7 WWE Superstars whose careers derailed after their gimmicks changed

In the world of wrestling and WWE, having a solid gimmick that connects with the audience is far more important than being a great or technical in-ring worker. The reality is that the vast majority of the WWE Universe cares about characters and stories more than what they see in the ring.

Not that having a good match in WWE isn't important, but it's certainly second to having a strong character. Then comes the next big challenge - the fact that WWE runs on a 52-week-a-year schedule, with most Superstars hardly getting time off. When a WWE Superstar is regularly featured on TV, it takes a lot of effort to keep reinventing oneself to keep fans entertained.

The perfect example of that is Chris Jericho, who changed his gimmick on almost every turn that he had, but made the most out of it and would constantly entertain fans. Unfortunately (or fortunately), not everyone is Chris Jericho.

This list will focus on gimmick changes that effectively derailed Superstars' careers. In a few such cases, the WWE Superstars have been able to bounce back big. Let's get right into it:

#7. D-Von Dudley to Reverend D-Von - From Tag Team legend to a WWE pastor?

Perhaps the only thing that really came out of Reverend D-Von was the fact that he introduced Batista (with a different gimmick) to the WWE main roster. His run as Reverend D-Von came to be after The Dudley Boyz were separated by the 2002 draft - a terrible decision in hindsight.

The gimmick didn't last too long, but he managed to get a significant victory over Triple H (albeit, with the help of Chris Jericho). It only lasted half a year before he was reunited with Bubba Ray Dudley.

With that said, it certainly derailed his WWE career for a while after. The Dudley Boyz would enjoy more tag team championship runs together, but it was clear that their peak was behind them at the time.

One can only wonder what could have been had WWE not decided to separate The Dudley Boyz in the first place. As a whole, however, it didn't outright kill D-Von Dudley's WWE career.

#6. Adam Rose - A doomed WWE gimmick?

Adam Rose's gimmick was set to fail in WWE from the very start. The South African Superstar (real name Raymond John Leppan) has quite the story - something that could have made him a big star in WWE. When he signed in 2010, he would develop a gimmick where he called himself "Leo Kruger" in NXT.

While he was still rough around the edges, those paying attention felt that the gimmick could have potential on the WWE main roster. Unfortunately, it was never meant to be and in 2014, he changed gimmicks to Adam Rose - a party man with "Rosebuds" following him. Interestingly, many of these Rosebuds turned out to be top-level stars, World Champions, and even Women's Champions.

The same couldn't be said about Adam Rose, however. His gimmick was doomed from the get-go and he was instantly an enhancement talent on the WWE main roster. Three weeks after his second violation of WWE's Wellness Policy (something which he protested his innocence for), he was charged with domestic violence before being suspended indefinitely. He would request his release and that was the end of his WWE run and essentially, his professional wrestling career.

He had a few matches on the independent scene and after undergoing a major physical transformation, he would call it quits on that chapter of his career.

#5. Isaac Yankem to Fake Diesel - The precursor to Kane's actual WWE run

When Kevin Nash (Diesel) and Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) left WWE in 1996, the company was visibly furious and decided to make a mockery out of them. Dr. Isaac Yankem, who was a weird but memorable character in itself would be retired and Glenn Jacobs would end up taking up the role of Fake Diesel - an absolute disaster of a gimmick in hindsight.

Glenn Jacobs is quite lucky that he got to have a career revitalization after that. Between September 1996 and the Royal Rumble 1997, his WWE career had completely derailed into unmemorable feuds and matches.

It was only after that in 1997 when WWE decided that they could do something special with Glenn Jacobs. It took them the good part of 1997, but the build involving Paul Bearer and The Undertaker in revealing Kane was nothing short of perfection. It was a slow-burning build that WWE did well and at Badd Blood 1997 in the first Hell in a Cell match ever, Kane would make what many still consider to be the most iconic debut in WWE history.

The rest, as they say, is history.

#4. Damien Sandow - Another gimmick underutilized by WWE

Damien Sandow, and later, Damien Mizdow represents two major missed opportunities for WWE. Given his "intellectual savior of the masses" gimmick, it was clear that it was never meant to succeed in WWE.

However, Damien Sandow was the kind of talent who could turn anything into gold and that's exactly what he did in his run in WWE. However, it seemed to be one of those cases where WWE simply didn't want him to reach the level that he could have and possibly held him back in the process.

It's quite similar to Rusev, who had turned various gimmicks into gold but was held back with various excuses from Vince McMahon and other higher-ups.

Damien Sandow even had a Money in the Bank victory to his name, but it was a failed cash-in attempt. Damien Mizdow was another gimmick doomed to fail, but he got over in a big way. WrestleMania 31 was their opportunity to have their big payoff, but they chose to give Big Show his moment instead. After that, it was all downhill for Damien Sandow.

#3. Emmalina - The gimmick that never was

Emmalina - what was the point of it all?

Those who followed NXT closely in the early stages of the developmental territory know that Emma was one of the core-figures of what would eventually blossom into the Women's Evolution in WWE a few years later.

Emma and Paige were the two key names that helped the process in a big way, but WWE never seemed to give Emma the respect that she deserved. This was evident during 2016-17 when WWE started airing packages of Emma's transformation to Emmalina - a diva among women.

Ultimately, it became clear that this was nothing but a cruel running joke among WWE backstage officials and there was never any intention to debut her. She had a brief Emmalina appearance before declaring that she would return to Emma. Her career hadn't taken off the way she had hoped to, but Emmalina was the gimmick change that completely derailed the talented Australian's WWE career.

It's a shame because Emma could have done so much more for the women's division. After putting over Asuka on her RAW debut, she would be released by WWE.

#2. Stardust - the gimmick that killed Cody Rhodes' WWE career

This is perhaps the most WWE positive entry on this list because we now know that it resulted in something much bigger than anyone would have expected. When Cody Rhodes turned into Stardust, it was clear that so much more could have been done with him.

While he was involved in a few entertaining feuds and matches, the gimmick had run its course quickly and everybody knew that Cody Rhodes had so much more potential in WWE. However, things never seemed to work out for him and he even revealed that he was supposed to win the Money in the Bank briefcase before, only to be told by WWE that "plans had changed".

He requested his WWE release and was quickly granted it - citing all his creative frustrations. He said that he wanted to return to being Cody Rhodes for a long time. His departure from WWE would see him become one of the hottest independent wrestling stars, resulting in runs with NJPW, ROH, and eventually ALL IN and the formation of All Elite Wrestling. It's safe to say that Cody Rhodes realized his potential only after his WWE career got derailed.

#1. Diamond Dallas Page - WWE's resident stalker?

So much more could have been done in WWE

Diamond Dallas Page is known to WWE and wrestling fans as one of the finest human beings to ever enter the business. It's hard to make it in the wrestling business, but to enter at the age of 35 and proceed to become a World Champion is something unheard of.

DDP had an unusual career trajectory, but the former WCW World Champion's run in WWE between 2001-2002 was underwhelming, to say the least. DDP himself admitted later on that he had a lot of regrets about the WWE run - starting from the stalker gimmick involving The Undertaker.

The idea he had in mind was a "People's Champion vs People's Champion" feud against The Rock - which in hindsight, would have been a big-money deal. He said that if he could go back in time, he would have walked away after WWE refused the idea. He would have a short run in WWE before suffering an injury that forced him into retirement.

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Edited by Zaid Khan