10 Main Event Wrestling Gimmicks That NOBODY Liked
2. EVIL: Double Champion
Gedo wanted to make a statement when NJPW returned following hiatus, mid-COVID pandemic.
Dominion was the first major show held in front of "clap crowds", i.e. the closest thing to "normal" in the new hellscape that was our f*cking lives. It was the "ideal" time to remind those fans what they had missed with an eventful show promising a bold, compelling new direction.
Regrettably, that statement was "I have just decided to kill the company, sorry".
EVIL is a very capable midcard wrestler. He is gifted mechanically, his work is snug and convincing, and he can be depended upon to deliver a fine 15 minutes when a tippy-top star needs a win. He himself isn't a tippy-top star because he lacks the magnetism and personality required of one, and really, there's nothing he does, distinctively, that others cannot.
Chasing shock value, Gedo strapped him up with both the IWGP and Intercontinental titles. It was the oddest f*cking thing; Gedo opted for cheap heat when heat itself was forbidden.
EVIL's stupidly long matches were carny, funereal exercises in slowly destroying the golden age of a company and writing more words on this is impossible because it was just an irreconcilably dumb decision that only the most cult-like fans tried to justify.