10 Times WWE Failed To Replace A Major Star
2. Fake Diesel & Razor Ramon
If ever proof of Vince McMahon’s utter contempt for his audience was needed, here it is.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left WWE for WCW in 1996. They were two of the WWF’s biggest stars at the time, and Nash was a former WWF Champion as Diesel, but nobody really knew what kind of impact the move would have. The duo eventually formed the New World Order with Hulk Hogan, tipping the Monday Night Wars in WCW’s favour for a long period of time - and McMahon panicked at the first sign of trouble.
WWE retained the rights to the Diesel and Razor Ramon gimmicks, and instead of building new stars to replace the departed Hall and Nash, they decided to recreate the characters with different performers. It failed miserably: Glen Jacobs found success as Kane later in his career, but he wasn’t a convincing Diesel at all, and Rick Bognar’s Razor Ramon was borderline offensive.
The fans rightly felt short-changed, and the backlash was immense. You almost have to admire the WWF’s nerve for daring to pull something like this off, but fake Diesel & Razor were a complete trainwreck. To top it all off, the duo were placed at the heart of the horrendous Jim Ross heel turn story shortly after debuting, compounding this angle’s boneheadedness.