3 days Ago
Repeating the same trick typically leads to diminishing returns, but that has never stopped WWE from hoping its global audience won't mind . On one level, it makes sense. If something was successful before (even modestly), then why wouldn't the company attempt to piggy back on that with more of the same thing? Sadly, some of these tepid repeats were quickly forgotten by fans, and most couldn't reach the heights of their predecessors.
There's a twist to a few of the ones laid bare here too. Some folks reading might not actually remember the originals, so maybe they view the follow-ons as more vibrant/more successful. Few hate on WWE for doing this sort of thing anyway, because there are only so many gimmicks to go around in wrestling.
Just...
please never cast anyone as a garbage/bin man again. One Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese was enough. You could practically fill a Royal Rumble with all of the repeat characters WWE has tried again.
10 of the best examples are included here. Remember when Triple H had a mentor before Ric Flair in Evolution? It was only brief, so you'd be forgiven for forgetting all about it. How about the time Hulk Hogan tried to do his best impression of Del Wilkes? That isn't a sentence anybody thought they'd be seeing in 2025.
The fact there's only a few years between some of these is also remarkable. Maybe wait a bit before trying effectively the same thing with someone else in the future - Triple H has to learn that bitter lesson from Vince McMahon. Drum roll, please.
10. Female Superhero (Mighty Molly/Nikki A.S.
H) Nikki A.S.H was at least partly inspired by The Hurricane.
To pretend otherwise would be silly, because Shane Helms set the template for getting a quirky superhero character over. That's true, but his Hurri-sidekick Mighty Molly was a blessing in disguise for Molly Holly at a time when she badly needed something other than being Hardcore and Crash's on screen cousin. A short romance with Spike Dudley was never going to be her long-term solution.
Buddying up with The Hurricane right as that character hit a sweet spot ( it even helped Rosey and Stacy Keibler, amongst others ) was great for Molly. So, it's no shocker that WWE figured they could pivot Nikki Cross out of her union with Alexa Bliss into something radically different for 2021. Nikki A.
S.H, which stood for "Almost (A) Super Hero" was something Nikki came up with herself. It came from a good place.
The Scot wanted to inspire young wrestling fans to always believe in themselves and chase their dreams without fear of failure. In a way, she was an even more cartoonish version of the message John Cena pushed during the PG era. Initially, things looked great for A.
S.H; she won the Raw Women's Title and seemed to be more over than ever, but the magic wore off quickly. WWE liked Nikki's pitch and clearly thought it was worth trying an amalgamated version of The Hurricane and Mighty Molly in one wrestler.
Fair enough, but the beauty of Molly's character had been that she was spirited but ultimately never pushed too far in front of other, more serious characters. It's no wonder creative went back to Nikki's unhinged roots in 2022, but the superhero thing was worth trying on for size..
