10 Successful Gimmicks You Forgot WWE Tried Again

Despite the gravelly-voice lyrics from Motorhead frontman Lemmy claiming otherwise, there was no mystery about why Evolution succeeded in WWE. Triple H did his best blending of Harley Race and Ric Flair from the 1970s and 80s as leader, Flair himself ably backed 'The Game' up as a manager and occasional worker, and young bucks like Randy Orton and Batista were prime first round draft picks to fill things out. It's still one of the best stables in company history.

Did you know? Curt Hennig actually beat Flair to the punch in 1996 by becoming Hunter's first mentor in the then-WWF. This happened right before Mr. Perfect left for WCW later the same year. Hennig was cast in the role of an experienced advisor to Triple H, and even conspired with him to screw Marc Mero over so Trips could win the Intercontinental Title.

There's a fair chance this Perfect duo would've reached even greater heights had Curt stuck around in the federation. They might even be remembered as fondly as Flair and Hunter. Right, quick diversion on that. "Fondly" could make some laugh, because some fans despised the 2002-2003 era of Triple H. They'd have to admit that Evolution was badass though, surely.

It's a confusing one!

There was nothing confusing about Hennig advising Hunter. They went together well, and both guys carried themselves with almost identical arrogance. In a way, 'Slick Ric' was a copycat idea once Evolution launched years later. He'd likely refute that, but go back and watch the footage - the similarities are plain for everyone to see.