5 'Scary' WWE gimmicks that were disappointing
When the notoriously un-American Iron Sheik and token American Hero Hacksaw Jim Duggan were pulled over by the cops and busted for possession of marijuana in 1987, two things changed.
On one hand, Vince McMahon went ballistic about wrestlers in his employ drifting around under the influence and started mandatory drug testing. On the other, and more tellingly, Kayfabe was dealt a gut shot that day.
Fast forward to present times and almost everyone knows today that pro wrestlers are normal people, enacting a particular character on screen (and during live shows). In such a world, does it really make sense to persist with the make-belief?
Think back to Stone Cold or the Undertaker. The Rock or Mankind. Sting or Jake the Snake Roberts.
Even in a climate today, where the behind-the-scenes understanding of the product is at an all-time high, strong personalities and well-executed gimmicks – like the ones mentioned above– form the most relatable facets of pro wrestling.
People will always tune into the product when characters resonate with them on some level.
But, of course, not all characters do.
Many pro wrestlers try to come off a certain way but end up falling short. And if they were intended as a scary gimmick in the first place and ended up withering away into a comedic act, it’s all the more cringe-worthy.
Needless to say, there have been quite a few instances of that in the WWE before.
#1 Giant Gonzalez
Giant Gonzalez’s claim to fame was that he’s the only one of the Undertaker’s WrestleMania opponents to have lost the match via disqualification. Apart from being remembered as one of the worst gimmicks in WWE history, of course.
The man towered over the Undertaker himself, but it was just impossible for anyone to perceive him as a legitimately scary character with his costume that included a generous smattering of hair over his nether regions, painted-on abs that even a child would figure out and thick tufts of stick-on hair all over his body.
As it would turn out, his WWE run was pretty short as well, hardly lasting the entirety of a year. Even so, he still gave the Undertaker what is generally agreed upon to be, possibly, the worst WrestleMania match of his vaunted career while he was there. He also only won about 40% percent of his matches while he was in the WWE and for someone being booked as a ‘monster’, that’s no way to get over.
Goals.