5 WWE Superstars who had their gimmicks canceled
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.