While there are certain archetypes and ritual dramas that pro wrestling can utilize to tell their zany stories, there really is no way to guarantee how the fans will react to a given segment. For example, in the early 1980s WWE teased a feud between Hulk Hogan and the heel Jake the Snake. The feud never really happened because the fans cheered Jake and booed Hogan.
There are many other examples of when a character just didn’t get over the way that management had hoped. WCW went all in on Glacier, a cheap Mortal Kombat ripoff martial artist who was supposed to appeal to the video game playing teens in the audience. The effort flopped so badly it has become a punchline in the years since.
That being said, sometimes wrestling management makes a decision to put forth a character or story line that at first glance seems ridiculous or a bad idea. Then, to the surprise of all, it becomes a smash success.
Here are ten wrestling gimmicks that shouldn’t have worked, but did.
1.Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake
On paper, it sounds like a terrible idea; The wrestling barber!
The reality is this; Brutus Beefcake was once nearly as over as Hulk Hogan, being one of the WWE’s top 1980s babyfaces. Fans loved his outrageous outfits and the horrible ‘haircuts’ he gave to the enhancement talent he faced, even though cutting someone’s hair while they are unconscious is really a villain sort of move.
Brutus Beefcake seemed poised to be the one to defeat Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental title, but management didn’t quite believe the Barber had what it took to get to the next level.
Beefcake has had several gimmicks since the Barber, but none have been nearly as successful.
2. The Funkasaurus Brodus Clay
You’d expect a former bodyguard like Brodus to have an intimidating look, and does he ever. Massive, towering, and covered with tattoos, Clay seemed to be a logical fit for WWE’s next monster heel.
But then we were all swerved when the dancing Funkasaurus debuted instead. Surprisingly, the gimmick took off, gaining so much support it was expanded to include Matt Bloom (Albert/Tenzai/Giant Bernard.)
3. The Nation of Domination
It doesn’t sound like a gimmick that a wrestling company would want to touch; A group of black separatists who angrily call out white America on their prejudices. Such a gimmick might draw criticism from both sides of the political spectrum for making light of the problems facing African Americans.
However, it proved to be a successful idea, mostly because the WWE didn’t water down or try to excuse Farooq’s fiery speeches. Many in the audience were aware that the Nation made valid points even though they were technically heels.
The Nation launched the careers of the Rock and D Lo Brown, and was also possibly Ron Simmons’s best gimmick of all time.
4. MVP’s losing streak.
When Montel Vontavious Porter made his WWE Smackdown debut, he was cast as the cocky heel, a role which he played quite well.
However, over time WWE management began to believe his gift of gab and exciting ring style would translate well into a babyface character. In order to gain the sympathy of the fans, he embarked on a long losing streak.
Generally, babyface wrestlers are expected to win unless there is cheating or foul play, but the unusual tactic worked. Fans eventually grew sympathetic for MVP and started popping loudly when it seemed he was on the verge of ending his losing streak, which he eventually did, becoming babyface in the process.
5. The Bushwhackers
During the 70s and 80s, one tag team stood out for their craziness, toughness, and rotten attitudes; the New Zealand Sheepherders.
Feuding with such luminaries as Roddy Piper and the Fantastics, the Sheepherders eventually got the call from WWE. Unfortunately, at this stage in their career, they had aged past their prime and could no longer be the dominant heel force they had once been.
So, the WWE decided to capitalize on the success of Crocodile Dundee and make them Australian outback rednecks. Oddly enough, the gimmick was a huge success, particularly with the children who loved to do the ‘Bushwhacker bounce’ with Luke and Butch. To this day more people recognize the duo as the Bushwhackers than the Sheepherders, even though they spent most of their careers using the latter gimmick.
6. “Crow” Sting
The hyperbolic, intense, but ultimately cheerful Sting had been a fixture in WCW for some time, having come on board Turner’s company when he bought out JC Productions.
With the advent of the NWO, Sting was a logical choice for a hero to stand up to their villainy, but there was a problem; Sting had already wrestled most of his scheduled appearances for the year.
The decision to turn the loud, in your face Stinger into Crow Sting made a lot of people scratch their heads. His look was an obvious rip off, even though other than his appearance Sting didn’t take much from the expressive and loquacious movie character played by Brandon Lee.
In spite of all of this, Crow Sting became a smash hit. The gimmick was so successful the Stinger never really stopped using it, though he did start speaking after the first year in the Crow getup.
7. The Honky Tonk Man
The words “Wrestling Elvis Impersonator” should make anyone cringe, because it sounds like a terrible idea.
However, there’s no disputing that Honky Tonk Man is one of the greatest WWE heels ever. When asked to explain his characters’ success, Honky Tonk Man said he believed it was the deep love of Elvis Presley that garnered so much hate for Honky. Because fans treasured Elvis’s memory, they were angry and disgusted that a cheating, lying coward like Honky Tonk Man was tarnishing his legacy.
Honky Tonk Man is still considered the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time.
8. Woken/Broken Matt Hardy
By 2016, most assumed that the wrestling career of Matt Hardy had peaked and was in the process of winding down.
Fans didn’t know what to make of Hardy at first when he dyed his hair and spoke with an unusual accent. However, his dedication to the character and innovative wrestling match creation (Ultimate Deletion) made him the talk of the wrestling world, so much so that he was signed back to the WWE.
Fast forward to today, and the Deletion match between Hardy and Wyatt is one of the highest rated segments in Raw history. Woken Matt Hardy shouldn’t have worked, but did.
9. Stone Cold Steve Austin the babyface
Guys who curse, cheat, and tell the fans they ‘really don’t give a damn’ what they think, are always bad guys, right?
That’s what WWE believed when they first debuted Steve Austin’s Stone Cold character. After all, he was feuding with a born-again Christian character in Jake Roberts. What could possibly go wrong?
They couldn’t account for Austin’s charisma, which turned the one dimensional Stone Cold into the most compelling wrestling character of all time. Austin almost single-handedly won the Monday Night Wars due to his feud with Vince McMahon’s on-screen persona.
Fans should have booed Austin, but instead, they greeted him with thunderous applause and cheering, making him something that shouldn’t have happened, but did.
10. The Undertaker
On the all-time list of bad wrestling gimmicks, you’d think that ‘wrestling mortician’ would be at or near the top of the list. First of all, why would someone in the lucrative funeral home business need to wrestle in the first place?
In spite of the characters’ perceived silliness, Undertaker has become one of the most beloved performers in all of wrestling history. Taker stuck with the gimmick stubbornly, even as his contemporaries evolved into more ‘realistic’ characters.
Over time people responded to Taker’s awesome athleticism and unwavering poise, turning the villain into a hero beloved by all. A wrestling funeral home operator sounds silly, even embarrassing, but Taker managed to elevate it to perhaps the most successful wrestling gimmick of all time.
There you have it; ten gimmicks which should have been failures, but became successes anyway.
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