10 WWE Stars Who Desperately Need Their OLD Gimmicks
Rolling back the years for cheers.
Everybody loved the Boneyard Match.
The Undertaker/AJ Styles mini-movie that closed the first night of WrestleMania 36 was almost universally praised and there were plenty of reasons why. It was - unlike much of the 'Show Of Shows' - an actual escape of sorts. Those looking towards wrestling to try and forget about the world outside their window found something just the right level of captivating to do just that. Those wanting to see The Undertaker's integrity protected got their wish in something pre-taped for preservation.
Those eternally wishing for the return of the 'American Bad *ss' are probably don't even know they still can't leave the house. Eyes were rolling back in heads for that f*cking motorbike speeding into view, and not because the Creatures Of The Night were doing impressions of 'The Deadman'.
Nostalgia still sort of draws - Raw Reunion ratings and just about any time an older wrestler squeezes into their old gear for a GCW show speaks to this - but does the comfort food sometimes just taste better? Wrestlers are always told to keep evolving, but what of those that could do with revisiting a former peak for the good of their futures?
10. Shorty G - Chad Gable
Keep it simple, Shorty.
It was as if Chad Gable was both so good and so driven to get over absolutely anything he was handed in WWE that the company had to persistently shift the goalposts until he was defeated by their neglect.
He helped break Jason Jordan's tag team jinx in NXT, he kept Shelton Benjamin current after that and performed a seemingly impossible salvage job for a floundering Bobby Roode before being told to sell the pain of being slightly shorter than your average WWE Superstar and dress like he was auditioning for Space Jam.
A decorated amateur and Olympic nearly-man, the comparisons between Gable and Kurt Angle extended beyond what they'd done before finding professional wrestling, and that's not factoring in an imagined parentage the creative team probably crafted when they first heard about the Kurt's Kid storyline. This blindingly obvious rebadge isn't just what Gable needs, it's what he deserves.