What led to these guys falling off the radar?

[Guest The Hamburglar]

Alright, Rikishi's heel turn made no sense, and being HHH's lackey made even less sense, but there was still a chance to salvage him as a heel, particularly after Rock made him look like a real nasty bastard with the sell-job of Rikishi's rib attack at Survivor Series 2000. However, poor Rikishi fell foul of the two squashing shits, Austin and Taker, who pretty much annhilated him at various junctures and ensured he could never be anything other then a comedy act. I swear, the number of fucked-up careers Austin and Taker have racked up between them makes HHH look like a rank amateur.

 

Jeff just sucks, Kidman is boring, Raven has boring non-hardcore matches and Tajiri is one of those few who was just totally misused and buggered up through absolutely no fault of his own.

[Guest Anglesault]

I've always like Rikishi, personally. I think the Haku team and Brothers of DUD feud is what ended it for him. He still may be salvageable.

[Guest Redhawk]

A common theme on this thread seems to be, "He hasn't changed his character in 3-4 years," particularly in regards to Jeff Hardy and Rikishi. And while it's true that these guys haven't evolved, is that so bad? Guys like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart and Randy Savage had the same character for years and were still popular as hell.

[Guest Army Eye]

Those were all in a different era where you weren't on TV overexposed for several hours a week.

[LooseCannon25 0]

exactly Army........Hogan didnt wrestle on TV EVERY week back then...he would wrestle only on PPV and Big shows mostly. Same goes with Savage and Flair. Another thing is that those guys were MEGASTARS........just like Stone Cold staying the same for about 5 years. MEGASTARS can do it. guys like Jeff Hardy and Rikishi can't

[Guest Redhawk]

Koko B. Ware didn't change! Neither did Rick Rude. But yeah, I see your point about overexposure creating a need to stay fresh. I still contend that the creation of Smackdown started the bal rolling downhill.

[Guest Army Eye]

Yes.. I think the overexposure is the main thing. Rock has been the same face character for about four years and he is incredibly stale. Even the megastar status + frequent vacations hasn't helped, not to mention he's one of the most talented talkers ever.

 

I think even Hogan would've been hard pressed to stay fresh for four years if he was fighting and doing promos every single week, having 6-8 different feuds a year as opposed to one or two, fighting on 12 PPVs a year, etc.

You just wear out every thing that the character has to offer so much quicker.