5 Scary Gimmicks That Failed in WWE and WCW
By Dean Siemon
The Ascension (WWE)
In a time when World Wrestling Entertainment could use some good tag teams to strike the fear into the hearts of the rest of the roster, the Ascension could have done that. However, they came across as two guys who were trying to look scary but seemed more like knockoffs of what we’ve seen in the past.
However, there might have been more success if they stuck with the darker characters that were portrayed when the team was composed of Conor O’Brian and Kenneth Cameron – looking like they had supernatural powers.
However, Cameron was released after an arrest and Ascension version 2.0 was born with the addition of Viktor – an experience ring veteran who was not making any progress towards the main roster as a singles wrestler. The team kept the darker gimmick, but someone must have had them switch to look less like Undertaker rip-offs and we now have a rip-off of the Legion of Doom.
Sure, it’s one thing to be a pair of heels by trying to state they are more powerful than the legendary teams like the Road Warriors and Legion of Doom. But it’s hard to continue that after you are buried by a combination New World Order, A.P.A. and New Age Outlaws reunion nearly a year ago.
Maybe you can blame it on bad booking. Maybe you can blame it on their characters not really catching on with the crowd as a serious team. But there wasn’t nothing to be scared of as they would fall down the tag team division’s rankings and unable to really be taken seriously as anything more than tag team jobbers with entrance music.
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