10 Gimmick Changes That Saved Dying Careers

#8 Patrick Clark Becomes The Velveteen Dream

Say his name

Former WWE Tough Enough contestant and standout, Patrick Clark, signed with WWE a few months following the season's end in 2015 and would make his NXT debut in the summer of 2016, with a loss to Austin Aries.

Patrick continued to make appearances on NXT for the next few months, that generally saw him on the losing side. After a few months of absence, Patrick returned to NXT TV in March 2017, where he picked up his first televised victory, but no one seemed to care.

Patrick would re-debut two months later with a new Prince-inspired character called the "Velveteen Dream". The Dream, although a heel, has gained quite the following ever since, and has participated in high profile feuds in NXT with Kassius Ohno, Aleister Black and Ricochet.

At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, The Dream, at just 22 years old, wrestled a Wrestling Observer Newsletter 5 Star Match, with Adam Cole, Killian Dain, EC3, Ricochet and Lars Sullivan in a Ladder match.