5 characters we never saw but helped WWE ratings crazily
WWE has seen many mysterious character arcs unfold in its long history. From the mystery hacker storyline during the Pandemic era to the mystery man who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin, which led to Rikishi's famous "I did it for the Rock" promo, mystery storylines assure a massive ratings boost.
While many superstars have the ability to pull in fans with their unique charisma and exceptional in-ring skills, there have been many characters in WWE who haven't physically shown up at all! What's more? These abstract personalities have been able to pop up the ratings as well!
This article is about those characters. So, without further ado, join us as we plunge into WWE’s world of the weird, bizarre, and – in a manner of speaking – downright genius. Here, then, are five characters that we never saw but helped boost WWE ratings crazily.
#5 Little Johnny
Heidenreich will go down as a notable character in WWE history – but for all the wrong reasons. Heidenreich was average at best inside the ring and worked a distasteful homosexual storyline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the star was also involved in a creepy angle where he took orders from a voice in his head known as Little Johnny.
In an interview that he did later on, Heidenreich went on to reveal the origins of this mysterious character. Having been bullied by other kids for being fat, Heidenreich developed an inner voice to go with his rough exterior as he grew up. Physically, he may have matured into quite a specimen, but mentally, Little Johnny still clung on to the scarred and disturbed kid inside of him.
Even in the realm of psychology, that’s just straight-up mess. Needless to say, Heidenreich and Little Johnny were soon written off WWE television for good and many were glad to see their backs. Overall, not one of the best ideas out of the company's creative.
#4 Little Jimmy
R Truth and Little Jimmy awesome moments #rtruth #littlejimmy #wwe #prowrestling #wrestling best friends forever @RonKillings https://t.co/nWbNNeY5Pm
The name “Little Jimmy” may have been a spin-off from the “Little Johnny” character, but that’s where the similarities between R-Truth’s imaginary friend and Heidenreich’s sinister puppet master ended.
Where Heidenreich’s tormentor was sinister and angst-driven, Little Jimmy was a comedic shtick for the most part. Even to date, it’s easily been the highlight from an audience standpoint of R-Truth’s WWE career.
Often accompanying his friend to the ring, Little Jimmy’s exploits were so well enacted by Truth that people started looking forward to his segments each week. In a career that has spanned two decades, the unlikely (but imaginary) pairing of R-Truth with Little Jimmy remains one of his most convincing tandem acts.
And considering that he’s been in all sorts of oddball teams with the likes of The Miz and Goldust, that’s saying something.
#3 WWE's Anonymous RAW GM
One of the worst angles in WWE all time was the Anonymous Raw GM storyline,don't @ me.That storyline alone almost single handedly made me quit watching wrestling. https://t.co/r8onx89IfU
Yes, we do realize that Hornswoggle was eventually revealed as the Anonymous RAW GM, except for the glaring fact that the diminutive wrestler was on the blue brand for large durations of the angle. And as such, no one in their right mind believed that it was him anyway.
Hand in glove with the heel persona of Michael Cole, the Anonymous RAW GM was directly responsible for many of the cringe-worthy and unpopular on-screen decisions from 2010 to 2011.
More likely a result of the lack of creative ideas, the whole Anonymous GM concept took a life of its own as it wore on, what with the laptop set up on a pedestal and the annoying text message alarm sounding whenever a babyface needed to be put in his/her place.
Going beyond the heelish feel of the angle, however, was quite a smart move by Vince to let it play out. It's one of those that people will remember years on, purely for the originality of the thought behind it, in an era of programming that was otherwise earmarked for repetitive staleness.
#4 God
#ThrowbackThursday 14 years ago, at WWE Backlash, Vince McMahon wrestled God ... and won.
I still can't believe this is a thing that happened. https://t.co/JlogH99DX7
Expect Vince McMahon to book himself against God and have a good laugh at the looks of incredulity on the faces of the audience. Of course, for all the positive slants to Vince McMahon’s storied tenure as the WWE supremo, his humility has never really bothered the history books.
Perhaps it was a deep-rooted desire to pit himself against God, or just a distasteful mockery of Shawn Michaels, who had returned to WWE having found faith. More eyebrows were raised, however, when it was announced that Shawn Michaels would team up with God and take on Vince and Shane at Backlash 2006.
The ludicrous storyline came about when Vince blamed an ‘act of God’ for his loss to Michaels at WrestleMania 22, noting that he was a 60-year-old man who was up against a much more agile opponent.
And that’s not even the best part. When it came down to the actual match, not even God could help Shawn Michaels win.
#5 Sister Abigail
Former WWE Writer Explains Who The 'Sister Abigail' Character Is & If We Will Ever See Her On TV
Details Here: bit.ly/2sbBYbe https://t.co/2DMrSbOwWY
Unlike any of the aforementioned imaginary characters, though, Sister Abigail was enmeshed with the Bray Wyatt character – as the source of his necromancy, the namesake of his finishing move, and perhaps even his Kryptonite.
Abigail's character was given life through numerous references made by Bray, to the point where it wouldn’t have been surprising had WWE brought someone on board to play the character.
However, with Bray switching to The Fiend gimmick and even being released, the chances of seeing Sister Abigail in a WWE ring are pretty low.