The Rainmaker gimmick has taken off though, IMO. It did start out rather awkward, as you mentioned.
Its really tough for me to think these foreigners would get over in the WWE bubble...its just not happened...especially when they get over in a company or culture that gets the over through booking, not through their own willpower, nevermind being given little to no promo time and odds are, a silly gimmick at the beginning of their run.
Just a huge different in how they present their products to get guys over.