10 Ways WWE Will Mess Up Seemingly Perfect Gimmicks
Whatever you say about WWE, they sure know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The history of WWE is littered with mistreatment of seemingly unmissable characters and gimmicks. For every Undertaker or Triple H, there are seven DDPs and Mr Kennedys. Some are due to superstars crossing over from rival promotions and being buried as punishment for daring to have success outside Vince's big top. Others are sacrificed to get the golden boy or girl over as WWE push their chosen one at all costs.
William Regal in a hard hat. Leo Kruger in a conga line. If you're a WWE Superstar with a killer idea for a character, chances are you'll be paraded out in some kind of tutu or Magic: The Gathering cosplay to wax lyrical about the price of candy in Zimbabwe. Even those ideas aren't too far-fetched for this company.
While WWE has been improving, moving storylines and characters in a more varied, realistic direction, plenty of fans' stomachs still churn with anxiety whenever we see a wrestler hit the big time with a gimmick that seems too perfect to fail.
To paraphrase CM Punk: WWE will make money in spite of its own shoddy treatment of some of its best talent.
10. The Hurt Business - Another Heel Faction Cut Short
It's no secret that Vince McMahon doesn't like stables. In the week that Evolution celebrated their 50th combined world title, Retribution was given two separate pastings, and seemingly consigned to the garbage pile with the rest of the catastrophically failed characters. Shockmaster, Gobbledy Gooker, Slapjack. They set them up to fail, in fairness.
The Hurt Business, though, is a group who could cause some real damage on Monday nights.
This collective has actually given a spotlight to some criminally underused talent (why hasn't Shelton Benjamin been used more?!), but once they're done vanquishing Mustafa Ali and company, what's next?
It's commonplace to see big heel stars or groups made to look like complete morons who can't back up the first promise they make, and things spiral downwards from there. Not only does this serve to kill the characters being beaten every week; it doesn't put the faces over as well as it would have had they beaten credible opposition. The first babyface team who comes up against them should be getting battered, giving the Hurt Business the legitimacy they should continue to have.