10 MORE Attempted WWE Repackages That Failed Miserably
Career revivals gone wrong.
As professional wrestling's equivalent of a hard character reset, few things have a more transformational impact on a wrestler's fortunes than a full-on repackaging.
The Hardy Boyz may not be back in WWE if it wasn't for the buzz generated by their outlandish Broken Universe in 2016. Bray Wyatt wouldn't be anywhere near the company's upper echelons if he was still wrestling as Husky Harris. Going from 'Ringmaster' to 'Stone Cold' helped Steve Austin become an era-defining icon, and the list goes on.
Ripping a character up and starting again is a drastic measure, but it's a tried and tested technique that WWE will always turn to when trying to revive a flagging career, despite the inherent risk. Get it right, and the company might send a wrestler stratospheric, but get it wrong, and there's a strong chance they'll torpedo the subject's career entirely.
Unfortunately, WWE history is littered with more flops than success stories. Each of these poor, unfortunate souls saw their fortunes dwindle as a direct result of their repackaging, and while some eventually recovered, others were doomed - such is the inconsistent nature of WWE's creative department.
10. Dean Malenko: Radical To Ladies' Man
A great technical wrestler he may have been, but Dean Malenko was always the Radical least likely to succeed in WWE.
Chris Benoit suffered from a similar charisma shortfall, but his wasn't as vast, and he compensated with boatloads of intensity. Perry Saturn, though not as skilled between the ropes, had a great, rough-edged look and a versatile moveset. Eddie Guerrero, meanwhile, was the total package of skill, athleticism, and charisma.
Each of Malenko's greatest strengths were on the mat, and in a company hell-bent on distancing itself from traditional wrestling, he would always struggle to get over. WWE's most notable attempt at doing so came in mid-2000, when they transformed the grappler from stoic technician to 'Double Ho Seven' - a terrible, terrible James Bond pastiche that nuked his credibility.
A vile, lecherous pest, Malenko spent several weeks chasing Lita, who brought her closest allies, The Hardy Boyz, into the mix. Matt and Jeff eventually fended Dean off, but the character endured. 'Double Ho Seven' entered an equally creepy feud with Jacqueline and Ivory, before completely disappearing from television prior to the ECW/WCW invasion, and never occupied a full-time TV role again.