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Over the years, WWE has produced many iconic gimmicks, such as The Undertaker's deadman persona and Stone Cold Steve Austin's foul-mouthed beer-drinking character. However, the company doesn't always get it right, as many Superstars have failed to attain success with different gimmicks.
Some wrestlers managed to overcome bad gimmicks to become top stars, while others struggled to get over in every attempt. It takes a considerable amount of time and effort to make a gimmick work, but at times, even the best gimmicks can get ruined by poor booking.
WWE Superstars who attain success with their gimmicks get to reap the rewards they bring, but wrestlers who don't often get pushed down the card or future endeavored by the company.
Here are five WWE Superstars who failed with different gimmicks.
#5 Former WWE Superstar Brodus Clay
When NXT was a reality-based competition show, former WWE Superstar Brodus Clay had Alberto Del Rio as his pro. After arriving on the main roster, Brodus Clay was portrayed as a monster heel, and was given a role as Del Rio's bodyguard.
Brodus Clay, however, struggled in his role, which made things difficult for him, and he apparently played a part in Edge's neck injury, which led to the latter's retirement in 2011. The Rated-R Superstar was seen grabbing his neck after hitting Clay with a spear, and he was visibly in pain.
After a short absence from TV, Brodus Clay made his return in early 2012 as a face, and he debuted a new gimmick as a dancer. WWE paired him with Tensai as a tag team called Tons of Funk.
Clay later betrayed Tensai and turned heel once again, but it didn't lead to anything significant for him in WWE.
#4 Former WWE Superstar Viscera
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is known for his obsession with wrestlers who are visually big and strong. WWE usually portrays such wrestlers as huge monsters in the beginning, only to bury them later on. Viscera, or Big Daddy V, was no exception.
He initially competed in WWE as Mabel, and due to his incredible size, he was pushed by the company as a singles wrestler, which led to him being crowned the King of the Ring in 1995. To fit the royal gimmick, his name was changed to King Mabel.
King Mabel was then pushed as the top heel, and he received an opportunity at Kevin Nash's WWE Championship, but he never captured the title. Mabel was removed from the top card and was later released from the company.
After his return in 1998, he was repackaged as Viscera, and he adopted a gothic gimmick as a member of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness.
Although he captured the WWE Hardcore Championship and the Tag Team Championships, Viscera never acquired much success in WWE.
Once again, he was released by the company, and once more, he returned with a new character and underwent a name change as Big Daddy V in 2007. Despite all these different gimmicks, Viscera was able to get other stars over except himself.
#3 Former WWE Superstar Luke Gallows
Luke Gallows' early WWE run was plagued with bad gimmicks, but thankfully, the former Bullet Club member saved his wrestling career by developing himself in Japan. In 2006, Gallows played the Imposter Kane while still a rookie, but the angle ended within a month.
Even though Gallows dropped the underwhelming imposter gimmick, the worse was yet to come. WWE couldn't get it right when it came to his booking, as they repackaged him as Festus, a man that was mentally challenged and unresponsive until the bell rang.
That gimmick didn't work either, so WWE repacked him again as Luke Gallows, a member of CM Punk's heel stable, The Straight Edge Society. However, Gallows was later released by the company, and he went on to find success as Doc Gallows in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In 2016, Gallows returned to WWE with his NJPW tag team partner Karl Anderson, and they became known as The Club and later as The O.C. with AJ Styles.
Gallows and Anderson had a run with the RAW Tag Team Championships, but they didn't achieve the same success in WWE as they did in NJPW.
#2 Former WWE Superstar Matt Bloom
Matt Bloom had the potential to be a major star in WWE. Despite all the different gimmicks and name changes he underwent, he failed to reach that status. Bloom initially performed in WWE as Prince Albert, and he competed in tag team matches with wrestlers such as Droz, Test, and Scotty 2 Hotty.
After changing his name to A-Train, he allied with Big Show, which saw the two stars clashing with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XIX, but they were defeated. A-Train's biggest accomplishment was attaining the Intercontinental Championship, the only title he held in WWE.
After he departed from the company in 2004, Bloom went on to find success in New Japan Pro Wrestling, which included a title run and the New Japan Cup. After leaving the Land of the Rising Sun, Matt Bloom returned to WWE and was repackaged as Lord Tensai.
He was pushed as a singles competitor with victories over main event stars such as John Cena and CM Punk. After dropping "Lord" from his name, he went on a losing streak and was reduced to a comedy act with Brodus Clay, which ultimately killed his WWE career.
While Matt Bloom couldn't find success in WWE as a performer, he currently works for the company as the head trainer at the Performance Center.
#1 Former WWE Superstar Kane
The Big Red Machine Kane is one of WWE's biggest stars, and throughout his career, he has faced many big names and held many titles. However, at the beginning of his WWE career, The Undertaker's half-brother wasn't in a good place. He was also cursed with horrible gimmicks, but managed to overcome them and became a high-profile name in the wrestling industry.
In 1995, he played a heel dentist named Isaac Yankem DDS, an enhancement talent who put other stars over.
In 1996, after Kevin Nash and Scott Hall left WWE for WCW, Isaac Yankem was repackaged as Diesel. As Fake Diesel, Kane failed to replicate Kevin Nash's success, and he continued to be used as a stepping stone for other stars.
At that point, Kane's WWE future was uncertain, but luckily for the former, there was an open spot for the Kane character, which he got to play and found success as in a career that spanned over two decades.
The former World Champion is undoubtedly a shoo-in for the WWE Hall of Fame.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
