12 Bizarre WWE Brand Split Gimmick Changes
Changing brands can have quite the effect on one's personality.
The brand split has returned, with 40% of the current roster headed off to SmackDown, and 60% going to Raw. It’s an exciting time, as one of the things to look forward to from the split is watching mid-card wrestlers get a bigger push.
In the past, we saw Eddie Guerrero and JBL benefit from the move, and ascend into the main-event scene. There’s bound to be a few success stories this time around as well. However, sometimes the draft has a weird effect on the personality of a wrestler.
In 2002, WWE split up their enormous roster, and everyone was given an exclusive home. While most of the wrestlers made the move just fine, some of them took on brand new identities out of nowhere. It was like one mass mid-life wrestling crisis. A few wrestlers took on new professions outside of work, one man began eating disgusting things for fun and a few decided to switch their allegiance on the good/evil spectrum. It was a confusing time for everyone.
It’s very likely that some of the current roster will be going through some drastic changes soon. It seems to happen every time the draft happens. But for now, let’s look back at 12 bizarre brand split identities.
12. Sean O’Haire
In 2001, Sean O’Haire went to war with the WWE and came up very short. He didn’t even make it to the end of the storyline, as he was sent back to developmental half-way through. He returned in 2002 for a brief run, mainly on Heat, before disappearing again. He did not return until January, and became the exclusive property of SmackDown.
We were re-introduced to O’Haire in a series of vignettes where he dressed up in a suit and tie, lending us some of his wisdom. He told us not to pay our taxes and that it was okay to cheat on our spouses. Radical! Whatever got into O’Haire during his time away made him incredibly interesting.
He was a devil’s advocate that convinced Brian Kendrick to streak, and Dawn Marie to flash the crowd. It was a promising character that got cut far too short. He was soon paired with Roddy Piper, and remained largely silent. It’s too bad he didn’t jump back to Raw, and rediscover what turned him into the same man from those great vignettes.