Which WWE gimmick was worse: Eugene or The Red Rooster?

Over the years, WWE has been known to create some of the greatest gimmicks of all time. They've been able to pick up a wrestler who may have been someone else in another place and time, place them in colorful spandex, and give them a whole new persona.

Some have resulted in massive success. I think there's no doubting that The Undertaker character is probably the most successful of all time. That's not to say that WWE never hits on these projects. Many re-packaged wrestlers have gone on to superstar status with the promotion.

Unfortunately, many others have failed. Be it because the performer didn't like or get into the act, the audience didn't get it, or the most likely reason of them all: It was just really stupid.

From the mid-'80s through the mid-'90s had a host of these types of goofy gimmicks. All were portrayed by competent wrestlers, and all were doomed to fail because of how hokey they were.

There have been hockey players, filthy plumbers, garbage men, and Italian lovers. Poem writers and bullfighters, right there alongside a preacher and a teacher.

There was even a magician, but he only lasted for one match and a shower before they showed him the door. We're not sure if they even let him have the shower.

But perhaps two of the most egregious misfires that WWE has ever had when it comes to 'transforming' a wrestler have been Nick Dinsmore and Terry Taylor. Two talented grapplers entered the roster with hopes of superstardom, only to be hung out to dry with dead end personas.

Taylor would sign with the WWE in 1988, over 15 years before Dinsmore's arrival in the 2000s. Perhaps he could have picked up the phone and warned his young counterpart of the dangers of accepting an awful assignment.

Taylor came to WWE with a sparkling resume. He was already a former NWA National Champion and held the Mid-South North American title. Both championships were considered a springboard to greater things in the future.

Taylor, one of the smoothest technical wrestlers in the game, was the perfect 80's babyface. He was good-looking, wore suits and elegant robes, and was pegged as a possible world champion someday. He had it all.

So what did WWE do with Taylor? They made him act like a chicken, of course.

As The Red Rooster, Taylor would cluck, do the cock of the walk, and even dye a red rooster comb through the middle of his blonde hair. It was one of the strangest transformations ever witnessed in pro wrestling.

And it accomplished one thing. It effectively killed off Taylor's career. He could never shake off The Red Rooster character despite returning to his real name in WCW later.

He was a man who once went 60 minutes with Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title. But the Rooster gimmick rendered him a joke performer, and he was never taken seriously again.

Luckily, Taylor found work as an executive with WWE, WCW, and also TNA and continued to thrive in the industry away from the ring.

The Eugene character was over-the-top several years ago, and there's no way WWE would even attempt it today.

Dinsmore was introduced as Eugene, the mentally disabled nephew of RAW GM Eric Bischoff. He would soon be pawned off to Bischoff's assistant, William Regal, who would be a huge part of most of his storylines.

While immediately offensive on the surface, the Eugene character was fleshed out a lot more than The Red Rooster. We saw different sensitive and comical sides to this man-child in an attempt by WWE not to offend the audience.

Over the months ahead, Eugene received a big following, and it seemed that WWE could breathe a sigh of relief as they tiptoed a very dangerous line. They had to portray the character as positively as possible, lest they have advocate groups threatening a boycott.

However, that self-control didn't last long as once the persona became stale, they traded it in for a heel turn. Suddenly, Eugene was bitter and thought he was owed certain privileges because he was 'special.'

That didn't work either, and it wasn't long before he switched back to being a babyface. Eugene was released a short time later.

This left Dinsmore, one of the finest grapplers ever produced by Ohio Valley Wrestling, to wear the albatross of a failed character. The gimmick has followed him to the end of his career. Which is close, considering he just announced his retirement tour.

Taylor and Dinsmore represent several athletes that WWE has missed out on in re-packaging them.

Often in the past, they have shown the ability to have a 'magic touch' when switching a performer's gimmick. Taylor and Dinsmore are not in that group.

It's hard to say which one of these characters is worse. Or if they are even the two of the worst ones in the history of WWE.

But one thing is for sure. Their failure isn't that these creations didn't get over with the audience. It's that they ended up damaging two up-and-coming careers.

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In your opinion, what are some of the worst WWE gimmicks of all time? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.