WWE superstars are superheroes in the eyes of many fans. John Cena became an over-the-top superhero that marked the childhood of many fans with nothing but his name. When the gimmick becomes an actual superhero character however, is it destined to fail? Or can a superstar be a superhero for fans without it being the gimmick?
Nikki Cross Was Always A Forgettable Character
Nikki Cross has always been the oddball of the women's division. While she has a credible background as a wrestler dating back to years of independent wrestling, her run in NXT began in a stable. Although Nikki held a role in helping Sanity members win matches, Nikki was never given the ball to run with. With a few unsuccessful opportunities at the NXT Women's Championship under her belt, the change to her character was forthcoming.
Her rise to the main roster bought a more timid approach to her character and an unexpected pairing with Alexa Bliss. While she finally managed to get two runs as a Women's Tag Team Champion, the spotlight was always on Alexa with Nikki in the manager role throughout most of their appearances together on screen.
It was not until Nikki adopted the superhero character of Nikki A.S.H that the spotlight was finally put on her. Even though it might have been a character change that was desperately needed, the response proved to work in her favor. Fans quickly saw her rise to a short reign as WWE Raw Women’s Champion. Even though the sudden title change was questioned and was even rumored to be due to Vince McMahon's fascination of the character, the gimmick proved to be a career resurgence.
Nikki Cross was always a forgettable character until she was given a new one.
Neville Was A Superhero In Spirit, But It Didn't Work
Neville dressed for the job he was told to be and did all the actions to live up to it. After moving to the main roster, he adorned his in-ring attire with a cape and did all the in-ring moves of a high-flyer that had originally caught the attention of fans in NXT. While he had a distinct physical build from other cruiserweights, he never had the in-ring persona or mic ability to put him over the mid-card.
While his superhero gimmick led to a comic book rivalry with Stardust that defined his early career on the main roster, the sucess that Neville saw was not seen until Neville joined the Cruiserweight roster. It was in that roster that Neville had his defining moments.
Even though the superhero gimmick helped introduce him to a new demographic, it did nothing to the superstar he would become. Both Neville and Nikki were propelled by the superhero but did not see permanent success from it.
The Hurricane & Mighty Molly Hung Up The Capes For Success
Molly Holly may be seen as one of the best women's wrestlers that had a run before the women's revolution. What many fans might not remember is her brief stint as a superhero character. This stint involved wearing a superhero cape and blonde hair, different to the trademark short dark hair she is known for. It is during this time that she worked as a sidekick for Hurricane Helms. Although the pairing was short-lived, the storyline worked in her favor to propel her to a feud with Trish Stratus and the Women's Championship picture. She did not need to hold on to the superhero gimmick to reach the peak of her success.
Holly's running mate Hurricane Helms also has an example of this. While most fans remember him for his run as The Hurricane, it was only when he shed the superhero persona that he had the most in-ring success of his career where he was the WWE Cruiserweight Champion for over a year.
While the superhero gimmick has elevated superstars to places on the card, it has not created a permanent fixture for them on it. It seems that superhero gimmicks are good for brief flirtations with success, but it's not the stuff of champions.