MAJOR Wrestling Stars Who Jumped Ship (...And FLOPPED!)
8. Mike Awesome (ECW > WCW)
When: 2000
Why He Flopped: Just feast your eyes on the image above!
That was Mike Awesome in his "That 70s Guy" phase. It was definitely less offensive than his dire "Fat Chick Thrilla" gimmick (a Vince Russo special, that one), but failed to catch on with fans much the same. People didn't want this version of Awesome, they wanted the awesome ECW Awesome that was...awesome.
Paul Heyman must've been palming his forehead when he witnessed what the creative braintrust in Atlanta had done to one of his most well-protected acts. In ECW, Mike had been a powerhouse to be proud of. In WCW, he was just one in a long line of wrestlers ruined by an increasingly-crap writing process.
Gone were big-bumping battles vs. hardened warriors like Masato Tanaka. Nah, why have that when you can turn Awesome into a lame parody of some cast off character from That 70s Show? That'll put some butts in seats.
Or not.