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Steve Austin
The most recent of the gimmicks in this list, it’s also the one to resonate very deeply with any person alive due to its primal nature and universality.
Think of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and the image that comes to mind is that of an authority-defying, beer-swilling, rebellious character who stood up to the system and brought it to its knees, and he did that in style that hugely entertained.
Austin came along in a time when the people had had enough of the corporate dominance seeping in, which had led to an atmosphere of constant fear and insecurities in the minds of average folks.
The red-hot reception that Austin would get everytime he thwacked his evil boss, Mr. McMahon was evidence that a lot more people than originally intended, were vicariously living out their dreams through the Texas Rattlesnake.
And of course, Austin was the perfect guy to play the role given his battles with the powers-there-is in his career and his natural intensity and the rugged personality.
The gimmick will never really go away as it is more relevant now than it ever was and over the years, we have seen flashes of it in the CM Punk character, and now Daniel Bryan looks ready to be taking on the corporate regimen.
The storyline though is set to be relived anytime possible, and that’s the bottomline because Stone Cold said so!
Superstar Billy Graham
Billy Graham
It wasn’t until the ‘Superstar’ came along that wrestling started its evolution to becoming rasslin’ and the works. Before that, wrestlers were largely shooters with sports background and largely had a following in pockets of the country.
The showmanship aspect that Muhammad Ali embodied in boxing was brought into the wrestling world by Billy Graham who looked every inch the marketable persona that he claimed to be.
A hulking and awe-inspiring presence, Superstar could inspire hate and awe like no other till then and during his feud with Bruno Sammartino, cut some of the best promos that have stood the test of time and have become measuring yardsticks for the generations of guys to follow.
He claimed to have 22-inch pythons and his bleached blonde haired good looks made it hard to not like him and more than compensated for his lack of great wrestling ability.
When Vince Jr. took over from his dad and decided to head down the ‘show-business’ route, he knew what would be the blueprint for success in his new endeavour.
Since the Superstar’s heydays, many a clones have come and gone and have cited him as their influence, be it Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, Triple H etc.
His influence has crossed over into other sports too when Chael Sonnen, a popular MMA fighter used his lines to send the crowd into a frenzy.
But then again, who wouldn’t want to be that guy who is “The man of the hour, tower of power, too sweet to be sour….”
