7 Wrestling Gimmicks WWE Should Recycle
3. The Intermittent Avenger
In late nineties WCW, Sting, irate at the state of his beloved, infiltrated company, refashioned himself as a lone wolf - a "free agent", as he put it.
Turning his back on the company he bled for, Sting instead promised to "pop in from time to time". When he did so, unadvertised, it was thrilling. It is a testament to the power of the character that fans wanted him to go literally batsh*t crazy over the hottest, must-see act in wrestling at the time - the nWo.
The payoff was nonexistent - we can thank Hulk Hogan's inflated ego for that - but for a solid year or so, WCW, so over-the-top elsewhere, preserved the mystique of the Sting character by deploying him with admirable restraint.
WWE in 2016 is a beast rendered dull through excruciating overexposure. Sometimes it's hard to maintain perspective. Tyler Black is currently feuding with Kevin Steen over a top-tier WWE title. Awful writing aside, that is a thoroughly wonderful development. But, sandwiched between interminable dross, it's hard to muster up the requisite enthusiasm.
Reinstalling the intermittent avenger trope would furnish weekly programming with a desperately-needed air of unpredictably. Fans would be more inclined to sit through their weekly dose of Titus O'Neill if, say, a newly-heel Dean Ambrose lived up to his unhinged moniker and Joker comparison, lighting up WWE just to see it burn.