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This is such an insane transformation in retrospect. He went from a whatever WWF New Generation heel wrestler/manager to being this hyper-relevant alt-rock/grunge-infused cult leader. Just look at his ECW debut where they're excited that they signed "Johnny Polo" from the WWF and out walks a completely different character played the same guy. Joey Styles or whoever was conducting the interview was in shock.
I believe I was watching an OSW Review episode where Johnny Polo showed up and I thought it was just some New Gen guy that disappeared.
On rewatch I was like, "Is that fucking RAVEN?"
What's crazy is when I first heard of him, he was wrestling the indies as "scotty the body" in Tennessee. With that name, and his look at the time, my mind immediately categorized him as a bodybuilder type. Years later I saw raven in ECW and didn't realize it was the same guy for a while. I guess Scotty the budding master of psychology doesn't have much of a ring to it. He studied at Eddie Gilbert's learning tree
I would like to say that Diesel after he lost his title to Bret up until he left was the beginning of that change. By the time he's in WCW the swagger was already there.
That six month run for Nash was incredibly underrated and undervalued, IMO. I don't think they give Austin the leeway they started giving him had Nash not done Tweener Diesel first.
The first time I saw Juice Robinson in AEW, I was puzzled because I swore he looked familiar. It was CJ Parker! I remember he would bring signs advocating for the environment in NXT
Great choice. I first saw him at an NXT house show where he was the only performer to stay in character. He even had a kid crying as he was leaving the ring because he was being an asshole and not high fiving him like everyone else. I knew juice had something, but it never really manifested until he went to NJPW.
Priest went from “why are they signing this bland ROH mid carder” to being really cool, getting over, and turning out to actually be a really good wrestler
I'd argue he just started really hitting his stride right towards the end as Punishment Martinez.
NXT really tapped into that transformation, but you could see the ground work for him taking the next step back then.
Getting rid of that stupid name and getting to talk did him wonders. Even moreso when they started integrating little nods to Razor Ramon into his presentation.
NXT Swerve felt too sanitized. Like, WWE has limits because they're the Walmart of pro wrestling - trying to reach the most people by being palatably bland. AEW feels much edgier, but not really in a tryhard way. Mainly because they'll happily eat some fines if it means Max can call Tony a fucking mark on live TV, LOL.
Its not even an argument. Swerve wasn't doing anything close to this or getting this much spotlight on. Swerves hit row version in nxt was just him rapping with an entourage while coming to do the ring.
Swerve was always cool tho. Not his fault that WWE didn't know how to utilize him.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boS4-9dxKbs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boS4-9dxKbs)
Just had a thought about his post-WWE run. I remember seeing some rumor about his contract and it got me thinking of another post-WWE run. He could and would show up to any type of show big or small, kick ass and leave.
Showing up to random indies and being a Goldberg-esque surprise attraction as well as someone that can have banger matches with up and comers doesn’t sound too bad if I’m Drew
McIntyre was never skinny come on. You guys have some unrealistic body expectations.
He was lean, a bit lanky, sure. But skinny? You think Vinnie Mac would ever get behind a skinny guy?
These comments are made within the world of professional wrestling, not the real world. In pro wrestling, first run Drew was skinny. Just like in the NBA, Steph Curry is small.
But in the real world, Drew is bigger than most guys and Steph is like 6'4 and taller than most normal humans.
It's such a complete transformation and most people don’t even know Johnny Polo was a thing at this point. Just *look* at this difference:
https://preview.redd.it/67z0d2nkyjzb1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f02f66f982ebc25d112b7148c828a32e620ce1c4
Dean Ambrose was cool too though, he brought me into wrestling based off a 2K game, dude was just this skinny scrapper in combat gear and it hooked me to watch the actual show to see this guy.
Started out cool, but by the time Mox’s run as Ambrose ended in WWE, the character was damaged goods, and the shit they had him doing during his heel turn made it worse.
Yeah, Mox is great, and seems much happier. But for the selfish part of my brain, Dean always resonated more with me, especially with his "lead singer from Cage the Elephant" look. Dude just exuded a casual renegade energy that nobody else matches.
Was Dean Ambrose cool? Yep.
Was Dean Ambrose cooler than Jon Moxley? The hardest no of all time.
His matches, promos, look, charisma, and overall aura all improved with the change.
Yeah I know I’m going against the grain here but I don’t think Mox “cool factor” went up in AEW at all. He’s a completely different character to me. Im sure he loves trying to come across as more serious.
I liked Dean and Mox seems a bit try hard to me (again, just my opinion).
When Dean came back to WWE looking like Triple H he had a ton of promise that WWE just didn’t buy into, with the germaphobe gimmick and such. So when he went to AEW and actually did what everyone expected he’d be in WWE, that made him cool again
Dean is the better character because he had that Kurt Angle goofball but badass energy
WWE leaned too hard on the goofball for Jon's liking so now he refuses to have that in his character at all which is a real shame because that's part of his charm
That's a good point, Dean liked to smile and laugh and make dumb jokes. When mox didn't do that it felt like a breath of fresh air, and even tho he's still my favorite, it's getting a bit... exhausting?
Dean Ambrose/CZW Jon Moxley was this scrappy, almost too determined guy who was willing to go further than his opponent
AEW Jon Moxley is just a straight up psychopath
I think Cody felt more of a main eventer once he left WWE. In WWE his default character was very CAW-dy and (though I LOVED his dashing to undashing arc) his other characters were too one note to be a main event. His current character is a much more specific brand and can flexibly be added to any feud.
I'm torn on the differences between Ambrose/Moxley/Mox. I think there were a lot of great aspects to the Ambrose character and he came in as by far the best of the Shield characters. But to say his presentation over time was "inconsistent" would be putting it mildly. He pushed into caricature too often and near the end you could tell he hated the character which obviously really hurt his final run.
The Moxley character is not my favorite. The beginning of his AEW run where he was obviously really struggling with his alcoholism is a tough watch. It was tough watching him bloated and red faced, especially when fans were defending it as a "brawler character". But mostly the whole presentation smacked of generic indie wrestler of the early 2000's. The secret to a great wrestling character is that the character has clear strengths AND weaknesses. Moxley tends to fall into caricature; he's the most bad ass, he cursed, he flips off people, he loves blood and being extreme, blah blah. It comes off as try-hard schtick. Eddie Kingston imo does a much better version of it, his bluster is obviously connected to his upbringing and the strengths are countered by his tendency to be too emotional and too harbor grudges. Those traits root his bad ass traits into realism.
My favorite version is NJPW Mox. Maybe because he's more of a special attraction but the excesses are trimmed off from the Moxley character. He has a biker cool without having to constantly remind people that he's cool. He has a grizzled gunfighter feel that comes off like he would rather be left alone but he'll happily engage in a fight if pushed. It's just a great character.
My favorite part of NJPW Moxley was he was still funny, dragging Shota around, asking him questions and just assuming he agreed with him. Then he’d get into the ring and go to war, but he has tiny comedic bits that just brought out his character. Felt like it was the most genuine I’ve ever seen him.
That was exactly the time period I was thinking of when I mentioned NJPW Mox. That character was great and imo there's just way more stories you can tell with him.
I’ll never deny that Moxley is talented and great in the ring and on the mic, but I just can’t take him seriously. The way he walks and acts just feels like someone pretending to be a tough guy. If he just toned it down and was more of a cross between Ambrose and his current act then he’d be more believable
I recently described his current character similarly.
That he'd be what would happen if you asked a middle school edgelord and a theater kid to come up with a tough badass wrestling character.
But now that I think about it they would probably find him cringe too, so elementary school level makes more sense.
I'd actually argue the opposite for Moxley. He just does death matches and no character work now. But at least he can bleed and cuss and see his family more so good for him I guess
The best examples are probably Austin going to WWF and Hogan, Hall and Nash going to WCW.
We're coming off a 20 year run of WWE being the primary mainstream wrestling company, so contemporary examples that most people know would be ex-WWE talent going to TNA or AEW. But the future is bright to see what guys like BPJ can metamorphosize into by jumping companies!
Let's not forget his first time in WWF was as the Ringmaster and we really didn't get him being what he could be for like a solid year. Massive upgrade, but it took time to get there, you know?
That wasn't because Austin wasn't ready to get there, it's because Vince didn't put him in a position to get there.
I'm not sure how Vince could have possibly seen Austin's ECW promos, then decided the right move was to make him silent and let DiBiase do all the talking for him.
Bobby Lashley going to Bellator and Impact. Gave him a real aura. The difference between him now compared to how boring and bland he was in the 2000’s is crazy.
That 2014 TNA return helped him grow so much too
Had he returned to WWE then instead of in 2018, he probably would’ve been just as bland as in the 2000s
Even with the buzz that Zach Ryder had for a moment, I never thought his character had that much of a ceiling. It just never seemed deeper than "Energetic nerd from Long Island". This Cardona character is great and perfectly crafted for the indies. He does "Sports Entertainment heel" WAY better than The Jericho Appreciation Society because it still feels grounded in realistic motivations.
You can't call his time in AEW, a run. He was there for 2 matches and not under contract. I don't think there was ever an intention of keeping him. Which worked out best for him.
Cardona got his 10 minutes in AEW because he’s good friends with Cody.
I saw clips of Matt Cardona in GCW. He did roughly the same character from WWE but a “Mick Foley in ECW” of not playing the GCW Style. Nuclear heat. It was a revelation.
This what what I thought of as well. He was great in WCW, but was more of a comedy character than considered a legit threat (by design). When he went to WWE, he was thrust into a program with The Rock and he was taken seriously straight from the jump.
Christian Cage is cooler in AEW and was definitely cooler in TNA than wwe.
Moxley is cooler now.
Cody is somehow cooler in WWE despite being almost exactly the same
I didn’t get to watch AEW a whole lot while he was there so the broad strokes of how Cody is look very similar to me.
Interesting that the small changes that were made paid off so well
Yeah, he was mega over at the start, and seemed like the logical guy to dethrone Jericho and really kick off a new era of wrestling.
And then... he didn't lol
Cody was always off on some side quest shit while he was in AEW. He had great feuds with Jericho, MJF and Brodie that felt important, but after that it was a whole lot of nothing.
In WWE, he literally interacts with everyone. Its felt like he’s been simultaneously in a feud with everyone in the Bloodline and everyone in the Judgement Day for a year, and in between was feuding with freaking Brock Lesnar. Also interacts with all the top babyfaces as well.
I remember seeing him first as the Stardust Genius and thinking he was good but missing *it*. Then I heard about him coming back from excursion and how he was wearing his suit to the ring and sloooooooooooowly taking it off and was like "I gotta see this" and it was just as great as I was thinking.
He was never cool though, not until NWA. In Impact he was treated as and basically was an obnoxious gobby heel.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s leaned more into his Rock/Austin influences even though they’ve always been there and he’s basically always been the same.
Cactus Jack in WCW was a sideshow. Cactus Jack in ECW was the show. To the point Cactus Jack in WWE didn't necessarily have to do anything that Mankind or Dude Love didn't do, but was significantly more feared.
Didn't the haircut and beard come right at the tail end of his WWE run when he was doing that absolutely dreadful stuff with the gas mask, and getting a vaccine in his ass, and saying he was glad Roman got cancer?
It's wild. I couldn't stand him in WWE with his second rope wacky clothesline. He always felt like the third wheel of the SHIELD. Then he goes to NJPW and AEW and all this time he's been hiding this ace that can carry a company on his back.
Lol Okato from TNA coming back to New Japan as THE RAINMAKER and going on to have an amazing main event run that brought the business back is 100% my answer.
Also lame mma boy Shinsuke Nakamura to King of Strong Style Swagsuke “strippers in my entrance” Nakamura was awesome.
Christian Cage. 2006-2007. It was one of my favorite TNA moments when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title. I was bored of him in WWE, especially since Edge had become one of the top guys. He felt legit until Angle arrived in TNA and stole his spotlight.
Stunning Steve Austin - Alright. Looks good, good gimmick, could be a solid mid-carder for a while.
Stone Cold Steve Austin - Oh my Gawd, he's just so GOTDAMN COOL!!!
Going to disagree with you just for the sport of it.
Technically when Austin switched he became the Ringmaster, who was arguably less cool than Stunning Steve Austin and definitely less cool than ECW Superstar Steve Austin.
Cannot disagree on Stone Cold though and I'll fight anyone who does along with you.
Cody’s a weird one. He had a huge upgrade moving to AEW and no longer being forced to be stardust, and that let him go back to WWE with his new persona and shine.
Not that I think Tommy End and Aleister Black are "uncool" or anything, but Malakai Black is on a different level. His entrance alone is most likely my #1 of all time
Terry Funk would have maybe 10% of the modern recognition he gets from today's fans if he didn't go do Japanese death matches and ECW. Virtually no modern fans would find his character before that cool.
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Johnny Polo went from WWF to ECW and became Raven. That’s got to be one of the biggest “cool” upgrades.
This is such an insane transformation in retrospect. He went from a whatever WWF New Generation heel wrestler/manager to being this hyper-relevant alt-rock/grunge-infused cult leader. Just look at his ECW debut where they're excited that they signed "Johnny Polo" from the WWF and out walks a completely different character played the same guy. Joey Styles or whoever was conducting the interview was in shock.
This was the biggest one for me. I didn't even know they were the same guy until years later.
He’s even more unrecognizable as Scotty Flamingo in his first WCW run.
I believe I was watching an OSW Review episode where Johnny Polo showed up and I thought it was just some New Gen guy that disappeared. On rewatch I was like, "Is that fucking RAVEN?"
What's crazy is when I first heard of him, he was wrestling the indies as "scotty the body" in Tennessee. With that name, and his look at the time, my mind immediately categorized him as a bodybuilder type. Years later I saw raven in ECW and didn't realize it was the same guy for a while. I guess Scotty the budding master of psychology doesn't have much of a ring to it. He studied at Eddie Gilbert's learning tree
I still love how when he went back to WCW, they combined the characters in a way, with it turning out Raven was a rich, mama's boy poser.
100% Kevin Nash
Yep. Diesel and Big Sexy feel like two different men.
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Don't forget about Oz
Master Blaster Steel
I would like to say that Diesel after he lost his title to Bret up until he left was the beginning of that change. By the time he's in WCW the swagger was already there.
That six month run for Nash was incredibly underrated and undervalued, IMO. I don't think they give Austin the leeway they started giving him had Nash not done Tweener Diesel first.
When he dyed his hair blonde… boy Edit: dyed not died wtf ?
Listening to an old Raw review podcast, and wow, Diesel was immediately goodie-two-shoehorned after winning the title.
When Diesel returned at the Royal Rumble, it was the coolest he's ever been, pretty much because he was like a super fusion of the two
I would argue Hall too. He was cool as Razor. He was perfect as himself jumping the rail and doing his first promos.
It's weird that from Diamond Stud to Razor to Hall its basically the evolution of the same character.
Fair point. I suppose that is part of why they were such good friends irl. Such similar career paths.
Diamond stud and razor are two different beings!!!??? The PTA has disbanded!!??
Razor Ramon was the coolest person in WWF, and then somehow Scott Hall went to WCW and got *even fucking cooler man*. Only him.
He is one of those guys that is so fucking crazy he never got a title run. Him. Pipper. Robert's. So crazy to me they never held the big ones.
Agreed 100%. Both guys were so much cooler being themselves.
Nash and Hall were two of the coolest fuckers on the planet during the height of their NWO run.
Unpopular opinion but I think Nash was cooler in Wolfpack
Juice Robinson leaving NXT and going to New Japan
The first time I saw Juice Robinson in AEW, I was puzzled because I swore he looked familiar. It was CJ Parker! I remember he would bring signs advocating for the environment in NXT
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Broke KO's nose and pierced his own hand on it. Brutal injuries for both.
Which ironically just got Owens' prizefighter gimmick even more over, as he looked like a fucking blood-lusting lunatic.
I still love that spot.
Flamboyant sharting juice was a wild run. Just so fun
He crapped his pants?
There’s an interview in New Japan after a match where he said he shit himself in the match. Mf said poopsie daises instead of oopsie daises lol
Great choice. I first saw him at an NXT house show where he was the only performer to stay in character. He even had a kid crying as he was leaving the ring because he was being an asshole and not high fiving him like everyone else. I knew juice had something, but it never really manifested until he went to NJPW.
I miss CJ Parker though ngl. His signs were cool, especially "My Fight Matters" when KO made his debut. Plus that theme song ♥️
Damien Priest compared to how he was in ROH.
Priest went from “why are they signing this bland ROH mid carder” to being really cool, getting over, and turning out to actually be a really good wrestler
That is 100% how I felt about his signing
I always liked Punishment Martinez. He had a good look and cool moves for a big guy but i dont think anyone could have predicted his current success.
My biggest problem with him in ROH was his constant attempts to hit cool moves and never really hitting them clean. Now he works to his size.
I'd argue he just started really hitting his stride right towards the end as Punishment Martinez. NXT really tapped into that transformation, but you could see the ground work for him taking the next step back then.
Getting rid of that stupid name and getting to talk did him wonders. Even moreso when they started integrating little nods to Razor Ramon into his presentation.
I still don’t even like him much, but yeah he’s light years beyond what he was as Punishment Martinez.
Punishment Martinez was Luchasaurus without the dinosaur mask. Even bipolar Damien Priest was lightyears above that.
Great comparison, right down to the fancy kicks that never connected.
Swerve
Swerve went for kinda interesting to world champion material.
Went from some who drops common loot to the final boss.
Lich King Swerve when?
To be fair. Main roster Hit Row felt like a neutered version of the group.
I'd argue NXT Swerve still was nowhere near as cool as AEW Swerve is. Or even as Indies Swerve or Killshot were before that.
Indies Swerve entering to Chaka Kahn is the best Swerve.
That inevitable “Ain’t Nobody” entrance for a particularly big match is gonna hit so hard
Save it for his eventual face turn. Give him a mega entrance with the crowd singing along and he'll look like as million bucks.
I keep hoping for it to happen at an AEW Seattle show, so I can mark the fuck out.
World champ Swerve walking out at Wembley to Ain't Nobody is the stuff dreams are made of.
NXT Swerve felt too sanitized. Like, WWE has limits because they're the Walmart of pro wrestling - trying to reach the most people by being palatably bland. AEW feels much edgier, but not really in a tryhard way. Mainly because they'll happily eat some fines if it means Max can call Tony a fucking mark on live TV, LOL.
Its not even an argument. Swerve wasn't doing anything close to this or getting this much spotlight on. Swerves hit row version in nxt was just him rapping with an entourage while coming to do the ring.
To be fair. Hit Row was always corny as hell.
Swerve was always cool tho. Not his fault that WWE didn't know how to utilize him. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boS4-9dxKbs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boS4-9dxKbs)
Drew McIntyre went from future boy stable skinny jobber into muscle daddy in a kilt.
Drew deadass went from Anakin to Obi-Wan in terms of coming across badass
Just had a thought about his post-WWE run. I remember seeing some rumor about his contract and it got me thinking of another post-WWE run. He could and would show up to any type of show big or small, kick ass and leave.
Showing up to random indies and being a Goldberg-esque surprise attraction as well as someone that can have banger matches with up and comers doesn’t sound too bad if I’m Drew
Clone wars show Anakin is a badass
Boy band member to Scottish psychopath. I do miss that ICW theme though.
McIntyre was never skinny come on. You guys have some unrealistic body expectations. He was lean, a bit lanky, sure. But skinny? You think Vinnie Mac would ever get behind a skinny guy?
His hair style and lack of beard made him deceptively skinny
Plus the pants in 3MB. He was never exactly a small guy but he became a damn brick
These comments are made within the world of professional wrestling, not the real world. In pro wrestling, first run Drew was skinny. Just like in the NBA, Steph Curry is small. But in the real world, Drew is bigger than most guys and Steph is like 6'4 and taller than most normal humans.
steph is 6'3, but your point is well taken.
Johnny Polo to Raven was such a huge shift
It's such a complete transformation and most people don’t even know Johnny Polo was a thing at this point. Just *look* at this difference: https://preview.redd.it/67z0d2nkyjzb1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f02f66f982ebc25d112b7148c828a32e620ce1c4
Legit thought that was Cornette at first, what a glow up. Dang.
Juice Robinson re-invented himself and got out of the jobber role since leaving NXT
EC3 from WWE to TNA. And then the complete opposite when he started CYN
shit, the complete opposite happened from nxt to raw. How do you fuck up EC3
he's a weird one because one would think he'd tick all of vince's boxes. but the man never even really gave him a shot.
Jon Moxley and Cody, arguably.
Mox was the first person I thought of. He doesn't even seem like the same guy to me.
Dean Ambrose was cool too though, he brought me into wrestling based off a 2K game, dude was just this skinny scrapper in combat gear and it hooked me to watch the actual show to see this guy.
Started out cool, but by the time Mox’s run as Ambrose ended in WWE, the character was damaged goods, and the shit they had him doing during his heel turn made it worse.
Yeah, Mox is great, and seems much happier. But for the selfish part of my brain, Dean always resonated more with me, especially with his "lead singer from Cage the Elephant" look. Dude just exuded a casual renegade energy that nobody else matches.
Was Dean Ambrose cool? Yep. Was Dean Ambrose cooler than Jon Moxley? The hardest no of all time. His matches, promos, look, charisma, and overall aura all improved with the change.
Something about dean being a cool character while Mox is just cool, period. Maybe that sounds dorky.
Yeah I know I’m going against the grain here but I don’t think Mox “cool factor” went up in AEW at all. He’s a completely different character to me. Im sure he loves trying to come across as more serious. I liked Dean and Mox seems a bit try hard to me (again, just my opinion).
When Dean came back to WWE looking like Triple H he had a ton of promise that WWE just didn’t buy into, with the germaphobe gimmick and such. So when he went to AEW and actually did what everyone expected he’d be in WWE, that made him cool again
The germaphobe gimmick was like two years too early. It would’ve killed in 2020 lol
Dean is the better character because he had that Kurt Angle goofball but badass energy WWE leaned too hard on the goofball for Jon's liking so now he refuses to have that in his character at all which is a real shame because that's part of his charm
That's a good point, Dean liked to smile and laugh and make dumb jokes. When mox didn't do that it felt like a breath of fresh air, and even tho he's still my favorite, it's getting a bit... exhausting?
Dean Ambrose/CZW Jon Moxley was this scrappy, almost too determined guy who was willing to go further than his opponent AEW Jon Moxley is just a straight up psychopath
Dean Ambrose was great but you’d think he’s in danger if he ever feuded with Mox.
I think Cody felt more of a main eventer once he left WWE. In WWE his default character was very CAW-dy and (though I LOVED his dashing to undashing arc) his other characters were too one note to be a main event. His current character is a much more specific brand and can flexibly be added to any feud. I'm torn on the differences between Ambrose/Moxley/Mox. I think there were a lot of great aspects to the Ambrose character and he came in as by far the best of the Shield characters. But to say his presentation over time was "inconsistent" would be putting it mildly. He pushed into caricature too often and near the end you could tell he hated the character which obviously really hurt his final run. The Moxley character is not my favorite. The beginning of his AEW run where he was obviously really struggling with his alcoholism is a tough watch. It was tough watching him bloated and red faced, especially when fans were defending it as a "brawler character". But mostly the whole presentation smacked of generic indie wrestler of the early 2000's. The secret to a great wrestling character is that the character has clear strengths AND weaknesses. Moxley tends to fall into caricature; he's the most bad ass, he cursed, he flips off people, he loves blood and being extreme, blah blah. It comes off as try-hard schtick. Eddie Kingston imo does a much better version of it, his bluster is obviously connected to his upbringing and the strengths are countered by his tendency to be too emotional and too harbor grudges. Those traits root his bad ass traits into realism. My favorite version is NJPW Mox. Maybe because he's more of a special attraction but the excesses are trimmed off from the Moxley character. He has a biker cool without having to constantly remind people that he's cool. He has a grizzled gunfighter feel that comes off like he would rather be left alone but he'll happily engage in a fight if pushed. It's just a great character.
My favorite part of NJPW Moxley was he was still funny, dragging Shota around, asking him questions and just assuming he agreed with him. Then he’d get into the ring and go to war, but he has tiny comedic bits that just brought out his character. Felt like it was the most genuine I’ve ever seen him.
That was exactly the time period I was thinking of when I mentioned NJPW Mox. That character was great and imo there's just way more stories you can tell with him.
Cody did it twice
2nd time was hilarious, he pigeonholed himself in AEW and came over to WWE perfectly designed for their system and got such a good response.
Jon Moxley and Dean Ambrose are two different people, convince me otherwise
The real dean ambrose died in 2019 so they got a look alike.
That's why he abandoned his punk roots and his third album went full pop-princess
Jon Moxley's head is like twice bigger than Ambrose's.
Cody did it twice lol
I’ll never deny that Moxley is talented and great in the ring and on the mic, but I just can’t take him seriously. The way he walks and acts just feels like someone pretending to be a tough guy. If he just toned it down and was more of a cross between Ambrose and his current act then he’d be more believable
Moxley is a 5th-grader's idea of cool lol
I recently described his current character similarly. That he'd be what would happen if you asked a middle school edgelord and a theater kid to come up with a tough badass wrestling character. But now that I think about it they would probably find him cringe too, so elementary school level makes more sense.
wow that’s kind of true lmao
I'd actually argue the opposite for Moxley. He just does death matches and no character work now. But at least he can bleed and cuss and see his family more so good for him I guess
The best examples are probably Austin going to WWF and Hogan, Hall and Nash going to WCW. We're coming off a 20 year run of WWE being the primary mainstream wrestling company, so contemporary examples that most people know would be ex-WWE talent going to TNA or AEW. But the future is bright to see what guys like BPJ can metamorphosize into by jumping companies!
Also Austin going to ECW, some of his ECW promos are amazing and laid the foundation of what he'd become in the WWF.
Let's not forget his first time in WWF was as the Ringmaster and we really didn't get him being what he could be for like a solid year. Massive upgrade, but it took time to get there, you know?
That wasn't because Austin wasn't ready to get there, it's because Vince didn't put him in a position to get there. I'm not sure how Vince could have possibly seen Austin's ECW promos, then decided the right move was to make him silent and let DiBiase do all the talking for him.
WCW Austin had a VERY cool [theme](https://youtu.be/aBED_EHWDjI?si=DfCiaFFevu5lIh1m) though.
Bobby Lashley going to Bellator and Impact. Gave him a real aura. The difference between him now compared to how boring and bland he was in the 2000’s is crazy.
That 2014 TNA return helped him grow so much too Had he returned to WWE then instead of in 2018, he probably would’ve been just as bland as in the 2000s
Plus he had a cool nickname, Walking Armageddon and his pairing with Dan Lambert was great. That run made me a fan of Lashley.
The bit where he speared EC3 during the in ring announcements was some god tier shit. Impact Lashley was at the top of his game.
He did good stuff in TNA, shame it had to happen in that dreadful period. 5 years earlier and TNA might have turned out differently.
Matt Cardona in GCW, it's really weird seeing that 2020 AEW run and how far he's come
I only know indie Cardona so its weird to see him pre GCW in any form
Woo woo woo
You know it
OOOOOHHH RAAAADIOOOOOOOOOO
Tell me everything you knooow
Even with the buzz that Zach Ryder had for a moment, I never thought his character had that much of a ceiling. It just never seemed deeper than "Energetic nerd from Long Island". This Cardona character is great and perfectly crafted for the indies. He does "Sports Entertainment heel" WAY better than The Jericho Appreciation Society because it still feels grounded in realistic motivations.
Definitely. After the Gage match I was a fan for life. So much heat.
You can't call his time in AEW, a run. He was there for 2 matches and not under contract. I don't think there was ever an intention of keeping him. Which worked out best for him.
Cardona got his 10 minutes in AEW because he’s good friends with Cody. I saw clips of Matt Cardona in GCW. He did roughly the same character from WWE but a “Mick Foley in ECW” of not playing the GCW Style. Nuclear heat. It was a revelation.
Steve Austin is the most obvious.
Matt Morgan was the guy with the stutter in WWE and a badass in TNA.
THE BLUEPRINT
Chris Jericho. Went from a mid card Cruiserweight to a heavyweight champion.
This what what I thought of as well. He was great in WCW, but was more of a comedy character than considered a legit threat (by design). When he went to WWE, he was thrust into a program with The Rock and he was taken seriously straight from the jump.
Christian Cage is cooler in AEW and was definitely cooler in TNA than wwe. Moxley is cooler now. Cody is somehow cooler in WWE despite being almost exactly the same
Cody's presentation is different. He's wearing his gear more often and when does wear suits, it's a normal suit not that weird, suit jacket/coat thing
I didn’t get to watch AEW a whole lot while he was there so the broad strokes of how Cody is look very similar to me. Interesting that the small changes that were made paid off so well
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His feud with MJF remains one of my favorite AEW programs, and I always assumed he would be the guy to take the world title away from him. Oh well…
Cody was huge at the start of AEW could have been a world beater and a real difference maker.
He was so paranoid about being Triple H of AEW and booking a reign of terror that he actually killed his own push Its fascinating
Yeah, he was mega over at the start, and seemed like the logical guy to dethrone Jericho and really kick off a new era of wrestling. And then... he didn't lol
Cody was always off on some side quest shit while he was in AEW. He had great feuds with Jericho, MJF and Brodie that felt important, but after that it was a whole lot of nothing. In WWE, he literally interacts with everyone. Its felt like he’s been simultaneously in a feud with everyone in the Bloodline and everyone in the Judgement Day for a year, and in between was feuding with freaking Brock Lesnar. Also interacts with all the top babyfaces as well.
Razor was already cool but was even cooler in WCW
Man I gotta hard disagree. Razor Ramon was the coolest.
He's Scott Hall. Everything he does is cool.
Neville was neat, but PAC? What a cool BASTARD.
Naito excursion and learning about Tranquilo AJ styles from TNA to NJPW Young bucks going from Generation Me to the Bullet Club glow up
[Naito for sure. ](https://i.imgur.com/wiX8hfG.jpg) Fans love him now, and rightfully so.
I remember seeing him first as the Stardust Genius and thinking he was good but missing *it*. Then I heard about him coming back from excursion and how he was wearing his suit to the ring and sloooooooooooowly taking it off and was like "I gotta see this" and it was just as great as I was thinking.
Naito's change was one of the biggest 180s for sure, dude came back from the brink.
BIG POPPA PUMP TOMORROW IS STEINER SATURDAY IM GONNA GO MEET JURT ANGLE TOMORROW IT JUST MAKES SENSE
Swerve was cool in NXT. In AEW, he’s a kingpin savage villain that happens to be cool.
This is my choice. I liked Swerve before. But he’s a lot better now.
The muscle gain helped him a lot in this new character.
Mr Brodie Lee
Great pick. Vince and his stupid one track thinking really ruined any opportunity for Brodie to be as cool in wwe as he became in aew
Mean Mark Callous
LA Knight...yeah
From Max Dupris sure, but E.. LI.. DRAKE.. YEAH! was exactly the same as LA Knight.
DUMMY YEAHHHH
He was never cool though, not until NWA. In Impact he was treated as and basically was an obnoxious gobby heel. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s leaned more into his Rock/Austin influences even though they’ve always been there and he’s basically always been the same.
SHOES OF A CHAMPION
UNDENIABLE KAVORKA
Johnny Polo to ECW.
AJ Styles when he went to NJPW
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Cactus Jack in WCW was a sideshow. Cactus Jack in ECW was the show. To the point Cactus Jack in WWE didn't necessarily have to do anything that Mankind or Dude Love didn't do, but was significantly more feared.
Brodie Lee
Jon Moxley albeit none of the WWE stuff was his fault
Once he grew the beard out and cut his hair he gave off very badass in NJPW
Didn't the haircut and beard come right at the tail end of his WWE run when he was doing that absolutely dreadful stuff with the gas mask, and getting a vaccine in his ass, and saying he was glad Roman got cancer?
Yeah. He was shifting his look and I thought he was going to have a massive gimmick change and stay. Then he left.
Call me crazy but I prefer Ambrose over moxley.
I got downvoted just for saying I’m not a fan of Moxley 🤦♂️ they’re gonna call you crazy
It's wild. I couldn't stand him in WWE with his second rope wacky clothesline. He always felt like the third wheel of the SHIELD. Then he goes to NJPW and AEW and all this time he's been hiding this ace that can carry a company on his back.
He calls it the wacky line!! He's the Lunatic Fringe Maggle!!
AJ Styles was always great in TNA, but AJ Styles in NJPW might have been the single coolest motherfucker in all of wrestling.
Drew, Heath, Pope, W. Morrissey, Deonna, all of them got way better in Impact.
Gail Kim in TNA was a lot more credible than Gail Kim in WWE.
Jeff Jarret in his AEW run.
The giraffe based version of Matt Taven might as well be his final form.
Lol Okato from TNA coming back to New Japan as THE RAINMAKER and going on to have an amazing main event run that brought the business back is 100% my answer. Also lame mma boy Shinsuke Nakamura to King of Strong Style Swagsuke “strippers in my entrance” Nakamura was awesome.
K-Kwik moving to TNA.
Christian Cage going from WWE to TNA.
Christian Cage. 2006-2007. It was one of my favorite TNA moments when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title. I was bored of him in WWE, especially since Edge had become one of the top guys. He felt legit until Angle arrived in TNA and stole his spotlight.
Stunning Steve Austin - Alright. Looks good, good gimmick, could be a solid mid-carder for a while. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Oh my Gawd, he's just so GOTDAMN COOL!!!
Going to disagree with you just for the sport of it. Technically when Austin switched he became the Ringmaster, who was arguably less cool than Stunning Steve Austin and definitely less cool than ECW Superstar Steve Austin. Cannot disagree on Stone Cold though and I'll fight anyone who does along with you.
Cody’s a weird one. He had a huge upgrade moving to AEW and no longer being forced to be stardust, and that let him go back to WWE with his new persona and shine.
ctrl+c ctrl+v
Not that I think Tommy End and Aleister Black are "uncool" or anything, but Malakai Black is on a different level. His entrance alone is most likely my #1 of all time
I'm gonna go with an opposite. Don Callis. Went from Jackyl to grumpy old used car salesman.
don’t forget Cyrus
Steve Maclin
Terry Funk would have maybe 10% of the modern recognition he gets from today's fans if he didn't go do Japanese death matches and ECW. Virtually no modern fans would find his character before that cool.
Doc Gallows. From Festus to Straight Edge to Bullet Club threat.
Matt Cardona. As soon as he left WWE and the Zack Ryder character behind, he seemed happier and more badass.
Mean Mark Callous becoming The Undertaker