10 Times WWE Creative Ruined A Wrestler's Gimmick
Don't fix what isn't broken to begin with.
For a WWE wrestler, the road to the top can be rough. Even a surgeon on the mat or a natural entertainer on the mic has to get over with the fans. And in today's post-kayfabe era, that is far easier said than done. Fans, even casual fans, are now aware that everything they see in the ring is pre-determined and choreographed; thus, it's much harder to emotionally invest the viewers in the storylines.
Even if the wrestler manages to get over, he doesn't want to win too much, lest he is perceived as a handpicked champion, nor does she want to lose too much, lest she be written off as a buried has-been.
So the fans are a tough, tough crowd. But even if they cooperate, the WWE itself can be the worst hindrance of all. And it's not for lack of trying; there have been several times that the WWE has 'helped' wrestlers in the worst possible ways, or scripted awful ideas that make their once promising superstars look stupid.
Gimmicks and characters are fragile things, and when a wrestler is forced to change the very things that got him or her over in the first place, it's usually not a good idea. Here are 10 Times When WWE Creative Destroyed A Wrestler's Gimmick. If it isn't broken, then it's probably not a good idea to fix it.
10. Mr. Kennedy
This guy was pegged as a future World Champion from his debut year. He had everything — the looks, the old school wrestling style, the unbelievable promos, and that indefinable 'it' factor that characterizes all great superstars.
But then, he got drafted to Raw, and it all went to hell in a hand basket. Vince thought that Kennedy was too 'funny' to be a heel, and asked him to change his promos, stop chewing gum, and erase the eccentricities that made him a Smackdown! star. Vince wanted clear 'good versus evil' — no 'tweeners.' And whenever Kennedy was funny, Vince thought that it blurred the line too closely.
Pretty soon, Mr. Kennedy would march to the ring, and not even reach for the microphone — his biggest weapon, his mouth, had been taken away from him, and he was now a generic babyface instead of a funny heel. Combine that with his ill-timed injuries, his Wellness suspension, and an unfortunate bump with Randy Orton, and Mr. Kennedy was on borrowed time.
After two years of false starts and stops, he was 'future endeavored' in 2009.