LIFELINES | Gimmick Changes That Saved Careers!

Summary

This script explores how wrestlers can be hindered by poor gimmicks but often thrive after a transformation. It highlights Dominick Mysterio's transition to 'Dirty Dom', Chad Gable shedding 'Shorty G', and Scott Hall's shift from 'Diamond Stud' to Razor Ramon. It also discusses Undertaker's evolution from 'Mean Mark' and EC3's reinvention outside WWE. The script emphasizes the importance of character changes in revitalizing careers, with examples like Alexa Bliss becoming 'The Goddess' and Dave Batista's rise as 'The Animal'. It underscores the impact of gimmick changes on fan engagement and wrestler success.

Takeaways

• 🤼‍♂️ Talented wrestlers can be hindered by bad gimmicks, but changing them can lead to success and audience engagement.
• 🎭 Rey Mysterio's son, Dominic, transformed from a bland character to 'Dirty Dom', gaining significant audience heat and revitalizing his career.
• 💑 The change in gimmick for Dominic Mysterio was complemented by a storyline with Rhea Ripley, enhancing both performers' careers.
• 🤽‍♂️ Chad Gable shed the 'Shorty G' gimmick to showcase his wrestling prowess, leading to a rise in popularity and potential championship opportunities.
• 💎 Razor Ramon, later known as Scott Hall, transitioned from a limited 'Diamond Stud' character in WCW to a successful WWE career with a new persona.
• 👻 The Undertaker, originally 'Mean Mark' in WCW, found immense success in WWE with his new 'Deadman' gimmick, becoming a legendary figure in wrestling.
• 🚀 EC3, previously struggling in WWE, thrived in Impact Wrestling with a new character, winning multiple championships and accolades.
• 🌟 Alexa Bliss evolved from a 'Pixie Cheerleader' to 'The Goddess', capitalizing on her mic skills and achieving multiple championships and main event status.
• 🦁 Dave Batista (formerly Deacon Batista) became a prominent figure in WWE after joining Evolution and later achieving main event status.
• 🎓 John Cena overcame an initial bad gimmick to become 'The Doctor of Thuganomics', which led to rapid success and stardom in WWE.
• 🏆 Hardcore Holly, previously known as 'Spark Plug' Holly, found his niche in the Attitude Era, winning multiple titles and becoming a mid-card standout.

Q & A

What impact can a bad gimmick have on a wrestler's career?

A bad gimmick can significantly hinder a wrestler's career by causing them to fail in getting over with the audience and preventing fans from being entertained as they might have otherwise.

How did Dominic Mysterio's character change in 2019?

Dominic Mysterio, initially seen as a bland character with zero charisma, transformed into 'Dirty Dom' in 2022 by turning heel on his father and joining forces with Judgment Day, which led to a significant increase in his popularity as a villain.

Who is Ria Ripley and how did she contribute to Dominic's character development?

Ria Ripley is a fellow wrestler and Dominic's on-screen girlfriend. Their unlikely romance has pushed both of them to reach new heights in their careers, contributing to Dominic's success as 'Dirty Dom'.

What was Chad Gable's previous gimmick and how did it affect his career?

Chad Gable was previously known as 'Shorty G', a gimmick that made him look like a fool due to his lack of height. This gimmick was seen as one of the worst in recent memory and severely limited his potential until it was dropped.

How did Paul Levesque's influence change Chad Gable's career trajectory?

Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H, rectified the 'Shorty G' gimmick by allowing Chad Gable to return to his true self as a talented wrestler. This change led to Gable having great matches regularly and his stock rising among fans.

Why did Scott Hall change his gimmick from 'Diamond Stud' Razor Ramone to 'Razor Ramon'?

Scott Hall changed his gimmick to 'Razor Ramon', inspired by Al Pacino's portrayal of Scarface, after moving to WWF from WCW. This new character was more successful and quickly made him a big deal with fans.

What was Mark Callaway's original gimmick in WCW and how did it affect his career?

Mark Callaway was known as 'Mean Mark' in WCW, a gimmick that did not showcase his potential. After moving to WWF and becoming 'The Undertaker', he found great success and became one of the most iconic wrestlers.

How did Derek Bateman's career change after leaving WWE?

Derek Bateman, known as EC3, found success outside WWE in Impact Wrestling, where he played the role of a cocky rich boy heel and became a multiple-time champion, including winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

What was Alexa Bliss's initial character and how did it evolve?

Alexa Bliss started as a 'Pixie Cheerleader' in NXT, which did not utilize her full potential. After becoming 'The Goddess' on the main roster, she was able to showcase her mic skills and quickly rose to prominence, winning multiple championships.

How did Dave Batista's character change from 'Deacon Batista' to 'The Animal'?

Dave Batista was initially a lackey known as 'Deacon Batista' in WWE. After being picked by Triple H to join Evolution, he was able to break out and showcase his charisma, leading to his transformation into 'The Animal' and a successful wrestling career.

What was John Cena's original gimmick and how did it change?

John Cena's original gimmick was 'The Doctor of Thuganomics', which allowed him to showcase his rapping skills and get over with the audience. This eventually led to him becoming 'Super Cena', a child-friendly babyface character, and rising to mega-stardom.

How did Bob Holly's career change after his gimmick transformation?

Bob Holly, originally known as 'Spark Plug', found success after transforming into 'Hardcore Holly'. This new character allowed him to win the Hardcore title multiple times and become a prominent mid-card wrestler during the Attitude Era.

What significant change did Farooq undergo that led to his success?

Farooq transitioned from being 'Farooq Assad', a cartoonish character, to the leader of 'The Nation of Domination'. This change allowed him to mentor younger talent and find success as a hard-drinking, card-playing brawler, leading to his Hall of Fame induction.

Outlines

00:00

🔄 Wrestlers Revamp: Gimmick Transformations

This paragraph discusses how talented wrestlers can be held back by a bad gimmick, but can also turn their careers around by changing it. It uses the example of Dominic Mysterio, who transitioned from a bland character to 'Dirty Dom', a heel persona that resonated with audiences and significantly increased his popularity. The paragraph also highlights how other wrestlers have benefited from Triple H's booking style, such as Chad Gable shedding his 'Shorty G' gimmick to showcase his wrestling prowess. The narrative emphasizes the importance of gimmick changes in reviving and elevating wrestling careers.

05:00

🌟 Gimmick Changes to Stardom: Success Stories

The second paragraph delves into further examples of wrestlers whose careers took off after a successful gimmick change. It mentions Scott Hall's transition from 'The Diamond Stud' in WCW to the iconic 'Razor Ramon' in WWF, leading to multiple Intercontinental title reigns. Similarly, the paragraph discusses how Mark Callaway became the legendary 'Undertaker' after leaving WCW, and how Derek Bateman found success as 'EC3' in Impact Wrestling. It also covers Alexa Bliss's transformation from a cheerleader to 'The Goddess', a role that maximized her mic skills and led to multiple championship victories. Each story illustrates the pivotal impact of a gimmick change on a wrestler's trajectory to stardom.

10:01

🎭 Overcoming Initial Gimmicks: Path to Glory

This paragraph focuses on wrestlers who overcame their initial gimmicks to achieve great success. Dave Batista shed his 'Deacon Batista' character to become 'The Animal', leading to multiple World Heavyweight Championship wins. John Cena, initially struggling with the 'Doctor of Thuganomics' gimmick, found his footing and became a megastar. Bob Holly transitioned from 'Spark Plug' to 'Hardcore Holly', winning multiple Hardcore and Tag Team titles. Farooq evolved from a cartoonish 'Roman gladiator' to the influential leader of 'The Nation of Domination'. Each wrestler's story demonstrates how shedding an ill-fitting gimmick can pave the way to a glorious career.

15:02

🏆 Mid-Card Success and Gimmick Evolution

The final paragraph highlights the mid-card success achieved by wrestlers who underwent significant gimmick changes. Hardcore Holly, post-transformation, enjoyed a prosperous career, winning the Hardcore title multiple times and even main-eventing at the Royal Rumble. Farooq, after dropping his gladiator persona, became a key figure in the 'Acolyte Protection Agency' and was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The paragraph underscores how even if a wrestler doesn't become an all-time great, a successful gimmick change can lead to a fulfilling career at a respectable level.

Keywords

💡Gimmick

A 'gimmick' in the context of professional wrestling refers to a character's persona, appearance, or specific storyline element designed to make them stand out and connect with the audience. In the video, the term is used to discuss how wrestlers like Dominic Mysterio and Chad Gable have overcome less successful gimmicks to find success in their careers, illustrating the importance of a compelling gimmick in a wrestler's rise to fame.

💡Heel

A 'heel' is a term used in professional wrestling to describe a wrestler who plays the villain or antagonist role. The script mentions Dominic Mysterio's transformation into 'dirty Dom' as a heel, which significantly increased his popularity and ability to engage with the audience as a villain, demonstrating the impact a heel turn can have on a wrestler's career trajectory.

💡Face

The term 'face' is short for 'babyface' and refers to a wrestler who is portrayed as a hero or a good guy in the wrestling narrative. The script contrasts the heel character with the face, as seen in the story of Scott Hall, who transitioned from a less successful gimmick to become Razor Ramon, a character that was initially a heel but later became a face, showing the dynamic nature of wrestling personas.

💡Turn

A 'turn' in wrestling is when a wrestler changes their alignment from a face to a heel or vice versa. The video script discusses several examples of wrestlers like Batista and John Cena who experienced significant career boosts after a turn, highlighting the dramatic impact a turn can have on a wrestler's popularity and storylines.

💡Get Over

'Get over' is a wrestling term meaning that a wrestler or a storyline has successfully captured the audience's interest and support. The script uses this term to describe how wrestlers like Chad Gable and Dominic Mysterio became more popular after changing their gimmicks, emphasizing the importance of audience connection in wrestling success.

💡Booker

A 'booker' in wrestling is responsible for the creative aspects of the shows, including writing storylines and matches. The script mentions Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque (Triple H) as bookers who have influenced wrestlers' careers, for better or worse, by assigning certain gimmicks or storylines to them.

💡Tag Team

A 'tag team' in wrestling refers to a pair of wrestlers who compete together in tag team matches. The script mentions Chad Gable as part of the tag team 'American Alpha' in NXT, indicating his success in team wrestling before his individual achievements on the main roster.

💡Intercontinental Title

The 'Intercontinental Title' is a championship in WWE that is often considered a prestigious title second only to the World Heavyweight Championship. The script discusses the title in relation to wrestlers like Razor Ramon and Chad Gable, showcasing it as a significant achievement and a marker of success in a wrestler's career.

💡WWE Hall of Fame

The 'WWE Hall of Fame' is a prestigious honor that recognizes the greatest wrestlers and contributors to the sport. The video script mentions the Hall of Fame in the context of wrestlers like The Undertaker and Alexa Bliss, suggesting that a successful career and overcoming a bad gimmick can lead to such an honor.

💡Royal Rumble

The 'Royal Rumble' is a professional wrestling match and annual WWE event where 30 wrestlers enter at timed intervals and the last person remaining is declared the winner. The script uses the Royal Rumble as a context to discuss significant moments in wrestlers' careers, such as Razor Ramon's title opportunity and Batista's victory leading to a World Heavyweight Championship match.

💡WrestleMania

WrestleMania is WWE's flagship event and one of the biggest professional wrestling events of the year. The script mentions WrestleMania in relation to significant career-defining moments for wrestlers like Batista and John Cena, emphasizing the importance of this event in a wrestler's journey to stardom.

Highlights

A wrestler's career can be hindered by a bad gimmick, but changing it can lead to success.

Dominic Mysterio's transformation into 'Dirty Dom' revitalized his career and connected with audiences as a heel.

Dominic Mysterio's new role with Judgment Day and his unlikely romance with Ria Ripley elevated his character.

Chad Gable shed his 'Shorty G' gimmick to showcase his wrestling talent and become a fan favorite.

Razor Ramon's transition from the 'Diamond Stud' in WCW to WWF significantly boosted his career.

The Undertaker's shift from 'Mean Mark' in WCW to the iconic 'Deadman' in WWE revolutionized his wrestling persona.

Derek 'EC3' Bateman found success outside WWE, becoming a top star in Impact Wrestling and NWA.

Alexa Bliss evolved from a cheerleader gimmick to 'The Goddess,' enhancing her mic skills and winning multiple titles.

Dave Batista overcame the 'Deacon Batista' gimmick to become a top star known as 'The Animal'.

John Cena's transition from 'Doctor of Thuganomics' to 'Super Cena' marked his rise to mega-stardom.

Hardcore Holly's shift from 'Bob's Bark' to a no-nonsense fighter won him multiple titles and a main event spot.

Farooq's transformation from a Roman gladiator to the leader of the Nation of Domination showcased his versatility.

A wrestler's success can be measured not only by main event status but also by impactful mid-card performances.

Changes in gimmick can lead to wrestlers finding their niche and achieving a higher status within the industry.

WWE's creative direction under Triple H has positively impacted several wrestlers' careers by allowing them to showcase their talents.

The importance of a wrestler's character development and how it can lead to long-term success in the industry.

Transcripts

sometimes a very talented wrestler can

find their career being hobbled by

nothing more than a bad gimmick and

whenever this happens everyone loses as

it means not only does that person fail

to get over but fans also don't get

entertained in the way they might have

otherwise luckily though there are

plenty of examples of such performers

rescuing themselves from failure by

changing up their gimmick and breathing

new life into themselves in the process

but what are the biggest examples of

this well that's exactly what we're

going to be looking at today and where

better to start than with Dominic

Mysterio transformation into dirty Dom

yes back in 2019 it was hard to imagine

that the Bland character which was Rey

Mysterio's generic son could ever get

over as a heel to such an extent after

all at the time it just felt like there

was nothing to work with there as he

appeared to have Zero Charisma hell only

months into his run most people were

already writing him off as the next

David Flair but thankfully this all

changed in the summer of 2022 why was

that well it was here that Dom turned

heel on his father and joined forces

with the Judgment Day and in doing so

something about the way he was

presenting himself finally clicked as he

started to get over with audiences

massively as a villain seriously it's

been years since anyone has generated

this level of heat with live crowds and

Dom deserves every ounce of the credit

for that as he's been so fantastic in

his new role you'd be forgiven for

thinking someone else had taken it over

secretly but they haven't no it's still

the same old Dominic who only a few

years ago couldn't cut a promo to save

his life now however appar ly and on the

joke that everyone hates him he's been

able to act so easily that he's become

arguably the most entertaining thing

about WWE overall sure it helps that

with his mommy Ria Ripley by his side he

has the perfect dance partner as the

Duo's unlikely romance has pushed both

to reach New Heights they never could

have imagined before that said this

shouldn't take away from how great D has

been whenever he's been on his own such

as he has been with some of his most

recent appearances on NXT where much to

the Chagrin of fans there he continues

to maintain a strangle hold over the

North American championship of course

dirty Dom isn't the only current day WWE

star who's found themselves being the

beneficiary of Triple H's booking style

since he took over his head of creative

no another notable figure over on the

raw roster has also found himself being

saved from the depths of jbam by The

Game's actions and that's because now

that he no longer has to go by the

terrible moniker of shorty G Chad Gable

is free to be what he always has been

and this is one of the best wrestlers in

the world but then how could he be

anything else when he's actually given

the chance to step in the ring and have

decent length matches with quality

opponents really it just goes to show

that sometimes getting someone over

isn't rocket science no it's just a case

of letting them do their thing hell he

was doing just that back during his time

in NXT anyway when he was one half of

American Alpha with Jason Jordan

unfortunately though once he reached the

main roster Vince McMahon had different

plans for the Minnesota native and these

plans were to bury Gable with one of the

worst gimmicks in recent memory with

that being shorty G yes for the crime of

not being 6'4 the former NXT tag team

champion was made to look like a fool

each and every week as he was forced to

try and get over a character whose

defining trait was that he was short

hell WWE even had the balls to try and

sell the whole thing is a man

inspirationally attempting to own his

shortcomings making it all the worse

somehow so thank God Paul Levesque was

able to rectify this travesty once he

got the book as at this point he quickly

dumped the shorty G gimmick and had

Gable return to being himself a former

Olympian who could out wrestle just

about anyone on the planet and that's

worked wonders for the raw star over the

past year and a half as now getting to

have great matches on the regular his

stock has risen so much in fans eyes

that he's currently a favorite to be the

one to finally end G's legendary

Intercontinental title rign but even if

he does win this he'll still have a long

way to go to outdo another of the

greatest IC Champs of all time in fan

eyes that said had he not made the jump

over to the WWF in the early 90s and

dropped his WCW gimmick of the diamond

stud Razor Ramone might never have

achieved such a feat and we're not

trying to say the diamond stud was

terrible or anything here more that

there was just a very definite ceiling

on where he was going to go and that was

no higher than the midcard of the

Southern wrestling promotion in

1991 so seeing the writing on the wall

for himself then Scott Hall made the

wise decision to jump over to New York

at his first opportunity a year later as

he figured there he'd have a much

greater chance of succeeding at a higher

level was he right about this assumption

absolutely as pretty quickly after

signing on the dotted line Paul would be

tasked with filming a number of

vignettes introducing fans to his new

character of Razer Ramon a gimmick

heavily based on Al Pacino's portrayal

of Scarface and these got him over with

fans so much that once he hit the ring

for the first time a few weeks later

he'd be treated like a big deal right

out of the gate hell so big a deal would

he appear to be a mere month after his

debut he'd be injecting him himself into

the world title feud between Ric Flair

and Macho Man Randy Savage and once that

was over he'd get a shot at the Gold

himself when then Champion Bret Hart put

the belt on the line at the 1993 Royal

Rumble sure Ramone didn't win this one

but he did get something to make the

defeat go down easier as by October of

1993 he'd have started the first of his

four reigns with the Intercontinental

title yes by the time he left WWF to

join WCW in 1996 Razer held the record

of being the man to win that particular

belt more times than anyone else and

even if he never got to have a run with

the world title in New York this still

makes him one of the most successful

characters of his era something which

likely would have never happened had he

continued being the diamond stud but

Scott Hall isn't the only person who had

to make the jump over from WCW to WWF in

order to find a gimmick which could

rescue his career as only a couple of

years prior to him taking up the mantle

of the bad guy a young Mark Callaway was

finding his own dream role when he went

from being mean mark down in Atlanta to

the Undertaker over in Vince McMahon's

promotion that's right arguably the

greatest gimmick of all time the Deadman

has been able to do just about

everything imaginable for a wrestler

over his three decade long run as part

of the WWE roster but it wasn't always

so obvious he'd be a success as back

when he was working for the competition

under his mean Mark guys he'd be told by

then WCW Booker oie Anderson that he was

never going to draw a dime as no one in

the right mind would pay money to see

him how wrong this turned out to be then

as once he moved on to pastures new and

there took on the character of a zombie

mortician things changed pretty much

overnight as fans immediately took to

this new monster heel so much so that

after doing the unthinkable and beating

Hulk Hogan for the WWF title during his

first year on the roster the company

would be forced to turn a baby face not

long thereafter and once this happened

there was no turning back as for the

next 30 Years the Phenom would remain

the constant of New York someone who was

always there no matter what and who

always always held a position right at

the top of the card really you could

argue there's never been a more

important figure to Vince McMahon's

promotion and that makes his decision to

go there in 1990 and change things up in

terms of his character one of the

smartest any performer has ever had that

after all where would he be today if

he'd stuck with WCW and allowed himself

to be buried by oie Anderson certainly

not in the Hall of Fame that's for sure

but sometimes it's not going to WWE that

revives a wrestler's career no sometimes

they have to leave that system in order

to thrive and there are a few examples

which prove this more than with how

Derek baitman only found success once he

became EC3 and no we're not talking

about EC3 is run in WWE between 2018 and

2020 hell it's already been established

Vince McMahon had no idea what to do

with the guy what we're talking about

instead is his time in Impact which

began in 2013 and saw him rise all the

way to the top of the card by playing

the kayfabe nephew of Dixie Carter so

high would he rise in fact by being the

cocky rich boy heel Who Loved nothing

more than himself that over the course

of his 5-year run there he'd become TNA

World Heavyweight Champion on two

separate occasions and impact Grand

Champion once and as if that wasn't

enough he'd also be the winner of not

only the TNA World title Series in 2016

but also the Bound for Glory playoffs

later the same year clearly then moving

over to Nashville where he could take on

this new role was the best thing for the

Ohio natives career as during his time

on the NXT roster prior to that he'd

been going nowhere fast but then this

wasn't exactly helped by the fact that

it was the original NXT back when it was

still in its game show format so it was

hard for anyone to come out of the whole

thing looking good still even with this

in mind you'd think Vince McMahon would

take one look at the absolutely jacked

physique of baitman and see money in him

for whatever reason though he didn't and

that meant that even when the future

world champion made Cameo appearances on

the likes of SmackDown he'd be losing to

larger profile opponents such as Ryback

and Cesaro so by the time his original

run in New York came to an end then it

must have felt like a blessing in

disguise for the rookie as he finally

was free from the wful booking of his

now former boss and it's not as if the

EC3 character was only successful for

him in TNA either because as it stands

at the time of this video's recording

he's also the current NWA world's

champion but we've talked a lot about

the men so far today so let's shift

gears for a moment and move on to a

woman who only managed to find herself

after a change of gimmick when she did

however boy did it work out big time for

her as now no longer playing the role of

Pixie cheerleader Alexa Bliss could

finally let her inner goddess out why

was this such an important change for

the Ohio native well because it allowed

her to use her best asset and that was

her ability to talk that's right back

when she'd been the manager of Blake and

Murphy down in NXT between 2013 and 2016

there wasn't a lot of opportunity

afforded to her on the mic but this all

changed around about the time she got

her call up to the main roster as it was

then she morphed into her final form the

the goddess and being the goddess meant

playing the role of smackdown's Resident

mean girl someone who owed a lot to the

likes of LOL before her but while lol

were fun in their own right they were

never really treated as a real threat

despite being Cod Diva's Champions at

one point when it came to Bliss though

she was a major player right out of the

gate as once Vince McMahon realized how

well she could cut a promo he pushed her

to the moon so much that before her

first year on the main roster was over

she'd have dethroned Becky Lynch to

become SmackDown Women's Champion then

once that initial run was done she'd go

on to win the belt one more time as well

as the raw women's title on three

separate occasions and as if it wasn't

enough in 2018 she'd also add Miss money

in the bank to her ever growing list of

accomplishments proving just how great

she was seriously so successful has

Alexa been since morphing into the

goddess it feels like a shoe in she'll

be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at

some point now and when she does this

her Offspring will hopefully be be there

to cheer her on as after surviving a

cancer scare in early 2023 she'

denounced to the world that she was

pregnant with her first child a child

that was born on November 27th of this

year will it being apparent affect what

she does in the ring going forward from

here it's hard to say as every example

of a father or mother in wrestling is

different it certainly didn't seem to

affect our next subject however but then

he was extra incentivized to get to the

top after he escaped the shackles of

Deacon Batista and instead transformed

into his better known incarnation of the

animal Dave Batista and sure given his

subsequent success as both a wrestler

and an actor it might seem obvious in

hindsight that Big Dave was always

destined to be a star but back when he

first joined the WWE main roster in 2002

this wasn't the feeling many people had

as at that time he'd been given the

truly terrible gimmick of Deacon Batista

who was Deacon Batista well basically he

was a Lackey to Reverend Devon someone

tasked with carrying his collection

basket around and remaining mute as he

regularly got involved in the former

Dudley boy matches in order to help him

pick up the win needless to say then

this was a pretty deadend gimmick and it

didn't give Dave any opportunity to show

the Charisma which would later make him

famous so it's just as well his fortunes

changed in 2003 when he was handpicked

by Triple H to be a member of evolution

and the reason this was such a change in

fortunes for him was because despite

still being the mostly silent heavy here

during the early months of the stable's

existence once Batista started showing

signs that he wanted to break out from

under the shadow of the game fans began

getting behind him in a major way and

that led to one of the greatest programs

of the era then when after winning the

2005 Royal Rumble he went on to defeat

his now former Master at WrestleMania 21

to become the World Heavyweight Champion

for the first time of course once he did

this the animal was a maid man for life

as pretty soon he'd be the top baby face

on Smackdown a position he largely

maintained all the way up to his first

retirement in 2010 and even when he

returned again in 2014 following a

period of establishing himself in

Hollywood he'd still be over with fans

enough to where he'd be able to weather

the onslaught that was the YES Movement

long enough to get a final retirement

bout against Triple H at WrestleMania 35

but what of one of his Ohio Valley

wrestling class of 2002 classmates the

class which gave us some of the greatest

superstars in WWE history well if we're

talking about John Cena he also had to

overcome a pretty bad gimmick when he

first debuted on the main roster with

him not fully finding himself until he

became the doctor of thugonomics

yes like with Dave Batista it might be

hard for some younger fans to imagine a

time when John Cena wasn't an absolute

Mega star but during his first few

months as part of the blue brand back in

2002 he was really struggling to get

over so much would he be struggling in

fact that at one point Vince MCB

seriously considered cutting him from

his contract as he just didn't see any

star power to the West Newbery native

thankfully then during a tour of Europe

where JN had taken to entertaining

himself by cutting some some rhymes on

his peers while traveling on the bus

Stephanie McMahon noticed how

eye-catching he was and so asked him to

do this on screen for the Halloween

episode of SmackDown later that year and

when he did just this all well decked

out in a vanilla ice costume fans

quickly saw how great it was too which

was why over the weeks which followed

Cena transformed into this new

incarnation of himself full time that's

right like that the doctor of

thugonomics was born and John Cena was

on the fast track to Mega stardom hell

even though he was meant to be to heal

at this point live crowds still fell in

love with him anyway and that led to him

rising up the card at record speed Lea

frogging peers like Randy Orton and

Brock Lesnar in the process all as he

rode into WrestleMania 21 more than

ready to defeat JBL for the WWE title

sure by this point he was already

starting to leave his doctor of Doug

onomics gimmick behind in favor of the

more child-friendly Super Cena baby face

but if it had it been for that initial

wrapping heel turn he'd have never even

gotten close to reaching such a level in

the first place no in all likelihood he

would have been out of a job and WWE

would have lost a generational star

someone so big time that the only person

who's come close to matching his level

of star power in the years since is

Roman Reigns and that took him almost a

decade to get to such a point but not

everyone has to be an erod defining star

to be a success after changing into a

new gimmick no sometimes reaching a

certain level on the mid card is enough

to make it all worthwhile and nowhere is

this more true than with our next

subject because once he transformed from

Bob's bark plug Holly to Hardcore Holly

in 1998 he'd instantly found his niche

as part of the Attitude Era roster and

it's just as well he did because his

original race car driver gimmick was

never going to get over with the

bloodthirsty late 90s audience no if he

tried to push that one in 1998 it would

have sunk like a lead balloon but this

wasn't something Bob had to worry about

in the end because after Vince Russo

booked him to be a member of the job

Squad in November of that year he'd get

a chance to show off what he could do in

the hardcore Division and and this soon

led to him taking on the new moniker of

Hardcore Holly who was Hardcore Holly

well he was a non-nonsense ass kicker

who liked nothing more in his life than

getting into a good fight you know the

perfect kind of character for the mid

card of the turn of the Millennium WWF

product and boy did he find an elevated

level of success once he transformed

into this version of himself as over the

next few years rather than being stuck

in mid-card purgatory he'd get to win

the hardcore title six times and the Tag

Team titles once more with his KF nephew

crash

hell at one point he'd even get to Main

Event the Royal Rumble in a WWE title

bout against Brock Lesnar something

which would have never happened for old

spark plug that said his success in the

mid card after changing gimmicks pales

in comparison to what our next subject

did when he underwent a similar

transformation as it was only after he

dropped the Roman gladiator aspect of

his character that Farooq truly shown

but then why wouldn't it because at this

point he'd go from being Farooq Assad

cartoon character who could have only

ever gotten over in the new generation

era to the far more entertaining leader

of the nation of domination and this

allowed Farooq to help get younger

Talent over by teaching them from his

experience in the business including

future world champions like Mark Henry

and The Rock H this new version of

Farooq would prove to be so malleable

that even once the nation had run its

course in 1998 he'd continue to find

success as a hard drinking cardplaying

brawler who alongside his partner

Bradshaw regularly hired out their

services as the acolyte Protection

Agency for those willing to pay the

highest price and this all ultimately

meant that once the time came for his

WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012 it

felt well deserved had he still been the

ill-fated Farooq Assad complete with his

bad blue Gladiator get up though things

might have been different after all it's

hard to imagine him gaining the support

needed from Vince McMahon to be honored

in such a way under that guys even if

he'd already had a great character

outside of the fed by this point

thankfully though he got to where he

needed to be in the end