10 Times WWE Failed To Replace Wrestlers

8. Shawn Michaels (with Leif Cassidy)

WWE Failed Replacement
WWE.com

WWE's tag division in 1996 was weird and sh*t.

Established and credible act The Smoking Gunns were turned heel in order to pay off a storyline that saw Sunny working with three consecutive sets of Champions even though she was the star rather than any of the acts. The Bodydonnas and The Godwinns were the first two, but they were only teams because WWE effectively cloned Skip and Henry O Goddwinn respectively. The aforementioned Diesel & Razor Ramon doppelgängers were slotted straight in alongside them, only making the issue more pronounced. And when it wasn't tribute acts, it was the likes of the f*cking Bushwhackers trying and failing to roll back the clock.

The New Rockers were a mix of both bad ideas.

Al Snow was given his latest bad idea in the form of Leif Cassidy, who stood such little chance of replacing Shawn Michaels that the team were turned heel just to make it seem like sh*thousery all along.

Jannetty was out on his a*se again by the end of 1996, finally freeing Snow from something that looked to have yet again doomed his prospects before a remarkable reinvention.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett