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.
#2 Boogeyman
Boogeyman may take the honour of being the most disgusting gimmick in WWE history, (and he’s certainly not bereft of competition) but hardly qualifies as a genuine spook otherwise. Apart from the foreboding face paint that made him look like Darth Maul, the Bogeyman was only known for one thing of note.
Eating worms.
Now that may be a scary proposition for some but it definitely leans towards the bizarre and creepy for most others. And the fact that he was hardly any good in the ring also meant that his character didn’t catch on in the right way with the fans.
He’s a classic example of a WWE Superstar who’s still remembered today, but for all the wrong reasons.
#3 Isaac Yankem DDS
The Big Red Monster is one of the most legitimately intimidating gimmicks in WWE history.
Everything about him, from the pyrotechnics in his entrance, the tragic backstory between him and the Undertaker, the fact that he didn’t speak for the longest time and, ultimately, his dramatic unmasking, were all contributing factors towards that.
But before he painted the WWE red, Kane’s gimmick as a deranged dentist, Isaac Yankem DDS, armed with a dental drill and a ridiculously disarranged set of teeth, was how he made his WWE bow.
Yankem was initially booked to accompany Jerry Lawler and was supposed to scare the living daylights out of children (who, traditionally, detest trips to the dentist, right?). Only, it didn’t quite work out like that.
Poor booking led to his gimmick falling flat and Vince was forced to reckon with the fact that Isaac Yankem needed a massive character overhaul. And the rest, as they say, is history.
#4 Erick Rowan
The sight of the Wyatt Family standing behind Bray Wyatt – a rocking chair creaking in the background, silhouetted by hazy smoke while streaks of light illuminate the sinister masks that cling to their faces – was spine-tingling to behold.
Alas, all good things must come to an end...and so did the Wyatt Family.
It wasn’t an abrupt, out-of-nowhere implosion that sent shockwaves through the WWE Universe like the Shield’s demise, but it was enough of a rift to set the members upon completely contrasting paths.
Bray Wyatt has since continued with the Eater of Worlds gimmick, in and around the main event scene, while Braun Strowman quickly emerged as the fans’ answer to Vince’s golden boy, Roman Reigns. And Luke Harper didn't set the world alight by any stretch of the imagination but at least, he holds his own in the ring when given a chance.
But Erick Rowan?
Squashed by the Rock in record time at WrestleMania 32, Rowan’s career has petered out into nothingness after the Wyatt Family broke up. He's stuck with the same gimmick but without Bray cutting the promos for him, it hardly comes across as spooky as it once did either.
Neither able to work brilliant matches nor able to convincingly win over the fans on the microphone, Erick Rowan is the farthest thing from scary today. And for his sake at least, let’s hope the Wyatt Family reunites in the near future.
#5 Mantaur
Mantaur was a half-man, half-bull gimmick that was doomed to hilarity before it was even sanctioned to appear on WWE programming. He didn’t have much direction other than squashing jobbers for a bit and was hardly involved in any feud that could have been taken seriously either.
His bull head outfit looked like it was straight out of an amateur circus act and the ‘Moo’-ing after every move he would perform certainly didn’t accentuate his sinister aura – assuming that was what the WWE was going for in the first place.
He was a bang average ring worker and the fact that he didn’t really have much to say on the microphone only further diminished his standing. To be quite honest, Mantaur was hurtling towards failure from the moment he set foot in the WWE.
While the man behind the gimmick, Mike Halac, would have a couple of more (equally terrible) stints in the WWE in 1996 and 1997, the Mantaur character was packed up in less than a year. The only title he ever won was the USWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1997.
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One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
