Times a Company Rebuilt a Troubled/Washed-up Star?

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Inspired by a post in the casket match thread about how a big company should hire Enzo.

MLW more or less made a gimmick out of this. But I don’t know how successful they’ve really been. Didn’t Teddy Hart backslide, Low-Ki still end up being an asshole, and the jury is still out on Dave’s Richards?

[chrom]

Dustin in WWE in the 10s managed to get off the drugs and put on the best work of his life and continued so in AEW

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

AJ Styles in NJPW, perhaps? He was treated well in some indies and he’s pretty much a WWE legend now, but when he first challenged Okada he was still recovering from the Dixieland stuff that didn’t help either him or Nick Aldis/Magnus.

[JoDaNa1281]

Impact's done a good job with W. Morrissey so far, as well as Rich Swann.

[Allie Kitsune]

Aug 18, 2021 12:48:45 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Inspired by a post in the casket match thread about how a big company should hire Enzo.

MLW more or less made a gimmick out of this. But I don’t know how successful they’ve really been. Didn’t Teddy Hart backslide, Low-Ki still end up being an asshole, and the jury is still out on Dave’s Richards?

And yet, out of all of MLW's reclamation projects, the one who wore out his welcome the fastest, even THERE, was Austin Aries.

[Deleted]

Despite only being in his 20s, Jeff Hardy was considered washed up and broken down in 2003-05. He looked terrible in his final few months in WWE. Refused to go to rehab and got released. Made a one-off appearance in ROH and got booed out the building. Went to TNA and even they didn't do much with him and their fans never really embraced him either.

Once he returned to WWE though something clicked and he had the greatest run of his career from 2006-09, not that he wasn't without his personal problems in those days too.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

AEW's done a great job giving Jake Roberts a last good run in wrestling after all the shit he went through in his life.

Dude acts and sounds like he's having the time of his life and it's great

[A Platypus Rave]

WWE and Ric Flair.

when he was let loose the last time he was scamming indy companies for appearance fees and was pretty dire through most of his TNA run...

Triple H paid Ric's debt to RoH and basically kept Ric on a leash...

it's why I'm really kinda concerned what Flair's going to do now that he's back on the indies.

[Vice honcho room temperature]

Aug 18, 2021 16:52:37 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

AEW's done a great job giving Jake Roberts a last good run in wrestling after all the shit he went through in his life.

Dude acts and sounds like he's having the time of his life and it's great

Cut good promos, a short arm clothesline here and there and everyone is happy

[James Fabiano]

I am sure we can name a few from ECW.

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=apudegwQfzE

Not sure if this counts since he didn't exactly have a legendary run or anything, but I remember people speaking fondly of the Bourne Again gimmick after he stopped being Doink

[The Rick Jericho]

Aug 18, 2021 16:48:40 GMT -5 justsomeguy said:

Despite only being in his 20s, Jeff Hardy was considered washed up and broken down in 2003-05. He looked terrible in his final few months in WWE. Refused to go to rehab and got released. Made a one-off appearance in ROH and got booed out the building. Went to TNA and even they didn't do much with him and their fans never really embraced him either.

Once he returned to WWE though something clicked and he had the greatest run of his career from 2006-09, not that he wasn't without his personal problems in those days too.

That run was pretty magically looking back. I only wish he didn't get busted right before Wrestlemania 24. He had the new theme, I was thinking he was going to win MITB and cash in.

[chrom]

Aug 18, 2021 17:10:34 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Aug 18, 2021 16:48:40 GMT -5 justsomeguy said:

Despite only being in his 20s, Jeff Hardy was considered washed up and broken down in 2003-05. He looked terrible in his final few months in WWE. Refused to go to rehab and got released. Made a one-off appearance in ROH and got booed out the building. Went to TNA and even they didn't do much with him and their fans never really embraced him either.

Once he returned to WWE though something clicked and he had the greatest run of his career from 2006-09, not that he wasn't without his personal problems in those days too.

That run was pretty magically looking back. I only wish he didn't get busted right before Wrestlemania 24. He had the new theme, I was thinking he was going to win MITB and cash in.

One could only wonder what could have been

[The Rick Jericho]

Didn't Kurt Angle have an even better career to some when he showed up in TNA?

[A Platypus Rave]

Aug 18, 2021 17:15:36 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Didn't Kurt Angle have an even better career to some when he showed up in TNA?

Some might... I kinda don't because the longer he went in TNA anything he ever knew about like match psychology went out the window.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Albert in New Japan? When he left the WWE, he was a failed project, they tried with him but nothing clicked and he was just the 'Shave your back' guy, he goes to Japan and starts generating enough buzz he got a brief main event run in his return to the states and is well respected enough he seems to be one of the few people at the PC who is bulletproof.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

When the WWE brought Eddie Guerrero back in 2002 and gave him another chance, he was at the top of his game.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Building off what MLW and the Conrad podcast started, AEW has completely revitalized not only Tony Schiavone's wrestling career, but the way he is perceived by wrestling fans. I can remember when he was sort of a derided figure, associated with the worst years of WCW. People mocked the "GREATEST NIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT" line and "That'll put butts in seats" seemed to be used against him. He spent so many years out of wrestling. Now he's a beloved figure and seen as a legend. Also, he has various roles behind the scenes in AEW, so in many ways he is building a strong Hall of Fame case.

[Cyno]

Lance Archer in New Japan. He was never troubled, but pretty much a career midcarder at best through his entire American wrestling career. Then, in his early 40's, he goes back to New Japan and puts on some of the best matches in his career and gets over big with fans. He turns that into a fun run in AEW as an upper carder who gets to sniff the main event every so often.

[Deleted]

Not troubled but Johnny Mundo/John Morrison.

Had kind of just went away after 2011 and was pretty much out of wrestling for the next 3yrs and no one was really wondering what he was up to or anything other than the occasional shitty straight to dvd movie that like 3 people would have come across.

But then he signs a contract a half hour before a show in late 2014 with a little ole thing called Lucha Underground that would not only revive his career but put have people look at him at a whole new level as more than just a lifetime midcarder but someone who could carry a company as its top guy and did it by putting in the best work of his whole career not just in but out of the ring as well being a top 5 heel in all of wrestling at the time and it lead to a full circle moment with him now getting another chance in WWE.