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The early 1990s were a time of great change in the pro wrestling industry. The then-WWF had dominated the industry during the 1980s, but Ted Turner's acquisition of JC Productions changed the game.
Things got even more competitive when Hogan, a longtime WWE stalwart, left for Turner's WCW promotion. Along with Hogan's departure, Randy Savage, Jim Duggan, Brutus Beefcake and others would continue to drain talent from WWE's roster.
Bereft of Hogan, the WWE entered its New Generation era. Bret Hart was quickly made the top babyface in the company, and this era also saw the rise of superstars like Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash.
However, it also saw the WWE trying many, many different gimmicks and characters that ultimately failed. While some of the superstars of this era are now legends and Hall of Famers, there were a slew of much less successful ones.
Without further ado, here are the ten most forgettable wrestlers from the New Generation era.
#10 The Bodydonnas
There have been a lot of great tag teams that have worked in the WWE. Demolition, the Hart Foundation, the Brain Busters...the list goes on and on.
Two men who would NOT make the list of greatest WWE tag teams are the Bodydonnas. Despite the fact that Candido and Pritchard were seasoned, skilled veterans, the gimmick was just too terrible to overcome.
Though neither man was terribly handsome, they were saddled with 'lady's man' gimmicks that no one, not even themselves, were able to buy into. Their manager, Sunny (also Candido's girlfriend at the time) was actually the only reason anyone paid any attention to this bleached blonde tandem of awfulness.
Candido would be released and ended up in ECW, while Pritchard remained with WWE as a trainer and agent until 2004.
#9 Adam Bomb
Jacked to the max journeyman grappler Bryan Clark had a great look but not much charisma. Vince McMahon decided to give him a gimmick that would surely put asses in seats; Adam Bomb.
Referred to as "the Man from Three Mile Island," Adam Bomb was said to be a radioactive mutant from that namesake nuclear meltdown. He even had special contacts to make his eyes appear like the atomic symbol.
Even the children in the audience didn't buy this act, and Clark would later be released without making much of an impact.
#8 The Heavenly Bodies
Ignoble though it may seem, Tom Pritchard makes this list TWICE. The Heavenly Bodies were an even less successful gimmick than the Bodydonnas, though they were cut from the same cloth.
While their entrance robes were top notch, they failed to resonate with the WWE audience and didn't last for long. With names like Gigolo Jimmy and Dr. of Desire, it's not hard to see why.
#7 Duke "the Dumpster" Droese
This one is so awful, yet so forgettable; Duke Droese had good size and decent skills, but he wasn't muscular enough for Vince McMahon. Vince decided that Duke resembled someone who works for the sanitation department, and the gimmick was born.
Despite the fact that Lord Alfred Hayes loved saying the name, Duke didn't make much impact and is rarely mentioned today.
#6 Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz
During the baseball strike of 1994, Vince took note of the fact many fans were angry with the MLB players rather than the MLB itself. He created the Knuckleball gimmick as a way to cash in on cheap heel heat.
Abe was supposedly an MLB star who couldn't play because of the strike. He blamed the fans--apparently any fans, of wrestling or baseball--for being out of work and regularly harangued the WWE audience over this.
After the strike ended, there wasn't much point in Abe and he just sort of faded away.
#5 The Bushwhackers
The New Zealand Sheepherders were recognized as one of the legit toughest teams on the NWA circuit in the 1980s. Feuding with such notables as the Fantastics, they competed for the NWA Us tag titles and seemed poised to break through to the main event.
Then they signed with the WWE, and all that ended. Due to the success of the film Crocodile Dundee, Vince wanted an Australian gimmick. After Outback Jack failed to catch on, he rebranded the Sheepherders as the Buschwhackers.
While children thrilled to the Bushwhackers and imitated their wacky entrance walk, most of the audience never took them seriously as a tag team. They were a low to mid-card comedy act that mostly lost to bigger name teams. Though they would appear in many vignettes and taped scenes, the Bushwhackers failed to do anything memorable other than their Bushwhacker Bounce walk.
#4 The Mighty Kwang
Kwang was supposedly from the far east and was meant to be a direct knockoff of the Great Muta character, who was well known to US wrestling fans.
Today, it would never fly to put a Puerto Rican man in an Asian gimmick, but things were different in 1994. Kwang never resonated with the fans and failed to make much of an impact, spending most of his time feuding with other lister Adam Bomb.
#3 The Men on a Mission
In the early 1990s, before Gangsta rap took hold, Hip Hop was surprisingly full of colour and quite hopeful, often preaching positive ways people could help their community.
Out of this environment came MOM, the Men on a Mission. The colourful faux-rap group was known more for their sheer size than rapping acumen or wrestling ability and didn't last long.
Mabel would become King Mabel and challenge Kevin Nash for the WWE title, then changed to Viscera -- where he was part of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness stable -- Big Daddy V, and finally Big Vis before he left the company. Almost no one remembers this lacklustre gimmick these days, and looking at this picture it's easy to see why.
#2 The Portuguese Man of War, Aldo Montoya
Another masked wrestler pretending to be a different nationality, Aldo Montoya was a mere blip on wrestling's radar in 1995.
While the man under the mask was a capable wrestler, there just wasn't enough meat to the gimmick for it to work. The average American doesn't know much about Portugal, and thus fans were often confused as to how they should feel about Aldo Montoya.
Aldo was traded to ECW during a talent exchange program. The WWE got Steve Austin, while ECW got Montoya. While Montoya was rebranded as Justin Credible and garnered some success in ECW, it's clear who got the better end of THAT trade!
#1 Avatar (Al Snow)
Yet ANOTHER masked martial arts warrior pretending to be from another country, Avatar turned heads for his in-ring ability but his cheesy gimmick held him back from climbing the card.
Fans either booed or ignored his corny Kung Fu antics, though the man who played the gimmick, Al Snow, was well liked backstage by wrestlers and management. He would eventually find a great deal more success without the mask-wrestling as himself with his 'manager' Head.
There you have it: Ten WWE superstars of the New Generation era you either forgot or never heard of!
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