What gimmicks are before/after their time?

[HeymanHustler]

As we all know, a gimmick in pro wrestling can either make or break a wrestler, but what we don't often consider is how importance the time that said wrestler debuts that gimmick makes. If Hulk Hogan debuted this week opposed to the 80's, he'd either get booed quickly or get as polarizing of a mixed reaction as John Cena gets on a weekly basis. In an age where the majority of fans goo-goo-ga-ga over wrestlers with personalities closer to their real life personas, like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and Kevin Steen and Samoa Joe, how much of a chance would characters like The Undertaker or Sting would have if they debuted with their famous gimmicks today? Now, there are also gimmicks that probably would have gotten over a lot more if they debuted in the 80's, such as Alexander Rusev. A lot of comments I've been reading on the guy were that the "big USA-opposing Russian" gimmick is boring in this day and age and probably would have gotten more over if he debuted around the WWF days against guys like Hulk Hogan.

What I'm asking is what gimmicks do you think were before their time and which were ahead of their time? What gimmicks do you see today that would have faired better with audiences years ago and which gimmicks that were around years ago would have faired better if they came around today?

If you ask me, Ken Shamrock would have been perfect for the main event scene if he, or at least a character like him, first appeared in WWE today. His gimmick was simply "MMA fighter guy". That could probably be said better, but that's what he was. It was evident he was an ass kicker that looked like he could snap you in half, but since MMA-UFC was still a fairly new concept at the time he came in, audiences didn't really connect with him enough to put him in the main event title hunt. Now, UFC is a global phenomenon and MMA itself has gotten much more popular. I guarantee if a guy like him came onto the scene now, he'd be much more popular with crowds than he was in the Attitude Era.

What do you think?

 

[Wolf Pac]

Deuce N' Domino.

If they had been around back in the early 90's when WWE had all the gimmicks and cartoon characters running around and when reruns of Happy Days were still showing, I think these guys would've been a lot more successful. They had a cool entrance, cool theme, had good looks, were talented in the ring, and the "Crack In The Mouth" was a nice finisher. And there were a lot of tag teams back then they could've feuded with. They were a great team just stuck in the wrong era.

 

[jbwphoto1]

Exotic Adrian Street. Not really sure what era though. Would have been nice for him to stick around Mid-Atlantic longer than he did back in the 80s, but he was a little too much for the fans at that time.

 

[Soulblazed]

Interesting thread....

Some gimmicks that would've worked in the 20th century-

Rusev/Lana-Obviously they'd have gotten away with doing much more if they were around during the 70s and 80s before political correctness and *****fication came around..That's why they can't really do anything today as far as promos go..As entertaining as Lana is on the mic(not to mention how beautiful she is as well), like I said, in the 70s/80s she would've been able to cut much better promos talking about the superiority about the USSR over the USA.

Adrian Street-I could see him either being in the 50s as a tag team partner for Gorgeous George or in the mid 90s as a tag team partner for Goldust. If he were with George, they could've been the most controversial tag team of the mid 20th century, whereas if Adrian Street debuted in early 1996 as Goldust's partner, that also would've generated shitloads of controversy.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Deuce N' Domino.

If they had been around back in the early 90's when WWE had all the gimmicks and cartoon characters running around and when reruns of Happy Days were still showing, I think these guys would've been a lot more successful. They had a cool entrance, cool theme, had good looks, were talented in the ring, and the "Crack In The Mouth" was a nice finisher. And there were a lot of tag teams back then they could've feuded with. They were a great team just stuck in the wrong era.

That is a great pick. It was the first one that came to mind for me too. I though the gimmick was very silly at the time and didn't really enjoy anything about the team, but it would have been a perfect fit for the early 1990s when the company was very gimmick-heavy.


Muhammed Hassan

Now this was a gimmick that wasn't suited to the times. It was a good gimmick, but not suitable for the world in the mid 2000s with all the terrorist activity occuring globally, and the controversy of the character led to it being dropped pretty rapidly. Hassan would have been perfect for the late 80s, he could have teamed with Colonel Mustafa and the deserter Sargeant Slaughter, and gathered even more heat in that angle (which was very controverial already). The wrestler Mark Copani did look very talented, and it's a shame for him that this gimmick ended his WWE career.

The Boogeyman

The gimmick was just ridiculous. It just seemed too cartoony and childish for the time period. I think Boogey would have been more comfortable around the time of wrestlers such as Mantaur, The Gobblygooker etc. I just couldn't buy him as a serious competitor in the 2000s.

 

[jbwphoto1]

Interesting thread....

Some gimmicks that would've worked in the 20th century-

Adrian Street-I could see him either being in the 50s as a tag team partner for Gorgeous George or in the mid 90s as a tag team partner for Goldust. If he were with George, they could've been the most controversial tag team of the mid 20th century, whereas if Adrian Street debuted in early 1996 as Goldust's partner, that also would've generated shitloads of controversy.

Soulblazed, I love that idea of Adrian Street and Goldust back in the 90s. Now we have Dustin leading Cody into that realm, so yes, that would have worked.

 

[wrestler36]

Doink the Clown (heel) was before his time. Matt Bourne's persona was just as good as Jake in his prime, or Bray right now. If Doink was during the attitude era or right now, and his clown uniform was a little dingier, he really was a work of art. Being a face with a mini doink was horrible for him, but heel Doink really was a masterpiece.

Lanny Poffo brought a quasi luchador style that I had never seen before. As a kid, I only knew him as the genius. I think he was the first person that I had seen do a moonsault. If he came around a few years later, I could see him having exciting matches with Owen, Michaels, etc

Mike Awesome I think would have been great just before or after the attitude era. This guy had the look and the athleticism. I could totally see him as a Paul Heyman guy now but his size was big but not quite 'big guy.' I think Heyman as a mouthpiece and Awesome, at 6'6 doing springboard planchas and awesome bombs would have been a great duo. By the way, I may be in the very minority when I say I actually thought he pulled 70s guy off really well

 

[Soulblazed]

Soulblazed, I love that idea of Adrian Street and Goldust back in the 90s. Now we have Dustin leading Cody into that realm, so yes, that would have worked.

Yea Street and Goldust would've generated shitloads of media attention with Marlena as their manager! The psychology that both of them could've used as a tag team would have been unparalleled at the time. Their promos alone could've been the best of 1996 if they ever teamed up. Imagine them beating Camp Cornette for the WWF Tag Titles and from there holding the WWF Tag Titles til at least early 1997..

Though I do like what Goldust is doing with Cody, I believe that Adrian Street and Goldust would've been a more memorable team in the long run.