Who's Gimmick Did You Completely Buy Into?

[wrestler36]

They say the best 'characters' are an extension of the guy with the volume turned up. But obviously Steve Austin wasn't doing his BMF walk flicking people off in public hand throwing beers all over his body. Nor is Bray stalking people in his free time.

When I think back to the 90s when I was a teen, I completely bought into Taz when he was in ECW. Mind you, I knew wrestling was 'staged' even as an 8 year old, but for some reason the packaging of Taz, from his angry promos, walking out to the ring with his 'team' and his overall presence made me think the guy in the ring was the exact same backstage. Paul E. made me forget that he was only 5'8". I literally thought that he was in a bad mood 24/7 and that he was a top legit MMA fighter.

Who blurred that line of showmanship/reality for you?

 

[kris8524]

The undertaker... even tho i knee it was scripted even at a young age something about undertakers performance made me wanna see him and think he was a real psycho in real life... and then of course biker taker had me thinking he was exactly like that

 

[Hem]

The most obvious one for me has to be the face of the company...John Cena. He's all about Hustle, Loyalty and Respect and I completely buy into it. The reason is simple..he seems to be exactly the guy he plays. The work he does for kids or the dedication he has for the WWE exemplifies his character.


As far as "gimmicky" characters I bought into Kane..I used to believe every little story I was told about Kane when I was little. That he was the Undertakers brother, that he was burnt alive, that he had a fake eye and so on so forth. Amazing difference between todays Kane and the initial Kane, isn't it?

 

[Prince Vee]

Obvious choice The Undertaker!!

When I was a kid I totally bought into that Undertaker has 7 lives and He got mysterious powers and he can comeback from death even after he got buried. And everything had happened hadn't it? Even now I'm so much into the gimmick even when I know that its all part of the storyline. I was anticipating for his return at the Wrestlemania 31 and I got goosebumps to see him walking down the ramp.

My second choice would be Dean Ambrose. WWE universe, the commentary team and everyone deem his as one of the most craziest lunatic wrestler in the industry and he had adapted to that gimmick by giving more facial expressions and in-ring psychology and making everyone bought into the fact that he certainly is crazy.

Cheers!!

 

[Goldie]

Ted Dibiase Snr- The Million Dollar Man.
Teds gimmick was all the more believable, with Vince giving him the 5 star treatment in real life- travel, hotels etc.. just so Ted could live up to the gimmick.

In the storyline- Teds gimmick was believable when monsters like Andre the Giant are giving up world titles for the mighty dollar. It was a huge deal when Hogan lost his first world title to Andre- and Ted tried to buy the title from Andre.

Then there were all the cruel vignettes where Ted would tease members of the audience, particularly kids with cash rewards for completing a trick- only for Ted to purposely screw them out of it. Being just as mean with his money to others as he was lavishing himself with it.

His evil laugh just really added to it. Totally believable as cruel man who looked down on others and flaunted his wealth.

 

[TheLittleOne]

Million Dollar Man & Virgil yes i believed that he was a filthy rich ego maniac who felt he deserved championships & glory which he could BUY- OFF!.. i believed into mankind with what ever he did, especially being a maniac and caring more about entertaining us then his well being ( which may have been true)..
in 1991 especially with me being 7 yrs old and those funeral parlor segments locking warrior in coffin or the attack on hogan, that year & some of 92 i completely believed the UNDERTAKER gimmick..

i was also very scared in 91-93 of VADER, that insane smoking entrance gimmick thing! his brutal offense, scary as hell face & mask, i def believed his gimmick.

stonecold , the whole package, the walk, the talk, the jeans ! beer! i loved it..and the rock was a perfect counterpart with the $500 shirts! i was older, but i bought it mostly cause it was super entertaining & mostly the real life attitude of each guy turned up 100%

 

[Mustang Sally]

The Ultimate Warrior......long before we started thinking about steroids and their effects on a performer's personality and body, I thought this guy was completely nuts.

I remember him working for WCCW and doing shows from the Dallas Sportatorium as the Dingo Warrior.....and he was just as crazy, except I swore there were times he deviated from the script because he'd get legitimately over-excited and leave his opponent wondering what the guy was going to do next.

In WWE, weren't there times it seemed he was actually going to snap during a match? I figured Jim Hellwig was either a truly good actor.....or a real maniac.

Fortunately, he seemed to save most of his eccentricities for his rantings outside the ring. Given that, I think attending his contract negotiations would have been as much fun as watching him wrestle.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Brian Pillman in ECW. Pillman was the lose cannon in and out of the ring.

Ric Flair was also the nature boy 24/7.

Like the OP said, the best characters are extensions of the real life person. I feel like these two are perfect examples of that.

Then there was Hulk Hogan who I believed had 24in pythons because he took his vitamins and believed he got to the top by saying his prayers. That was one I bought into as someone who lived their gimmick but didn't.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

No one. At least I don't remember. I started watching around 2005-06, where gimmicks were not a huge part of the show.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

A few come to mind, but they were less about gimmicks than about personalities:

- The Excellence of Execution", Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- "The Heartbreak Kid" / "The Show Stopper" / "Mr. Wrestlemania" Shawn Michaels
- "The Hot Rod" Rowdy Roddy Piper
- The Nature Boy, Ric Flair
- "The American Dream", Dusty Rhodes

 

[OYDK]

The Nature Boy Ric Flair. The way he used to cut his promos and interact with all the women he came into contact with just made him seem like a real life playboy who had way more money (and pussy) than he deserved. Probably because he legitimately lived the life of "The Nature Boy" off screen.

 

[Stan Hansen]

Ric Flair and the Undertaker and Kane all immediately come to mind.

Keep in mind when I think completely buy into, I don't necessarily mean I believed they were what their gimmick was. For me it is more about how they play the character, how much they can keep my attention and make me believe on screen, even though I know it isn't real.

Early Kane was such an awesome character. One of my favorites that I can ever remember.

The character of Dusty Rhodes is another one. What a trip he was, though I never got to see it as it happened, being I'm too young, the WWE Network and internet has helped me get to see who Dusty was.

I will forever mark out to Dusty's music.

 

[Woodstuff]

Definetly Kane.

From believing he was burned alive ect at a young age, to thinking he was cool AF when he had the half mask, and eventually unmasking, Kane was always my favourite wrestler. His work with The Undertaker was always my favourite. I remember one night on Raw, I flipped my lid when Kane returned and saved 'taker from Krispin Wah, then turned and chokeslammed him through the ring.

Also Randy Savage. I only had one Golden Era VHS, and I'd only ever watch it to watch Randy Savage talk about Tito Santana. Loved the guy even more when I finally saw more of his promos.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

Don't know how I could leave out the Macho Man Randy Savage....larger than life, crazy as hell, but one of the greatest in the ring.
I would also include Mick Foley, in all his different incarnations. He made Mankind one of the most bizarre, twisted and warped characters, all the while making it seem real. I guess the whole sitting in the corner pulling chunks of his hair out helped in that department. Hell, he was even believable as Dude Love!!!

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I finally thought of someone. Most will be surprised and probably not even remember the guy. The wrestler I bought into and was legitimately scared of was Kevin Thorn. I remember attending an ECW house show around 2006-07, which is the only pro wrestling event I've attended. As soon as he came out I crouched down in my seat and wouldn't say anything or move. He had scary music, red smoke, and his look was amazing, especially for a 7-8 year old who thinks it's real. He was scheduled to wrestle Rob Van Dam, and though I was a fan of RVD, I was scared to cheer for him. I was never scared of Undertaker or Kane or anyone else, but that's probably because I never saw their entrances live.

 

[rmp0012002]

A few come to mind, but they were less about gimmicks than about personalities:

- The Excellence of Execution", Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- "The Heartbreak Kid" / "The Show Stopper" / "Mr. Wrestlemania" Shawn Michaels
- "The Hot Rod" Rowdy Roddy Piper
- The Nature Boy, Ric Flair
- "The American Dream", Dusty Rhodes

Good selections. Flair 100%. He lived "Ric Flair" fully, inside the ring and out and still does.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Buying into a gimmick is one thing but seeing someone as "legit" is another thing.

The British Bulldogs were one team I always bought into, but particularly Davey's heel run from 95 onwards. This was a guy I'd grown up watching and who had been on World of Sport in the 1970's as a 15 year old... even then I knew who he was. Teaming with Dynamite, they seemed to be total badasses... Kid clearly was backstage, you really didn't mess with him (unless you were Jacques and that took some balls) and Davey came across as a friendly, but dangerous guy (as was borne out by his backstage/public) fights over the years.

Once Davey was solo, he came across as the genuine guy, doing it for his nation but once he went heel he was 100% legit, doing what he was capable of, getting success and telling the fans "I don't care if you like me". That Bulldog who was tag champ with Owen and who nearly beat Shawn for the title was arguably the best chance WWE had of an "Austin-esque" guy until blind luck got Austin over.

In terms of gimmick, I think the one for me which stood out was Big Bossman. Ray Traylor actually had been a Corrections Officer, he had the right level of meanness and charisma to make the role work. It's a shame Vince babyfaced him so soon... he could have been a top heel for 5 years. My dad hated wrestling and always made fun of the gimmicks... BBM was one guy I could fire back with and say, "Actually, he did do that job, so it's a fair gimmick"...

 

[Wald]

I'm going to leave aside characters like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Benoit and guys that were all about proving that they were the best because it isn't really a gimmick. Instead I'll say that Brian Pillman is the guy I bought in to most when he was the Loose Cannon. I genuinely did believe that Pillman had lost his mind and was jumping from company to company because he didn't give a f***.

I'm not too sure if we're allowed post articles here so I apologise to the mod if who cleans this out if we're not, but here's an article I wrote on Pillman a few months back: http://www.leftways.com/2015/03/loose-cannon-brian-pillman/

 

[The Warlord]

Bret Hart's anti-American gimmick.

It was done so well that you really felt like he hated the US and all Americans. People talk about Bret's mic skills being bad...but during this phase he created some of the best promos in wrestling history.

 

[Just Do It]

i was also very scared in 91-93 of VADER, that insane smoking entrance gimmick thing! his brutal offense, scary as hell face & mask, i def believed his gimmick.

Vader was BADASS as a kid. I was a WWF fan #1, WCW was a distant #2, however Sting and Vader were the two WCW personalities I really remember, and Vader was the biggest "baddie" that I remember from my youth, compared to who was on the WWF side (Flair).

 

[Nick-Neuro]

Personally, I really bought into was Sting's crow gimmick. Not many know this, the Sting rebirth actually was the idea of Scott Hall which he got from Brandon Lee's character. That was the most amazing years in pro wrestling history in my opinion. So what did we get? A BS way to have a year and a half build up culminate.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Seriously? The Undertaker... A dead guy made you guys actually believe he was really dead? The Undertaker is the opposite example of realism.

Someone like Bret Hart made you 100% believe his character. He was so good at being real that to this day many people still aren't even sure if the Screwjob was a work or not. That's real.

 

[deadman talking]

I totally bought into a the whole Goldberg gimmick. Loved his intensity and aggressiveness. Cm punk the last few years he wrestled was another one. I couldn't wait to see what was next with them. Also Brock lesner.