The presentation of a WWE Superstar is often what leads a wrestler to become immortalized in sports entertainment’s hallowed halls. Attire, booking, and skillset all factor into this, but above all else is a wrestler’s character. Cody Rhodes, for instance, would never have toppled Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 had he been painted like Stardust.

Sadly, for many could-be big-timers, WWE’s mishandling of certain elements of a character can severely derail their momentum and, ultimately, sway them away from any potential success they may encounter elsewhere. From potential headline attractions down to the lowest spot on the card, these WWE wrestlers felt the wrath of the company’s poisonous pen.

Mojo Rawley: WWE Had No Major Direction For Him

When Mojo Rawley debuted in WWE, his most notable time was when he was in a tag team with Zack Ryder. Together as The Hype Bros, they gained notoriety as a pretty good duo together. After being on NXT, they were brought to SmackDown. Rawley continued to grow as well, becoming the fourth winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. WWE also emphasized his friendship with Rob Gronkowski.

But, after he turned on Ryder, Rawley was left without any real direction. WWE gave him this odd gimmick where he would talk to himself in the mirror. It made no sense and fans lost any interest that they might have had in Rawley. Eventually, WWE dropped this.

Leo Kruger: He Transitioned Into Party Animal Adam Rose

WWE’s relaunch of NXT in June 2012 from a tacky game show to a must-see developmental league pulled the curtain back on some intriguing characters that had been brewing in Florida Championship Wrestling. Among them was Leo Kruger, a tactical South African mercenary who wrestled several excellent matches, namely against Sami Zayn.

Strangely, in 2014, he was randomly repackaged as Adam Rose, a fun-loving party animal complete with an entourage of party-goers that featured some future familiar faces. This sudden change of heart was fun at first, but it had a short lifespan on it and restrained Rose’s in-ring capabilities, and by the end of the year, he was feuding with a man (rumored to have been Justin Gabriel) dressed as a bunny. That speaks volumes to how much WWE valued him.

Chavo Guerrero: His Success Was Thwarted When He Became Kerwin White

Coming from a wrestling family as glorified as the Guerrero clan, Chavo Guerrero should have had no issues in getting over – and he didn’t. ‘The Mexican Warrior’ was a celebrated cruiserweight in WCW and was a memorable feature of The Misfits in Action, and continued on a similar path when he jumped to WWE, even winning the WWE Tag Team Championship with his uncle Eddie.

When Chavo was rechristened Kerwin White, though, Chavo’s career was in the mud. Backed by his caddy – the future Dolph Ziggler – Chavo portrayed a classical conservative white male, a character that wasn’t going to get him much in the way of success. The character, though, almost went in a darker direction, as Guerrero detailed a pitch for him to dress as a Ku Klux Klan member in an interview with Chris Van Vliet:

“I told Vince [McMahon} at the end of the day, I want to come out in a white sheet. He was like, ‘Oh yes, I love it.’ Now, we never ended up doing that. It got too risque, a little too racist for a network. […] I grew up in the time of wrestling where the more heat, the better. I wanted to fight my way back to the dressing room every night. I wanted to have to sneak out the back window. I wanted to be in the streets and [have] people yell, ‘We hate you’ because that’s heat.” (h/t WrestleTalk)

Keith Lee: Lee Was Coming Off An Electric NXT Run

NXT, in 2020, saw Keith Lee emerge as the black-and-gold brand’s focal star following his electric Survivor Series performance the previous year. Holding both of the brand’s male singles titles simultaneously and producing a slew of must-watch matches every week, Lee became a WWE megastar, though his main roster call-up that summer quickly halted that.

Debuting in a hula skirt and with new, generic theme music, WWE had no plans for their latest NXT graduate within a month of him arriving on Monday Night RAW. A 2021 rebranding as Keith ‘Bearcat’ Lee was also needless, as it wasn’t so much a character switch as it was an empty moniker. He was let go from the company in November of that year, for the best.

Piper Niven: The Scotswoman Became A Sidekick With A Horrid Name

Upon reports surfacing of Eva Marie making an unwarranted return to WWE, further rumors indicated that the former ‘All Red Everything’ would be returning alongside a new sidekick, with Mercedes Martinez and Piper Niven being the frontrunners. Niven was chosen and arrived alongside Marie on RAW in June 2021 – but she wasn’t Piper Niven: she was Doudrop.

While the role saw Niven remain somewhat dominant in her matches, it wasn’t the right fit for ‘The Vixen of Violence’, hence why she and Marie went their separate ways within three months. Piper’s career, though, remained derailed as she retained her newfound moniker for another fifteen months, during which time she barely appeared on WWE programming, and whenever she did, she was card-filler.

Tony Atlas: The Saba Simba Character Wouldn’t Have Worked In Modern Times

The Saba Simba character was borderline racist. Supposedly conceived by James J. Dillon of Four Horsemen fame after he took a trip to Africa, the character, portrayed by Tony Atlas, was a barefooted tribal African warrior who pranced around the ring before matches. Needless to say, it wouldn’t be acceptable to put on modern television: it wasn’t acceptable when it happened, of course, but such is Vince McMahon’s propensity for greenlighting terrible ideas.

Its only redeeming quality is that it saved Tony Atlas’ life. Speaking on the Right After Wrestling podcast, Atlas recalled being homeless and addicted to drugs at the time McMahon gave him another opportunity:

“In the early ’80s, I went to LA. It was my decision to get involved in drugs, which screwed me up at the beginning of my career. I became homeless in 1989. This lady saw me sleeping in the park in Maine, didn’t know who I was. I had been homeless for a year and [a] half. I slept on the park bench. That day, it was 22 below zero, and she invited me into her home. When Vince tried to get a hold of me, he didn’t know how to reach me. Vince didn’t know how to get a hold of me, so a policeman told me he had a number of someone who wanted to reach me, so I called Vince and he told me about the idea of bringing me back as Saba Simba.”

Giant Bernard: The Former Albert Had Been Dominant In Japan

There have been several instances of released WWE wrestlers thriving in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but perhaps the most surprising was Giant Bernard, who had wrestled as Albert and A-Train in WWE. In Japan, his 6’7″, 331-pound frame made him a perfect fit for the stiff style utilized by Japanese wrestling groups, while his Bad Intentions pairing with Karl Anderson put them both on the map.

Returning to WWE in 2012, his career resurgence was undone when he became a stereotypical Japanese warrior named Lord Tensai. Though the 2006 New Japan Cup winner was briefly treated as a major star, with pinfall wins over CM Punk and John Cena, this was dropped within a month of his return, and by the following year, he transformed into a dancing buffoon and was tricked into wearing lingerie.

Brodus Clay: He Could Have Been WWE’s Next Top Giant

A 2022 Chris Van Vliet interview saw Brodus Clay delve deep into how ‘The Funkasaurus’ came to be, a gimmick that he believed to be a punishment. Per Clay, he was being eyed up to become WWE’s next monster heel, but a backstage revelation that he liked to crack jokes meant becoming a babyface for the first time in his career: specifically, a dancing babyface, complete with Ernest Miller’s Somebody Call My Momma entrance theme.

Though the character was somewhat popular for the time, which continued after he paired up with Lord Tensai as Tons of Funk, there was a low ceiling for ‘The Funkasaurus’, and after a brief heel turn, he was let go from WWE in 2014, becoming a dull heel in TNA and the NWA.

D-Von Dudley: He Became An On-Screen Reverend

In 2002, The Dudley Boyz were split up as a result of the Draft. Bubba Ray Dudley went to Raw, while D-Von was on SmackDown. While Bubba Ray found success as the Hardcore Champion, D-Von was repackaged as Reverend D-Von. He would give sermons to WWE fans, walked around with a collection box, and was also a “spiritual advisor” to Mr. McMahon.

The best part of this time was that it allowed for the debut of Batista in WWE. But, this gimmick never became popular with fans. Later the same year, D-Von reunited with Bubba Ray Dudley at Survivor Series 2002.

Smash: The Demolition Great Became The Slimy Repo Man

The Golden Era of WWE was a treasure trove for wacky gimmicks, as Vince McMahon developed a fascination with debuting occupational characters: among them, The Repo Man. Portrayed by Smash of Demolition, the character was memorable, as he was involved in storylines with higher-ranking talents like Ted DiBiase and The British Bulldog, but the character itself was a lower midcard act at best.

For the real-life Barry Darsow, he is considered more memorable to WWE fans as The Repo Man than as Smash, as he donned the gimmick once more in 2007 for the RAW 15th Anniversary Battle Royal.

Terry Taylor: The Red Rooster Character Negatively Impacted His Career

WWE has concocted some horrendous in-ring monikers throughout the years, from Chad Gable becoming Shorty G and Pete Dunne being Butch, but there is perhaps none worse than Terry Taylor becoming The Red Rooster. Complete with red ring attire, Taylor would style his hair to be like a rooster’s and would comically strut around the ring.

Terry was never the same after this. Wrestling in various promotions post-Red Rooster, Taylor struggled to return to the person he had been previously, and ultimately transitioned into a behind-the-scenes capacity.

Emma: WWE Didn’t Know What To Do With Her

Taking to X, the former Twitter, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that the Emmalina vignettes that began airing in late 2016 were an “inside joke” and that there was “no spot” for her on Monday Night RAW. When Emma did return to debut the new character, which was to be a throwback to a character like Sable and The Kat, she instantly denounced her makeover, becoming Emma again.

The Aussie star has been treated as an afterthought ever since, including in two TNA stints and during a second run in WWE, and revealed in 2023 that she wasn’t sure if she would ever wrestle again. It’s an understandable reaction given the treatment displayed towards someone who was a crucial part of the Women’s Evolution in NXT.