10 WWE & AEW Gimmicks That Belong In A Different Era
8. Akira Tozawa
Saying this gimmick would thrive in any era is a bit of a stretch, but how out place does it feel in 2021?
Let's call it what it is: it's a racist gimmick that was devised by powerful old white men who took a look at Akira Tozawa and thought "ninja". It's incredibly problematic and to be totally honest, there is no era where this would be okay.
But considering the amount of trash that made up the majority of the Attitude Era (yes, there was amazing stuff from then but a lot of it was dross), it's not hard to imagine Akira Tozawa running with his gaggle of ninjas during the prime years of the WWE.
Trapped in the 24/7 division hell in 2021, Tozawa would have probably been featured more in the hardcore division then. With his size probably ruling him out of playing an 'evil, foreign ninja' in the Golden Era, the gimmick would still have probably gone down better in the olden days when the world was a lot less politcally correct.
Considering it's hard to really place this gimmick in any era, it's about time the WWE did the right thing and scrapped it and just let Tozawa be himself.