Adam Rose as the party pooper

[Sephiroth]

I saw Russell Brand trending earlier today and remembered this bizarre little gimmick, as I believe it was inspired by him. Let me know if I miss anything: Adam Rose was repackaged from a fun loving party animal to a dullard that ruined other people’s good times, and the central idea was him repeatedly saying the word “poop.” Except he never actually appeared in this gimmick on tv, just house shoes and dark matches. Abs for some reason he was accompanied by an “evil” version of the bunny sidekick from his dancing fool gimmick. What does an evil bunny mascot have to do with being a party pooper? Especially since they just reused the same costume, not even making any kind of changes to it to make it look somehow scarier. He didn’t even do this character for too long before being repackaged again as a “social outcast,” which I suppose applies to Russell sBrabd as well. I about sum it up?

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

He was another in the long line of guys who got over so they took everything away from him and made him a serious heel.

[MolotovMocktail]

I kind of remember him wearing a suit and trying to be SRS in segments around this time, but don’t recall any matches he had with this gimmick.

[ISO Mid Thigh Pull]

It definitely did appear on RAW at least once, cause I remember he had a match with Dolph Ziggler that was the last match on RAW for some reason and it kinda sucked. 

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

POOPER!

[Mandarin Dessert Version 0]

That wasn't even his low point as I seem to remember him becoming a Pokémon as well during that time period...as in he came to the ring with a mic in his hand and all he would say was "Adam Roooose.....Adam Roooooose....Adam Rooooooose!"

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Adam Rose is an amazing case study tbh, in developmental since the FCW days, finally finds a gimmick that's over and works, they kill everything about it that got over in the first place, then turn him heel, then release him.

Like you'd think after all that time of finally trying to make Leo Kruger work and failing, they'd run with what worked, but no, just a complete waste. Even stupider is they tried to basically do the same gimmick with No Way Jose but they didn't even TRY with him, he was a loser until he was cut.

[Hypnosis]

Jan 28, 2022 15:38:03 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

That wasn't even his low point as I seem to remember him becoming a Pokémon as well during that time period...as in he came to the ring with a mic in his hand and all he would say was "Adam Roooose.....Adam Roooooose....Adam Rooooooose!"

[fg]

Jan 28, 2022 14:55:59 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

He was another in the long line of guys who got over so they took everything away from him and made him a serious heel.

I don’t recall him being over as a face on the main roster. NXT he was over though.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

Jan 28, 2022 16:15:02 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Adam Rose is an amazing case study tbh, in developmental since the FCW days, finally finds a gimmick that's over and works, they kill everything about it that got over in the first place, then turn him heel, then release him.

Like you'd think after all that time of finally trying to make Leo Kruger work and failing, they'd run with what worked, but no, just a complete waste. Even stupider is they tried to basically do the same gimmick with No Way Jose but they didn't even TRY with him, he was a loser until he was cut.

Eh, I think "found a gimmick that worked" is...overstating, maybe? Adam Rose was kind of the most triumphant example of a gimmick that was little more than a look, an entrance, and enough mileage for maybe two feuds.

Granted, a look, an entrance, and enough mileage for maybe two feuds is a good place to start workshopping in developmental! But then they called him up before the gimmick could get fully rounded, if it was possible to round it rather than transitioning to something a little more substantial.

[MolotovMocktail]

Jan 28, 2022 18:35:52 GMT -5 fg said:

Jan 28, 2022 14:55:59 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

He was another in the long line of guys who got over so they took everything away from him and made him a serious heel.

I don’t recall him being over as a face on the main roster. NXT he was over though.

Yeah, I went to a house show not long after he debuted, and he was the only wrestler to outright get crickets.

[Deleted]

I loved the original gimmick.

Then they ruined him, like they do with everything.

Kruger is an absolute mountain of a man right now though. I was shocked to see how old and jacked he got in such a small period of time.

[Citizen Snips Has Left]

There were definitely more than a few discussions around here about “It worked in NXT because…” when his original party gimmick didn’t get over on the main roster.

[chazraps]

They did neuter everything cool about it on his main roster debut by changing it from an actual party you'd want to hang with to a bunch of weirdos in costumes for no reason coming out to ill-fitting generic "exotic" music. They also misguided those first few segments and feuds making it really vague if he was a face or heel. The original character that absolutely worked in NXT wasn't given a chance in favor of having someone they could have do promotional tie-ins with Party City and Twisted Tea.

[Andee9001]

Jan 28, 2022 18:29:15 GMT -5 Hypnosis said:

Jan 28, 2022 15:38:03 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

That wasn't even his low point as I seem to remember him becoming a Pokémon as well during that time period...as in he came to the ring with a mic in his hand and all he would say was "Adam Roooose.....Adam Roooooose....Adam Rooooooose!"

And then Adam Rose stole his gimmick too with the Rose Bush or whatever it was called.

Should have stolen his other gimmick - "Screw the rules, i have poop!"

[mattyy]

the thing that got me is "leo kruger" was getting super over with the nxt audience, and then one week.. he's completely repackaged as adam rose and gets over almost instantly. so they speed run him to the main roster after only a month as the character... and like, the whole basis of the character seemed to be russel brand's character from "get him to the greek" but they never got to the part where the character is actually dealing with a ton of emotional trauma and running away from his problems by partying and was just like "oh he likes to party that's it. that's the character". and then he's a heel because he doesn't like mystery rabbit. so he turns heel, joins up with tyson kidd and cessaro as "brass ring club", gets in trouble for wearing a knockoff bullet club shirt on the preshow of the rumble '15, and then reduced to even less.

wwe is so weird man. kruger was so good as a kraven knockoff, and he made it work.

[pinja]

Leo Kruger was a great gimmick with potential to be over (he was over enough most of the time), but horribly booked. He lost too much with too little agenda, which was a shame giving his acting ability. Lucha Underground showed with King Cuerno how to pull the idea of a wrestling hunter off properly and really, Kruger not being Kruger was one of my big fallouts with WWE. Then they changed swamp cultist Wyatt into supernatural gibberish Wyatt and I threw my hands up.

[Ben Wyatt]

I liked the Rose gimmick and they absolutely did him no favors in terms of like an actual feud until the Bunny nonsense.

That said, I think people are being a little generous when it comes to how over he was.

[Sephiroth]

Jan 28, 2022 18:35:52 GMT -5 fg said:

Jan 28, 2022 14:55:59 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

He was another in the long line of guys who got over so they took everything away from him and made him a serious heel.

I don’t recall him being over as a face on the main roster. NXT he was over though.

Upon his debut the audience was receptive. He had arenas singing along with his theme music. But they quickly lift interest because, well…that was it. IMO, he should have been partnered with Summer Rae for a feud with Fandango.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

It's WWE at its most thinned out and vapid. He's the party guy. WHat does he do? He parties. How does he feel? He parties. What does he want? He parties. So much of his character was literally just his entrance, an entrance that only really had anything because he had tons of people dressed silly and coming out umping around behind him. And then you had Cole and King shouting stuff like "IT'S TIME TO PARTY" and laughing in that fake WWE commentator laughing way Vince likes them to laugh, and it never really had any meaning or meat to it. The one story they gave him was the bizarre bunny stuff I don't think ever really had a resolution to it, it just happened and that was it.

There were ideas, but the ideas weren't there. It was a fine baseline for an undercard act that instead became the avatar of WWE Enforced Fun™