5 WWE gimmicks that would have had interesting runs in different eras

Kurt Angle, by his own admission, looks up to Bruno Sammartino. Who wouldn’t?

Bruno Sammartino in the Ruthless Aggression Era

Bruno Sammartino has been immortalized in WWE lore for an iconic number that every wrestling fan knows – 4040. In the Madison Square Garden era of Vince McMahon Senior’s promotion, Sammartino reigned supreme, holding the championship gold in the longest recorded single reign till date. His second reign wasn’t too shabby either.

A master grappler, Sammartino captured the hearts of audiences and indeed, inspired a fair few wrestlers in what was a career as enriching in its longevity as it was in its integrity. As Triple H summarizes, the business stands to gain more by taking a step back and studying the fundamentals of wrestling that the old guard epitomized; wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rodgers, Ric Flair and Superstar Billy Graham were less concerned with being a “highlight reel” and more so with the overall development of their persona.

Bruno’s well-known criticism of the WWE had to do with the plethora of shenanigans that inevitably attached themselves to pro-wrestling when the television became the main source for audience worldwide. TV ratings prescribed the necessity for crash TV; conversely Vince McMahon’s hand was forced.

However, the Ruthless Agression era that focused more on the in-ring action could have easily laid the landscape for Bruno to compete in. Considering that the mainstays of the era were technically superb wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar( although his power generally overshadows his wrestling ability, the man was a NCAA Champion), Sammartino might just have found this era of WWE programming more adept to his liking.Kurt Angle versus Bruno Sammartino has every marking of being a technical masterpiece, what with the chemistry and deep mutual respect that the two share in reality. One thing is for sure though; having been inspired by Bruno when he was young, it would certainly have been a dream-come-true match for Kurt Angle.

I wonder who would have turned heel then?

John Cena in the Golden/Hogan Era

This one requires no selling really; it’s a tailor-made instant fit. John Cena with his 6 moves of doom (including the springboard stunner) is viewed at times almost like a repackaged Hulk Hogan. It mandates discretion in making that generalization however, because the back stage reputation that Hogan gathered over his career is a far cry from ‘Everybody Loves Cena’ (except a very masculine majority of the audience.)

A compelling case however could be made that Cena would take to the Golden Era like fish to water, with it also being equally probable that he would have been featured as a cartoon character on Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling. It’s not exactly hard to envision Cena’s multi coloured garb alongside the Hulkster’s yellow and red is it?

John Cena versus Hulk Hogan would have probably been the greatest spectacle for the under 9 age demographic that the WWE could ever hope to put together and we can go as far as saying that Cena might have been a through and through babyface in the Golden Era as opposed to the polarizing figure that he is today.

Hulk Hogan is a timeless legend; so much so that a blatant carbon copy of his persona still gets over with the fans today and despite the overt differences Cena’s gimmick might bear with Hogan’s, in essence, it still is very much a larger than life, super-hero type gimmick that may have found acceptance easier to come by in the 80s.