Bad Gimmicks Made Good/That You Enjoyed

[PowerButchi]

WCW would still have lost. The way it was run was always going to make it implode.

[Pinc]

It would be interesting to see how the psyche of Vince/WWE was different in a Sliding Doors style parallel universe where they simply outlasted WCW rather than overtook them for the last two years of the war. The way things played out in reality it seemed as though a resurgent WWF left no place in the market for WCW, but the forces that really led to Turner selling WCW were almost completely independent of the Monday Night War.

 

I think Vince would be even more insecure about the place of his company in popular culture if they were merely seen as winners by default and I reckon it'd be reflected in the booking. The InVasion would likely have been even more one sided and Sting would've been made to go through developmental before his eventual re-debut as Bubba Poon last year. Heyman and Punk and all the other shootsters would have had a lot more material to work with too. It's a nice thought experiment.

[tiger_rick]

Yeah, can you imagine how insecure Vince would be if he hadn't won decisively given that he did win and 14 years later he's still got small dick syndrome over the fact that he was losing for a couple of years? There'd definitely be a weekly show on the network called "WCW's underhand tactics" with old WCW stars being waterboarded into making claims that Bischoff had Titan Towers bugged and was paying people not to watch USA on Monday nights.

[Dr.PeterVenkman]

looking back i do wonder how wrestling would be now if WWE had made Austin go with the Chilly McFreeze gimmic. conceivably itd have just died as a rubbbish gimmic. we'd have no Stone Cold Vs McMahon or Rock feuds & WCW would probably have won.

To be fair Chilly McFreeze wasn't really a gimmick, just a shit name, it's not like he'd have been walking to the ring dressed like Jack Frost or a snowman or something daft

 

Plus Bret still would've worked with him, if only to tell people about Chilly walking upto him to thank him after the match, frozen tears in his eyes

[PSF]

How about Deuce and Domino. Not really that much of misfit in the days of Boogeyman, Super Porkie and lil bastard, but still very out of date at the time. I very much enjoyed their short run though and their music was class. Cherry with the skates was a very nice touch. Not exactly three people that would have thrived with a different gimmick, but exactly right for them.

[Flangedango]

Snitsky's foot fetish gimmick was a bit of a laugh. I think there was one backstage segment where he was perving around the women's lockeroom when Candice and Maria showed up. It followed up with the camera zooming in to their shoes/feet and Snitsky's rapey breathing.

 

Here's one with Lita:

 

[Guest]

On that note, I was watching the Billy & Chuck wedding the other day and the moment Billy Gunn says he's not gay you would think Steve Austin just walked out. Hilariously backward.

If I remember correctly, Rico got cheers for acting flamboyant. I can't recall if that was always the case but I certainly remembering him getting positive reactions during the period which he was tag teaming with a reluctant Charlie Haas

[Liam O'Rourke]

Just wanted to thank everybody in this thread for the awesome suggestions - the podcast discussing a great many of the Bad Gimmicks mentioned in this thread is now available to listen to at the following link:

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/w32phd/SCGRadio38-BadGimmicksMadeGood.mp3

This was a really fun trip down memory lane this week, talking about the dynamics of making bad gimmicks work, and discussing your suggestions such as The Undertaker, Heel Doink, Goldust, Umaga, Kane, Rusev, "The Model" Rick Martel, Akeem, Polka Dot Dusty Rhodes, Barry Darsow, Billy & Chuck and countless more - check it out and let me know what you think!

[air_raid]

Good stuff. Good to hear some love for Nerf missiles era Adam Bomb, I loved that bloke.

 

Whoever thinks that "The Model" wasn't a great gimmick from day 1 deserves to be permanently blinded with Arrogance.

[Liam O'Rourke]

Loved the blue sweater vest around the shoulders and perm-era Model.

 

I remember watching Survivor Series 94 and thinking Adam Bomb had finally found himself and looked ready for a big babyface push. Then he was eliminated by Bigelow and never did anything but job to the important people. Still don't understand why they didn't try SOMETHING, just so I could understand why he would have failed.

[King Pitcos]

How about Deuce and Domino. Not really that much of misfit in the days of Boogeyman, Super Porkie and lil bastard, but still very out of date at the time. I very much enjoyed their short run though and their music was class. Cherry with the skates was a very nice touch. Not exactly three people that would have thrived with a different gimmick, but exactly right for them.

 

I'd say Deuce and Domino was a decent gimmick that failed to catch on because of the performers and the creative. It was a good idea that they then had zero ideas for how to use. That time period saw a lot of that kind of thing, and the bland "I'm a wrestler" gimmicks we have today were a natural extension of that. Mid-2000s saw the WWF forget how (or stop bothering) to properly use gimmicks for new guys. They did a great job with early Boogeyman actually, but I suspect that if he wasn't so incapable of wrestling, he'd have just been doing dull matches instead of brilliantly hiding in cupboards and vans scaring JBL.

[tiger_rick]

Yeah, I think that belongs in the opposite discussion. I started one fairly recently:, "Good gimmicks that never caught on":

 

https://ukff.com/topic/135968-good-gimmicks-that-never-caught-on/

[tiger_rick]

Just wanted to thank everybody in this thread for the awesome suggestions - the podcast discussing a great many of the Bad Gimmicks mentioned in this thread is now available to listen to at the following link:

 

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/w32phd/SCGRadio38-BadGimmicksMadeGood.mp3

 

This was a really fun trip down memory lane this week, talking about the dynamics of making bad gimmicks work, and discussing your suggestions such as The Undertaker, Heel Doink, Goldust, Umaga, Kane, Rusev, "The Model" Rick Martel, Akeem, Polka Dot Dusty Rhodes, Barry Darsow, Billy & Chuck and countless more - check it out and let me know what you think!

Really enjoyed the podcast again. Can't believe you managed to find five (I think) adult wrestling fans and not one of them appreciated the brilliance of The Undertaker. Redeemed yourselves with the love for Heel Doink and hatred of IRS though.

 

How old is Karl? He sounds about a million.

[Liam O'Rourke]

Ages range from 27-32. Karl is, I believe, 29. He's sounded like that forever.

 

I appreciate that the Undertaker character in its original incarnation is awesome, certainly. I could understand why he was cool as fuck and over like a mofo, he was a money draw in the space of a few months, but it just wasn't for me.

 

Heel Doink is superb. I'll never forget seeing him ride to the ring on a unicycle one time then put that evil fucking face on as soon as he got off. Brilliance.