History Main / ToughActToFollow

* Nick Foles had this fate ''twice''. The former Arizona Wildcat quarterback had an outstanding breakout season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 -- which included setting the NFL season record for the best touchdown–interception ratio, leading the Eagles to a division title and earning Pro Bowl honors, only to follow it up with a underwhelming second season. Following a similarly underwhelming run with the St. Louis Rams and a run as a backup for the Kansas City Chiefs, he returned to the Eagles in a backup role and led them to an appearance in Super Bowl LII, where, with the help of the "Philly Special", [[CurbStompBattle they beat the New England Patriots]], a feat that earned him the MVP award that year. By the time he left the Eagles for the second time, he was seen as a hot commodity, thanks to the "Cinderella story" prestige surrounding that victory. And then his subsequent runs with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts saw him alternating mediocre performances (he only saw around four wins total during his Bears run) with injuries, with each run ending in him being unceremoniously traded or released after only a year or two.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). Of course, this made for a ''really'' tough act to follow for 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, as he was not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo...and Love promptly proceeded to outdo ''both'' of his predecessors by taking his team to the playoffs in his first season as a starter, something neither Favre nor Rodgers was able to do (and he did it with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster to boot), and proceeded to ''tie the franchise record for playoff points'' in his playoff debut[[note]]he would have had the record outright if not for a missed extra point[[/note]]. While it's too early to say with certainty that he'll live up to that legacy in the long run, he's certainly trending in the right direction.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). Of course, this made for a ''really'' tough act to follow for 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, as he was not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo...and Love promptly proceeded to outdo ''both'' of his predecessors by taking his team to the playoffs in his first season as a starter, something neither Favre nor Rodgers was able to do (and he did it with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster to boot), and proceeded to ''tie the franchise record for playoff points'' in his playoff debut. While it's too early to say with certainty that he'll live up to that legacy in the long run, he's certainly trending in the right direction.

* Emma Raducanu was an 18 year old with few appearances in professional tournaments when she achieved one hell of a DarkHorseVictory in winning the 2021 U.S. Open emerging from the qualifiers, not losing a single set among the way. This made her an overnight superstar, with a huge boost on the WTA rankings and endorsement deals. And then 2022 had Raducanu alternating underwhelming performances (in no tournaments she won more than three matches) with injuries, culminating in her return to the U.S. Open having her downed in the first round, which would make the player who spend the year in the top 20 fall all the way to 73. Any player in her first full year on tour would struggle, but Raducanu had the increased pressure of entering that having already won a Grand Slam. Her post-match interview following the early exit had Raducanu highlighting "With perspective, actually as a 19-year-old, I've had not a bad year. To be top 100, if you told me that a year ago, I'd take it." and expressing relief that following so much disappointment, "the target will be off my back slightly" for the rest of the tour.

* Emma Raducanu was an 18 year old with few appearances in professional tournaments when she achieved one hell of a DarkHorseVictory in winning the 2021 U.S. Open emerging from the qualifiers, not losing a single set among the way. This made her an overnight superstar, with a huge boost on the WTA rankings and endorsement deals. And then 2022 had Raducanu alternating underwhelming performances (in no tournaments she won more than two matches) with injuries, culminating in her return to the U.S. Open having her downed in the first round, which would make the player who spend the year in the top 20 fall all the way to 73. Any player in her first full year on tour would struggle, but Raducanu had the increased pressure of entering that having already won a Grand Slam. Her post-match interview following the early exit had Raducanu highlighting "With perspective, actually as a 19-year-old, I've had not a bad year. To be top 100, if you told me that a year ago, I'd take it." and expressing relief that following so much disappointment, "the target will be off my back slightly" for the rest of the tour.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). Of course, this made for a ''really'' tough act to follow for 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, as he was not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo...and Love promptly proceeded to outdo ''both'' of his predecessors by taking his team to the playoffs in his first season as a starter, something neither Favre nor Rodgers was able to do (and he did it with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster to boot). While it's too early to say with certainty that he'll live up to that legacy in the long run, he's certainly trending in the right direction.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). On the other hand, this meant that 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, had a ''really'' tough act to follow, as he's not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo...and Love promptly proceeded to outdo ''both'' of his predecessors by taking his team to the playoffs in his first season as a starter, something neither Favre nor Rodgers was able to do (and he did it with an incredibly young and inexperienced roster to boot). While it's too early to say with certainty that he'll live up to that legacy in the long run, he's certainly trending in the right direction.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). On the other hand, this meant that 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, had a ''really'' tough act to follow, as he's not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo...and Love promptly proceeded to outdo ''both'' his predecessors by taking his team to the playoffs in his first season as a starter, something neither Favre nor Rodgers was able to do; while it's too early to say with certainty that he'll live up to that legacy in the long run, he's certainly trending in the right direction.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). On the other hand, this means that 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, has a ''really'' tough act to follow, as he's not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but, in a sense, the combined legacy of the Favre-and-Rodgers duo.

* Director Kazuki Akane started strong with ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', which became wildly popular (even broadcast on Creator/FoxKids in the United States), and remains to this day one of the most iconic anime from the 1990s. His next project was ''Anime/{{Geneshaft}}'', which was seen by few and hated by most who did. His next creation was ''Anime/HeatGuyJ''; most who know of it know only about how much Creator/{{Geneon}} paid for it (as much as Creator/{{FUNimation}} paid for ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'') and how poorly it sold. Next came ''Anime/{{Noein}}'', which fared better in popularity and reception, but only modestly. His latest work was ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty: Decode'', which sold very poorly in Japan.

** An inversion in Formula One is current Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen, son of Jos Verstappen, who drove in [=F1=] in the '90s and 2000's. Jos never won a race; Max is a three-time world champion.

* Ever since the BigGoldBelt, largely considered to be the best championship belt design in wrestling history, was retired for good in 2014, fans have been demanding WWE to bring it back and every top title design WWE introduced after the Big Gold was retired has been compared negatively to it. Not helped by the fact that the title belts WWE use nowadays are mostly PalletteSwaps of the WWE Title, resulting in ItsTheSameNowItSucks. The new "[[https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/og_image/public/all/2023/05/WWE_World_Championship--3f7deec341d4257875929ee8ab140834.png WWE World Heavyweight Championship]]" belt introduced in 2023 does bear a resemblance to the Big Gold and while some appreciate this, others call it a knockoff and demand the actual Big Gold be brought back.

* Ever since the BigGoldBelt, largely considered to be the best championship belt design in wrestling history, was retired for good in 2014, fans have been demanding WWE to bring it back and every top title design WWE introduced after the Big Gold was retired has been compared negatively to it. Not helped by the fact that the title belts WWE use nowadays are mostly PalletteSwaps of the WWE Title, resulting in ItsTheSameNowItSucks. The revived "WWE World Heavyweight Championship" belt does bear a resemblance to the Big Gold and while some appreciate this, others call it a knockoff and demand the actual Big Gold be brought back.

* The Wrestling/BigGoldBelt, largely considered to be the best championship belt design in wrestling history, was retired for good in 2014. Every top title design WWE introduced after it has been compared negatively to the Big Gold. Not helped by the fact that the title belts WWE use nowadays are just PalletteSwaps of the WWE Title, resulting in ItsTheSameNowItSucks.

** In UsefulNotes/FormulaOne Jacques Villeneuve is a curious example. He won the World Championship, and more races than his father Gilles, plus the Indianapolis 500 and the [=IndyCar=] championship. Yet, he still lives somewhat in the shadow of his father even though Gilles never won championships. Mostly this is because Villeneuve Sr. was a very spectacular and charismatic competitor tragically killed in his prime, driving for Ferrari. Also, Jacques' winning career in F1 lasted all of two seasons before he then spent the next decade in the midfield. Of the two, Gilles actually had a longer winning career. (a bigger F1 case is Max Verstappen, who got two titles when his father couldn't even win a race)

* ''Starrcade 86'' was the last hurrah of Jim Crockett Promotions, and perhaps, the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance, as the NWA would survive but never again reach such heights. JCP, though, was dead within two years. Of course, this was somewhat deliberate, as Wrestling/VinceMcMahon was [[InvokedTrope hard at work]] to ensure ''Starrcade '87'' would flop, going so far as to create another pay-per-view (''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'') for the sole purpose of running against it and telling all the cable companies that picking ''Starrcade'' meant they wouldn't get ''[=WrestleMania=] IV'' the next year[[note]]The WWF would create the Wrestling/RoyalRumble to mess with the [=NWA's=] next PPV, ''Bunkhouse Stampede'', only this time for free on the USA Network. It was such a success that it was made a PPV the following year and has been held every January since. In response to this JCP ran ''Clash of the Champions'' against ''Wrestlemania IV'' for free on Creator/{{TBS}}, this also drew a huge rating and JCP/WCW would end up doing 34 more [=COTC=] shows, only ending them in 1998 when ''Nitro'' and ''Thunder'' made a 2 hour live cable special redundant[[/note]].

** ''[=WrestleMania=] III'': Downplayed with the Wrestling/RandySavage vs. Wrestling/RickySteamboat Intercontinental champions. That match is considered one of the best of all time and one that helped shape the WWF’s reputation as an actual wrestling organization rather than an entertainment company. That being said, it hasn’t overshadowed the main event between Wrestling/HulkHogan vs. Wrestling/AndreTheGiant: While it was generally considered to be a bad match at the time, that has long been eclipsed by its historical significance as a clash of the titans.
** ''[=WrestleMania=] 13'': A pretty weak Mania that was saved by arguably one of the greatest matches in the event's history: the submission match between Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/BretHart. The intensity, the work rate, the psychology, the booking, the finish, the post-match angle, and the fallout were all perfect. It was so great, that it pretty much overshadowed the rest of the matches of the card, including the forgettable main event headlined by [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sycho Sid]] and Wrestling/TheUndertaker.
** ''Wrestling/KingOfTheRing 1998'': The infamous Hell in a Cell match between Wrestling/TheUndertaker and [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]]. This match is so iconic that most people don't even remember that this wasn't the main event of that PPV, which was Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin vs Wrestling/{{Kane}} in a First Blood match, nor the titular tournament that took place that night, which was won by Wrestling/KenShamrock.
** ''[=WrestleMania=] X8'': Wrestling/TheRock vs Wrestling/HulkHogan. This is a weird case in that though it headlined the PPV, it wasn't the main event because it didn't go last like it was supposed to. Instead, management lobbied for the title match between Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/ChrisJericho to go last instead.

** ''Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank 2011'': Wrestling/CMPunk vs Wrestling/JohnCena. This match got a five-star rating from ''Dave Meltzer'' -- the last time the WWE managed that was the first Hell in a Cell match between HBK and the Undertaker (which was also Wrestling/{{Kane}}'s debut). While every match Punk and Cena had together afterwards easily clocked at four stars and above, it's kinda hard to match this one for a variety of reasons, mainly being the atmosphere just isn't as charged as it was in Chicago (CM's hometown, by the way), and the stakes just weren't as high, lowering the drama factor. It's not helped that this is considered to be one of the best matches WWE has put on in ''years'' (with some even going on to say that it's the best match in WWE history).
** ''[=WrestleMania=] XXVIII'': Wrestling/TripleH vs The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. In a 'Mania headlined by Wrestling/TheRock vs Wrestling/JohnCena, this is the match that everyone thinks about.
** ''Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} [=TakeOver=]: Brooklyn'': Wrestling/{{Bayley}} vs Wrestling/SashaBanks. The fact that it was a Divas match of all things made it more surprising, but afterwards many consider it to be the greatest women's match in WWE history (despite the fact that it was on a ''developmental'' brand), and one of the matches of the year. In fact, the biggest, glaring flaw that everyone saw in the Wrestling/FinnBalor vs Wrestling/KevinOwens ladder match, a sure show stealer on any other card, was the fact that it had to follow this one, and that match was relegated to a footnote. It was so good that their rematch got to headline the next special, making history in the process. Like with Taker/HBK, while the sequel was also considered amazing, most people still prefer the first.
** ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'': Wrestling/CMPunk vs Wrestling/TheUndertaker. [[HistoryRepeats In a 'Mania headlined by The Rock vs John Cena, this is the match that everyone thinks about]]. Granted, this one is debatable seeing as not only was it the best match, many believe it was the only good match on the card (besides the always decent Wrestling/DanielBryan match).
** ''WWE NXT [=TakeOver=]: Dallas'': Wrestling/SamiZayn vs Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura. Expectations were already high enough considering the resumes both had, and this was Nakamura's debut match and Zayn's last NXT match, but then both men proceeded to blow those expectations out of the water. An instant classic, this match is nigh-universally considered the best match in all of 2016's ''[=WrestleMania=]'' weekend and one of the forerunners for match of the year. Even the highly anticipated [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] vs Wrestling/{{Bayley}} match for the NXT Women's Championship wasn't able to live up to it, nor was the rematch for the NXT Championship between Wrestling/SamoaJoe and Wrestling/FinnBalor, and both, under normal circumstances, would've been sure fire contenders for match of the night.

** ''WWE Roadblock'': Wrestling/DeanAmbrose vs Wrestling/TripleH. Though it was mainly this in regards to Wrestling/RomanReigns vs Wrestling/TripleH at ''[=WrestleMania=] 32''. It was absolutely no secret that most fans wanted Ambrose in the main event that year. While the company wasn't willing to relent on Reigns, they gave a title match to Ambrose at a WWE Network special as compensation, while Reigns was out for his deviated septum. The match Ambrose had with Hunter ended up being the main forerunner for Match of the Year until Nakamura/Zayn happened at ''Dallas''. Ultimately, the match Reigns and Hunter had wasn't able to live up to it.

** ''[=WrestleMania=] 34'': Creator/RondaRousey and Wrestling/KurtAngle vs Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon and Wrestling/TripleH. Yes, really. Blowing even the best expectations out of the water, this match completely undid the entire crowd, and Ronda went from being derided by the IWC to their newest darling almost as soon as the match was over. It was so good that even ''Dave Meltzer'' felt that ''[=WrestleMania=]'' should've been over after that. Not even the highly-anticipated Wrestling/AJStyles vs. Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura match (which had the added handicaps of a dead crowd and HypeBacklash) could live up to it.
** At the 2018 all-women's ''Evolution'' PPV, the main event was Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella and - while most critics found it to be a fine match - it had only a month of build-up. And it had the bad luck to follow an incredibly intense Last Woman Standing match between Wrestling/BeckyLynch and Wrestling/CharlotteFlair - who had been feuding since the summer, and Becky was enjoying her biggest surge in popularity yet. It's generally agreed that Ronda vs Nikki was only put as the main event to give the PPV the star power to convince WWE to have it in the first place. The Last Woman Standing match was thirty minutes, full of high spots and officially crowned Becky Lynch as the Smackdown Women's Champion (there had been fears that Charlotte would win the belt back) - while the main event was only fifteen minutes and tainted by the build-up making Ronda UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.
** ''[=WrestleMania=] 38'' saw two of the biggest XPacHeat-magnets in Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair face off to the collective apathy of the fandom. While many will say the match itself was decent on its own, the disdain the crowd had for both along with following two match of the year candidates in Wrestling/BeckyLynch vs Wrestling/BiancaBelair and Wrestling/SethRollins vs Wrestling/CodyRhodes (the latter being Cody's return after his time in AEW) back-to-back made them less enthusiastic to cheer either woman, with the only reason most of the crowd hadn't clocked out was the anticipation for Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin's possible (and eventually confirmed) in-ring return.

* The NXT women's division as a whole pulled this on the main roster women from the 2014-2015 period. NXT started giving the women time to wrestle, feuds that had meaning, fans were into them and the matches were usually hits. The match that really put NXT's women on the map - Wrestling/{{Charlotte|Flair}} vs Natalya at ''Takeover'' - was followed by a series of lackluster matches in the feud between Wrestling/AJLee and {{Wrestling/Paige}}. General consensus was that the main roster women's matches were okay, but had no chance of overshadowing NXT. The 2014 ''TLC'' PPV was the worst offender, taking place only five days after an NXT special.

** No manager has yet been successful at replacing Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie's replacement David Moyes was an abject failure, turning a title-winner into a mid-table side, while Moyes's own successor Louis van Gaal was widely derided for boring tactics, underachievement versus smaller teams, and a host of disappointing signings.[[note]]He did, however, bring in such hidden gems like Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, and Anthony Martial; it was also under his watch that homegrown phenomena Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford became first-team regulars and former reserve Chris Smalling became a regular starter at CB. [[/note]] Next came José Mourinho, who basically destroyed his reputation with even more underachievement, plus conflicts with players ''and'' management, that saw him sacked after a poor start to the 2018–19 season. The ship was righted to a certain extent when former United star Ole Gunnar Solskjær was hired as caretaker manager, improving things to the point that the "caretaker" label was removed near the end of the season, and after a shaky start to 2019–20 leading a youthful side to a third-place finish and Champions League football for 2020–21, but the jury is definitely still out on that.

* Zigzagged in the case of Creator/TadaoNagahama and his Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy. While they were all well-loved around the world[[note]]''Anime/VoltesV'' even became a MovementMascot in the Philippines[[/note]], his next SuperRobot show, ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'', was not so beloved and failed to reach their level of popularity. However, this is likely because Nagahama ''didn't work'' on ''Daltanious'' - long before the anime aired, he left production to focus on directing ''Anime/TheRoseOfVersailles''. He was only involved in making the first drafts of the show, and Katsutoshi Satsuki directed it instead. Because his style was nothing like Nagahama's, fans of the Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy despised it, while those familiar with the SuperRobot genre hated it because of it was filled with one [[ClicheStorm cliché after another]]. Nagahama would die a year later, with ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'' being known as his last work. Hilariously, one chance ''Daltanious'' had at becoming famous was when WEP executive Ted Koplar saw it at a convention, and requested that it be sent to his company so he could dub it for an American audience. Unfortunately, a miscommunication (due to an employee forgetting the name of the anime and asking Creator/{{Toei}} for "the show with the lion") led to the company sending them the tapes to ''Anime/GoLion'' instead. Despite this blunder, WEP went along with it, and the show would become known as ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' in the US and become massively popular...while ''Daltanious'' fell into obscurity.
** The ''Manga/VictoryFive'' manga was also reviled by fans of the Robot Romance Trilogy, though that wasn't written by Nagahama either (Yuichi Hasegawa was given permission to write it by Toei).

* Zigzagged in the case of Creator/TadaoNagahama and his Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy. While they were all well-loved around the world[[note]]''Anime/VoltesV'' even became a MovementMascot in the Philippines[[/note]], his next SuperRobot show, ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'', was not so beloved and failed to reach their level of popularity. However, this is likely because Nagahama ''didn't work'' on ''Daltanious'' - long before the anime aired, he left production to focus on directing ''Anime/TheRoseOfVersailles''. He was only involved in making the first drafts of the show, and Katsutoshi Satsuki directed it instead. Because his style was nothing like Nagahama's, fans of the Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy despised it, while those familiar with the SuperRobot genre hated it because of it was filled with one [[ClicheStorm cliché after another]]. Nagahama would die a year later, with ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'' being known as his last work.
** Hilariously, one chance ''Daltanious'' had at becoming famous was when WEP executive Ted Koplar saw it at a convention, and requested that it be sent to his company so he could dub it for an American audience. Unfortunately, a miscommunication (due to an employee forgetting the name of the anime and asking Creator/{{Toei}} for "the show with the lion") led to the company sending them the tapes to ''Anime/GoLion'' instead. Despite this blunder, WEP went along with it, and the show would become known as ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' in the US and become massively popular...while ''Daltanious'' fell into obscurity.

* Creator/NaokoTakeuchi was less than well received after having completed ''Manga/SailorMoon'', and never managed to ''finish'' anything else afterwards, leaving several OrphanedSeries behind.
** On the subject of Sailor Moon, the third season of the 90's ''Anime/SailorMoon'' series, ''Sailor Moon S'' ended up being this for towards its follow ups, ''[=SuperS=]'' and ''Sailor Stars'', being DarkerAndEdgier with an amazing character and compelling characters.

* Zigzagged in the case of Creator/TadaoNagahama and his Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy. While they were all well-loved around the world[[note]]Voltes V even became a MovementMascot in the Philippines[[/note]], his next SuperRobot show, ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'', was not so beloved and failed to reach their level of popularity. However, this is likely because Nagahama ''didn't work'' on ''Daltanious'' - long before the anime aired, he left production to focus on directing ''Anime/TheRoseOfVersailles''. He was only involved in making the first drafts of the show, and Katsutoshi Satsuki directed it instead. Because his style was nothing like Nagahama's, fans of the Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy despised it, while those familiar with the SuperRobot genre hated it because of it was filled with one [[ClicheStorm cliché after another]]. Nagahama would die a year later, with ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'' being known as his last work.
** Hilariously, one chance ''Daltanious'' had at becoming famous was when WEP executive Ted Koplar saw it at a convention, and requested that it be sent to his company so he could dub it for an American audience. Unfortunately, a miscommunication (due to an employee asking Creator/{{Toei}} for "the show with the lion" when referring to ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'') led to the company sending them the tapes to ''Anime/GoLion'' instead. The show would become known as ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' in the US and become massively popular...while ''Daltanious'' fell into obscurity.

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' was a milder version, as it was sandwiched between ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' and ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', with both becoming notable for marking Dreamworks' turn into more story-based films.

** Subverted by the Green Bay Packers, who were lucky enough to have the equally exceptional Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings to replace Brett Favre (much like how the aforementioned 49ers were able to replace Joe Montana with Steve Young[[note]]ironically, Aaron Rodgers' favorite player as a child was Steve Young[[/note]]). On the other hand, this means that 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love, who was named the starter after Rodgers was traded ahead of the 2023 season, has a ''really'' tough act to follow, as he's not only following Rodgers (which would already be a pretty big shadow in itself), but the lingering legacy of Favre as well.

* Director Kazuki Akane started strong with ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', which became wildly popular (even broadcast on Creator/FoxKids in the United States), and remains to this day one of the most iconic anime from the 1990s. His next project was ''Anime/{{Geneshaft}}'', which was seen by few and hated by most who did. His next creation was ''Anime/HeatGuyJ''; most who know of it know only about how much Creator/{{Geneon}} paid for it (as much as Creator/{{FUNimation}} paid for ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'') and how poorly it sold. Next came ''Anime/{{Noein}}'', which fared better in popularity and reception, but only modestly. His latest work was ''Anime/BirdyTheMighty: Decode'', which sold very poorly in Japan.

** ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'': Wrestling/CMPunk vs Wrestling/TheUndertaker. Granted, this one is debatable seeing as not only was it the best match, many believe it was the only good match on the card (besides the always decent Wrestling/DanielBryan match).