Best failed gimmicks

M

matty256

Pre-Show Stalwart
Thats the question, what is the coolest, or your favorite gimmick that never made it as far as you thought it would. Either didn't get over, or Vince failed to push it hard enough.

Mine has to be Sean O' Haire's devil's advocate gimmick, I thought that was one of the most innovate gimmicks ever, and it never really got going.

Another one i liked was Mordecia's i thought this guy had great potential and could become the next Undertaker and also have great feuds with the deadman. Last time i saw him at least as Mordecia he jobbed to Mysterio then just vanished then came back as Kevin Thorn with the dumbass vampire gimmick.

And my last one has to be the man that without a shawdow of a doubt would have been one of the best heel champions ever, Muhammed Hassan this guy ws just so damn great on the mic and drew incredible heat. I'm sure if the bombings hadn't happened he would have beaten Taker at the Bash then face Batista at Summerslam and would of most likely lost but he would have been a champion eventually. Its a shame things happened like they did cus this guy could have been great

so those are my favorite gimmicks that never made it. What are yours?
 
Yea, those were three pretty good gimmicks. mine? Kizarny! No. haha, but I'd have to say Shannon Moore. Shannon Moore as the prince of Punk was pretty interesting actually. Did I think he would ever become a world champion i n WWE? No. (Although he did in Pourto Rico) But I saw Shannon possibly gaining a tag title run with Jimmy Wang Yang. Or even take a shot with the Cruiserweight title.

The gimmick was cool, the guy had talent. But sadly, in both runs with the WWE, they overlooked what this kid brought to the table.
 
Oh, this is easy. I was thinking about this today.

Deuce N Domino.

Now, before you laugh, they were the first wrestlers I ever saw. I turned on the TV, and there they were. When I started watching, I thought the tag division looked good. Miz/Morrison, Deuce N Domino, and Yang & Moore. Deuce N Domino had a fantaastically entertaining (to me) gimmick, and a great theme. I was digging the throwback look and stuff, and their location was just cool-sounding.
 
i liked O'Haire's Devil Advocate like gimmick but only as a manager who "brainwashes" people and he coulda started a stable. the whole Piper connection killed any chance it had.

personally i'd have to pick:

DOINK THE CLOWN! he coulda been great. what killed it? the face turn. he was awesome as a heel, scared the kids, the whole mean tricks. it was awesome.
 
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I completely agree about Sean O'Haire. His character looked very intriguing during his promos and I was disappointed when it was dropped so quickly. Another choice for me is Waylon Mercy. I know a lot of people thought he was lame, but I thought he had potential. I'm not saying he would have been a major star, but I am curious to see how he would have developed had he not gotten injured so soon. I know Mercy was actually Danny Spivey and his better days were behind him physically, but still I liked the new character.
 
Muhammed Hassan was a great gimmick and a great wrestler and talker. He just became a bit too controversial because of the world around him. I gotta think if it wasn't for climate he would be WWE/World Champ by now.

I also have to suggest Mr. Kennedy. Now released, so I guess that's failed. He had alot of talent and it was definitely a captivating gimmick.
 
i would choose paul burchill as the pirate!
he was awesome with that gimmick
especilly with that backflip finisher. that was intense
now hes just a lame jobber for ecw.

also duece and domino, the 50's rocked
 
I agree I would have to go with Hassan..In my opinion if not the with out a dout one of the BEST heels ever with out a dout in the top 5 and one of the best gimmicks ever..I really couldent remember a guy being hated so much and I think he was one of the best on the mic(NEXT TO HBK,EDDIE GUERRERO,JERIHCO,CHRISTIAN,AND EDGE) during his time in the WWE..he worked his gimmick so well and I also agree that if the London Bombings had not happend he would have beat Taker went to Summerslam and but I think he would have one the World Championship..
 
The worst part with Hassan was, the day he had the terrorists come on and beat on Taker, was the EXACT same day as the London Bombings. I believe the New York times had a picture of hassan, and had an article called "terrorist on television." Hassan took too much crap, in reality.
 
The best gimmick that didn't go that far. I'm thinking Fake Kane vs. Real Kane. I mean all what happen was Kane threw out the imposter, and took the mask. He all sorts of great potential to have the Undertaker and Kane reunite and take over raw! In fact, the best gimmick that has failed, is Kane! He should have at least of been a 5 or 6 time Champion, but WWE has no Idea to use him.
 
my favorite was Duke The Dumpster Drosey. He gave Triple H a decent fued before the blue blood blew up to become the Game
 
CuddleBuns84 said:
The best gimmick that didn't go that far. I'm thinking Fake Kane vs. Real Kane. I mean all what happen was Kane threw out the imposter, and took the mask. He all sorts of great potential to have the Undertaker and Kane reunite and take over raw! In fact, the best gimmick that has failed, is Kane! He should have at least of been a 5 or 6 time Champion, but WWE has no Idea to use him.
Click to expand...

Good point i didnt think of Kane but your right his gimmick has failed horribly and its a shame.

Another one i was thinking about and people may laugh at me about this was Rob Conways gimmick back in 05 i think. He looked like Rick Rude reincarnated and got a nice small push. I was really expecting him to win the IC title at any moment but it never happened and he started jobbing on Heat before he was eventually released
 
Rob Conway had one of the greatest entrance themes ever.

I actually had hopes for Kizarny. I had heard good things about his wrestling and promo skills. Let's see how WWE failed up his character:

-Having all his vignettes in izzlespeak. Once or twice a sentence would've been fine.
-Having him face. This guy could've been THE crazy heel.
-Having him face an almost-face MVP.
Yeah. He was doomed.
 
I think all or most of the gimmicks that have failed could have been anywhere from good to great if properly pushed and promoted. In my opinion what is wrong with wrestling today is that there is no real gimmicks. In my childhood i would watch people like Hillbilly Jim, Hulk Hogan, Ultimate warrior, Randy savage...and on and on and on. They all had great gimmicks that was actually worked at...hence, they became great. Now as Vince Mcmahon says himself...its alll about the mon-aay. They need to understand that the entertainment value of their programs is far more valuable than how big the company gets.

But to answer your question...My favorite gimmick that failed and don't laugh at me would be the boogeyman. He had all of the elements. Kinda spooky, funny as hell, entertaining in the ring. great promos with the little songs. He could have made an excellent heel for the mid-carders if they had had the time to push him right...would have made for a cool long running IC champion to me. Also I really think WWE screwed the pooch with Matt Morgan...giving him that awful stuttering gimmick.....
 
matty256 said:
Thats the question, what is the coolest, or your favorite gimmick that never made it as far as you thought it would. Either didn't get over, or Vince failed to push it hard enough.

Mine has to be Sean O' Haire's devil's advocate gimmick, I thought that was one of the most innovate gimmicks ever, and it never really got going.

Another one i liked was Mordecia's i thought this guy had great potential and could become the next Undertaker and also have great feuds with the deadman. Last time i saw him at least as Mordecia he jobbed to Mysterio then just vanished then came back as Kevin Thorn with the dumbass vampire gimmick.

And my last one has to be the man that without a shawdow of a doubt would have been one of the best heel champions ever, Muhammed Hassan this guy ws just so damn great on the mic and drew incredible heat. I'm sure if the bombings hadn't happened he would have beaten Taker at the Bash then face Batista at Summerslam and would of most likely lost but he would have been a champion eventually. Its a shame things happened like they did cus this guy could have been great

so those are my favorite gimmicks that never made it. What are yours?
Click to expand...

That gimmick was the single best failed gimmick the WWE's ever had. I mean, Sean O'Haire was fresh, just leaving WCW and didn't make a clean debut until those vignettes. Those promos were over, but when he started doing things in person, it didn't go over as well. Then they bailed too late and buried him by putting him with Roddy Piper. It's a case of the WWE simply bailing out too early with something that could have been potentially groundbreaking.
 
foxhound101 said:
I think all or most of the gimmicks that have failed could have been anywhere from good to great if properly pushed and promoted. In my opinion what is wrong with wrestling today is that there is no real gimmicks. In my childhood i would watch people like Hillbilly Jim, Hulk Hogan, Ultimate warrior, Randy savage...and on and on and on. They all had great gimmicks that was actually worked at...hence, they became great. Now as Vince Mcmahon says himself...its alll about the mon-aay. They need to understand that the entertainment value of their programs is far more valuable than how big the company gets.

But to answer your question...My favorite gimmick that failed and don't laugh at me would be the boogeyman. He had all of the elements. Kinda spooky, funny as hell, entertaining in the ring. great promos with the little songs. He could have made an excellent heel for the mid-carders if they had had the time to push him right...would have made for a cool long running IC champion to me. Also I really think WWE screwed the pooch with Matt Morgan...giving him that awful stuttering gimmick.....
Click to expand...

i agree with you about the Boogeyman. he had it going too, but the worm eating got old. he needed to keep pushing it with scary stuff that would scare people.
 
Coady Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. as Legacy. I mean come on these guys only have heat due to their association with Randy Orton. I'm pretty sure its been over a year since they last held gold at a tag team, and to make it even worse, they just got their intro music changed from that "Priceless" song to something new. Maybe it will get better over the next few months, but its been going on for 6+ months now, and their still dead in the water.

The Boogie Man. If the worms, the smoke, and the paint wasnt creepy enough, the way the guy moved was creepy itself. If pushed right the Boogie Man could of had Undertaker like mind games when feuding with other people. Granted there was no way he would ever make it past the middle card, but he could of been used a lot better.

Matt Morgans st..st..st...st..studdering gimmick, oh wait this thread was about failed gimmicks that could of worked...not gimmicks that ruined wrestlers that could of been extremely popular but were pushed wrong.
 
I liked the Natural Butch Reed. With Slick as his manager he was so cool and badass. I was sure he would feud with Hogan then he just disappeared. Also, doubt anyone will remember, but in 1997 I believe they were showing promos for a huge guy named Brakus but nothing came to fruition. Anyone remember the Stalker from 1996? Damn I wish they kept him lol
 
Maybe you could throw Public Enemy and Hugh Morris in the mix if we're talking gimmicks that should have worked in the WWE. In WCW, and ECW (respectively), these guys were great but totally misused under Vince's thumb. And maybe put Nathan Jones and Heidenreich for good measure. Never try to make someone an "honorary" member of a legendary group. I liked Droz until he tried to take Hawk's spot. Where was the wellness program when Hawk needed it?
 
Call me crazy but I loved the Adam Bomb gimmick. He could have been a monster heel. Unfortunately, they placed him with Harvey and it was downhill not to mention the uncalled for face turn...
 
To be honest, I loved the Papa Shango gimmick. I've been to New Orleans a fair share of times, and seen the backwoods areas of the place as a kid. I'm not saying that Vince got the gimmick down completely, but that sense of myticism to the gimmick made it pretty eerie. Normally, I'm not a fan of mixing the supernatural with wrestling, but this gimmick was pretty out there, and it was extremely unique. It made me actual fearful of that sense of voodoo, and especially those backwoods areas of Louisiana.

The only problem was fairly evident: Charles Wright was just not that good of a wrestler. I know that some people like him, especially with his Godfather gimmick, but I found him to be absolute shit in the ring, and I found his many matches with the Undertaker to be painfully excruciating. If I could have disemboweled myself from the anus up, I may just try it, rather than sit through an actual Papa Shango match. He was tall, he was somewhat chubby, and that's really all he had going for him from a wrestling standpoint. But from a promo standpoint, his gimmick was the biggest mind fuck this side of the boat ride from "Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory". I felt like I was being sent to the fucking twilight zone every single time I watched one of his promos, and was terrified he was going to reach out through the screen, grab me by the scrotum, and chop off my nuts right then and there through the television.

If I could, i would have put the gimmick on someone else, but I really can't give you a name off of the top of my head.

Just watch this promo, and tell me that you aren't scared for your immortal soul...

[youtube]5qMTkxQY79A[/youtube]

Fucking creepy, right? I mean, the idea of Sean Mooney married?

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Papa Shango was just flat out creepy, and Bobby Heenan was the funniest man thw world will ever know.
 
Kizarny.Definitely had the potential to be a decent character.

1. You've got a gimmick that allows for a flashy costume and some weird ass shit involved in that as well - which would be a nice contrast against a sea of "generic black trunks and boots" that we see all too often.

2. The "iz" speak was annoying, yeah, but as Flyboy above says, they could have limited it. Instead of saying every goddamn word like that, he could have just had some catch phrases. They'd have most likely caught on if utilized correctly.

3. Potential to be a creepy heel or a cartoonish face. Similar to Doink. People are afraid of clown stuff, so when you make him a heel, you up the ante on that and make him someone that people don't want to be in the front row for. When he's a face, you make him brighter and more fun.

4. The name Kizarny. It just worked very well.

5. All those weird ass lights and stuff for the entrance? Come on!

The problem with the situation was that the guy portraying the character sucked ass. He had no skills whatsoever and he was too old for that position anyway, seeing as Kizarny could've become an Undertaker type of gimmick that lasts for a full decade. In my opinion, they should play the retcon angle. Have someone that doesn't have the proper personality to get over on their own, who needs a gimmick but can really be impressive in the ring - preferably someone that can do wild spots, as that would get the crowd pumped, and it would go along with the crazy daredevil type of character - and you put him as Kizarny. Just never mention that someone else played the part. We're wrestling fans, we know we're supposed to forget shit on a daily basis. That's why we don't bitch and complain too much when you see John Morrison and CM Punk teaming up despite never having reconciled any of their differences from the past lol.
 
Best Gimmick that failed or wasnt pushed............. HEEL J.R.!

Could have been brilliant as the scorned worker who brings in the new heel talent on a regular basis. maybe handed a GM role to screw things up for old friends who never respected him enough. Endless possibilities to shake the whole show up! Could've been brilliant when mcmahon was off air!!! what do you think guys?
 
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