10 Strange Wrestling Debuts That Left Fans Bewildered
5. The Strange Tale Of Emmalina
It's worth taking the 90 seconds out of your day to watch the above clip, if only for the fact you rarely get to watch the entirety of a gimmick's existence play out in under two minutes.
The above clip aired on 13 February 2017, but Emmalina had been teased as far back as the previous October. Emmalina appeared to be a reinvention of the Emma character and a throwback to the types of divas that populated WWE during the Attitude era. Regardless of how you feel about that idea, one thing is certain - Emma (the real life Tenille Dashwood) was not the right person to portray the character.
Tenille admitted as much herself in an interview with Lance Storm, stating that she is not a diva and that her old Evil Emma character was a much better fit for her. She was right on both counts. Her heel persona still had plenty of life left in it, and her strained delivery in her one and only appearance as Emmalina shows how uncomfortable she was playing the character.
19 weeks of buildup. 90 seconds of airtime. Hopefully Carmella's teased reinvention has a better shelf-life than Emmalina.