE liked Nikki's pitch and clearly thought it was worth trying an amalgamated version of The Hurricane and Mighty Molly in one wrestler. Fair enough, but the beauty of Molly's character had been that she was spirited but ultimately never pushed too far in front of other, more serious characters.

It's no wonder creative went back to Nikki's unhinged roots in 2022, but the superhero thing was worth trying on for size.