'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Undertaker was able to run with a fantastic gimmick for a number of years, but even The Deadman was forced to freshen up his character with The American Badass persona in the early 2000s. The fact that one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time had to change his character several times proves that there isn't a single star who is safe within one gimmick.
Over the years, many wrestlers have been repackaged numerous times and pitched on character ideas that could work for them. Sadly, not all of these gimmicks make it to WWE TV; many get canceled either before the stars are able to deliver or a few weeks after their debut with their new characters.
Here are some of the most interesting WWE Superstar gimmicks that were canceled in recent years.
#5. Dean Ambrose - Anti-hardcore star
Dean Ambrose made his main roster debut as a part of The Shield back in 2012. But before the Lunatic Fringe was added to the trio, there was an idea for Ambrose to challenge Mick Foley as an anti-hardcore wrestler.
Prior to Ambrose's debut, a number of videos were uploaded online that showed him confronting Foley at a hotel. Ambrose wasn't well-known to the WWE Universe at the time so many fans in attendance believed that it was a fan confronting the Hardcore legend.
Reports suggest that the storyline was scrapped because Foley couldn't be cleared to return to in-ring action by the company, but there was another report from former WWE creative writer Kevin Eck that suggested Foley took offense to one of the things that Ambrose actually said to him.
"Meanwhile, the creative team was looking for a Plan B to bring Ambrose from developmental to the main roster. Plan A — a 'worked-shoot' angle with Ambrose and Mick Foley engaging in a war of words on social media — was scrapped after Foley legitimately took issue with something Ambrose said about him."
Luckily, Ambrose was later added to The Shield and the whole Foley affair has been mostly forgotten.
#4. Lana as a dancer
Lana has been through various character changes in the past five years, from performing as the Russian manager of her now-husband Rusev to aligning with Dolph Ziggler. Lana then wrestled for a bit before moving back into a managerial role alongside Tamina, Bobby Lashley, and now Natalya on WWE RAW.
When Lana started taking steps to become a prominent member of the Women's Division in 2017, The Ravishing Russian debuted vignettes of her dancing suggestively around a chair.
This led to Lana's WWE TV debut as a wrestler but the dancing gimmick was toned down in comparison to the aforementioned vignettes and the chair had seemingly been taken away.
Lana was instead using a similar gimmick to Naomi as she slowly danced to the ring. She would still use her dancing skills in the ring but WWE decided to take away the chair and the suggestive entrance.
It is believed that the gimmick was watered down right off the bat and phased out eventually because the suggestive dancing wasn't considered to be PG enough and could scare away WWE's family audience.
#3. The Female Shield
Following the success of The Shield in WWE, the company looked as though it was going to push a female version of the trio. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns had stepped up to the main roster and were there to deliver their own brand of justice to the people who were being given opportunities that they didn't deserve.
Whilst this was happening, the Women's Division was going unchecked, and the trio of Summer Rae, Paige, and Anya was put together in order to deliver some justice to the women of WWE.
The only thing that remains of this idea is the video of the three women laying down the law and making it clear that they were coming for the women on the main roster, but this gimmick never made it to WWE TV.
Developmental talent Anya broke her arm while training and was later released from the company, marking the end of this storyline. It's disappointing that WWE didn't push forward with the idea since Paige looked quite comfortable in this gimmick.
#2. Emmalina
Perhaps one of the most famous canceled WWE gimmicks of all time came when WWE looked to give Emma a complete makeover. The Australian star had already made a name for herself in NXT and the company decided that it wanted to give her character a much more feminine makeover i.e. Emmalina.
The debut of Emmalina faced a number of delays. When she did finally make her debut, it came as quite a shock as it was soon revealed that Emma was turning back into her previous on-screen persona.
Emma revealed in an interview with TheWrap after her WWE departure that the character wasn't fit for her, which was the reason for it getting dropped entirely. She stated:
“Basically, they had an idea, I guess, for a character at one point, but eventually along the way they realized it just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t the best form of me — that’s Evil Emma. I wanna get out there and wrestle. I’m definitely not the ‘Diva’ sort, I’m the wrestler.”
Emma was released by WWE in October 2017.
#1. The repackaged Revival
The Revival was released by WWE earlier this year, but it could be argued that the duo of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder was one of the best tag teams in the company for a long time.
Despite the fact that The Revival already had a fantastic gimmick with their "no flips just fists" moto, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon reportedly had an idea to change their appearance, music, and entire gimmick.
Dawson and Wilder spoke about the suggested gimmick change during their appearance on the former WWE Champion Chris Jericho's podcast:
“Vince hands us these [designs]. I’ll put my hand on the bible and tell you, I laughed out loud in front of everybody. It was me, [Harwood], Vince [McMahon], Bruce Prichard, and [Mark] Carano. They were all serious and started telling us why it would be a good idea. They talked about the Ucey Hot and back shaving stuff where we showed we can do more than be serious, straight-faced ass-kickers. We could show different sides and different levels of charisma, which we never got a chance to do, even though we asked a lot."
The Revival clarified that they agreed to portray these new characters to the best of their abilities, but only until their contracts expired.
