5 Radical gimmick changes WWE should seriously consider

Veteran WWE Superstars often mention in interviews how vital it is for up-and-coming performers to reinvent their characters to ensure they can have a lengthy career in the wrestling business.

Chris Jericho, for example, has had multiple personas throughout his time in ECW, WCW, WWE and NJPW, while the likes of The Big Show and Kane are two of the longest-serving people in WWE right now thanks to their ever-evolving characters.

We’ve seen multiple gimmick changes on WWE television during the first half of 2018, from Baron Corbin and Bray Wyatt to Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, and we reckon it’s about time a few more main-roster Superstars were given the chance to mix up their personalities a bit.

So, we’ve delved through the Raw and SmackDown Live rosters to find five people who would benefit from undergoing a radical gimmick change in the not-too-distant future.

Agree or disagree with these selections? Think you can come up with better ideas? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

#5 Ember Moon becomes the next ‘Legend Killer’

Ember Moon has had a decent start to life on the main roster and it’ll be interesting to see how her inevitable rise to the top of the women’s division is booked by WWE’s decision-makers.

For now, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey are likely to dominate the Raw Women’s Championship storylines for the next 2-3 months, while Sasha Banks and Bayley’s ‘counselling’ segments look set to continue. So, where does that leave Ember on Monday nights?

Well, instead of being involved in largely meaningless filler matches, it’d be good to see the former NXT Women’s champion make it her mission to defeat as many high-profile female competitors on the roster as possible as she works her way up the card and, eventually, into a Raw Women’s Championship rivalry.

Natalya and Mickie James are two obvious opponents who she could defeat initially, then she could move on to Sasha and Bayley before earning a shot at the title in 6-9 months’ time. Would it be as memorable as Randy Orton’s “Legend Killer” streak? No, but at least it would give some meaning to her non-title feuds.

#4 Shane McMahon becomes a heel Commissioner

Shane McMahon has been an effective heel before

You only have to switch on an episode of Raw or SmackDown from the Attitude Era to see how better Shane McMahon is/was as a heel compared to his current role as the babyface Commissioner of SmackDown Live.

The majority of fans loved the good-guy Shane O’Mac that surprisingly returned in early 2016 to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. However, as is always the case in WWE, everybody needs a refresh every once in a while, and the time has come for Shane to finally turn heel and become a villainous authority figure on Tuesday nights.

Remember how Vince McMahon would constantly be involved in storylines in the late 90s/early 00s, sometimes as a heel giving out commands and sometimes as a heel wrestler? Well, imagine that two decades later, only with Shane playing the role his father used to.

#3 Dean Ambrose becomes a heel and destroys The Shield

Dean Ambrose is set to return in the next few months

Apologies for the obvious suggestion, but this radical gimmick change just has to happen, doesn’t it? Dean Ambrose has been a babyface ever since The Shield became good guys in early 2014, so it’s surely only a matter of time before “The Lunatic Fringe” turns heel when he returns from injury.

WWE is likely to pick up where they left off with the storyline involving all three members of The Shield on Raw, which was originally expected to lead to a match between Ambrose and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 34.

With Rollins almost certain to remain a babyface and WWE seemingly intent on splitting up “The Hounds of Justice” again, there’s every chance that this idea could soon become a reality.

#2 Titus O’Neil becomes the new Million Dollar Man

Titus O'Neil should become a full-time manager

From April 2017 to August 2017, Titus O’Neil recruited Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa to Titus Worldwide and the former Prime Time Player’s managerial skills were starting to pay off, with Apollo featuring prominently on Raw and Tozawa winning the Cruiserweight Championship.

However, ever since Tozawa’s six-day reign with the Cruiserweight title ended, Titus’ group has become largely irrelevant on Raw, with the exception of a brief run of victories in early 2018 which led to a Tag Team Championship rivalry with The Bar.

Going forward, instead of competing in meaningless tag matches, it would be great to see Titus focus on his managerial duties again, becoming a modern-day version of The Million Dollar Man who buys the contracts of high-profile Superstars and makes them work for him.

#1 Cesaro becomes a main-event babyface

Cesaro is unquestionably one of WWE’s best in-ring performers of the last decade, so it was hugely disappointing when his multiple runs – and multiple gimmicks – as a singles competitor didn’t lead to more success for “The Swiss Cyborg”.

Over the last two years, the former United States champion has been involved in a tag team with Sheamus, winning the Raw Tag Team Championships on four occasions, but the duo haven’t had much television time since moving to SmackDown Live in the latest Superstar Shake-Up.

Cesaro is too good to be without a storyline for too long, so it’s about time WWE split him from Sheamus (they can’t possibly continue as a team after losing to a 10-year-old!) and pushed him as a babyface near the top of the SmackDown card.

No kilts. No speaking in five languages. No Bar-setting. No James Bond suit. No yodelling. Just Cesaro, the wrestler, doing what he does best: wrestling!

Edited by Shiven Sachdeva