10 Lamest WWE Returns
6. Viscera & Gangrel (SmackDown - 16 September 2004)
John Bradshaw Layfield had been WWE Heavyweight Champion for a shade under three months by September 2004. This episode of SmackDown saw a continuation of his feud with The Undertaker, with his decision to "fire" aide Orlando Jordan leaving him alone in the ring with 'The Deadman.' Cue: a big old brawl that 'Taker seemed to be getting the better of until two great big bloody goths from days gone by showed up to batter their old pal.
Jordan charged back into the ring to help Gangrel beat 'Taker down. Viscera then plodded into the scene, squishing 'The Phenom' with a corner splash. The Ministry of Darkness' C-team was back, baby, and the mob went mild.
This short angle had the briefest of shelf-lives, as Gangrel and Big Vis were felled by The Undertaker on the following week's show. Only Viscera stuck around afterwards. The vampire fled back to Transylvania, leaving his old pal to toil away on Heat.
While Gangrel was a fun novelty act in the Attitude Era, reintroducing him and Viscera as part of a World Heavyweight Title programme was a stretch and a half. Vis, meanwhile, wasn't any good as Mabel, wasn't any good as a binbag-wearing goth, and would later fail as Big Daddy V and 'The World's Largest Love Machine' as well. Lame.