10 Wrestlers Who Changed Their Perception In A Heartbeat

9. Damien Sandow

Dr Britt Baker
Impact Wrestling

Before:

A hugely entertaining performer with a rare ability to draw real heat, peak Damien Sandow was a great act. His face was sculpted to be punched, he cut a tremendous promo, and the intellectual gimmick, while a bit too cartoonish in presentation for the main event scene, was very effective; some of you morons feel personally attacked when confronted with a second syllable. Sandow wasn't a ring general, and probably wasn't true World Champion material, but, on the evidence of his stunt double schtick, he had range beyond his greatest hit.

Or did he?

In a heartbeat:

You'll have read Mark Twain's sage words "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to talk and remove all doubt". Rather a lot of former WWE talents have created a spin on it: "It is better to remain silent and be thought under-utilised than to drop a rubbish Pipebomb and remove all doubt".

Aron Rex's TNA debut was a calamity. The smugness of it, Jesus Christ; what worked for heat as Damien Sandow did not work one f*ckin' iota for Rex Against The Machine. A smile that knowing and superior had to suggest an industry-breaking masterplan, but it was, with no substance "I can get over, I'll just do what I like!"

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!