Could Waylon Mercy Have Worked?

[butsecks]

so i've been asking myself this question for a bit now. Waylon Mercy was an undefeated heel, defeated Diesel by countout, but never was a ble to get any further than that since Dan Spivey suffered an injury and soon after that was forced to retire from the wrestling bidness. But what if that didn't happen? could this gimmick have worked?

 

[TheOneBigWill]

No.

The name sounded familiar, but I had to youtube who he actually was. I watched his debut match, against a jobber. (it's mainly considered that your debut match is suppose to be your biggest one in determining who you are, what you're about, and how great you can be through squashes)

First, I did a bit of a background check. His gimmick is based off that of DeNiro's from "Cape Fear". Anytime a character is based on that of someone from the movies, it's almost never going to work.

Second, his look was that of white pants, white shirts, weird tattoo's, and a creepy glare. Not a lot to work with, really.

Finally, his finisher was a Sleeper Hold. Only Roddy Piper, Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase, to me, have found ways of making the Sleeper hold useful. Mercy certainly didn't look like a keeper to me, and why he was even undefeated and defeated Diesel via a countout, is well beyond me.

 

[thesacredcow]

Ok I can think of two gimmicks, based off movie characters that were insanely over. Razor Ramon, taken from Scarface, and Sting when he adopted the Crow gimmick. And lets be honest here, Max Cady was the fucking man. I never saw Waylon Mercy myself, but i think if it had been done right, it could have worked. but maybe not then. I don't think what is essentially a psychopath would have fitted in to the WWE at the time. but during the Attitude Era, or even today, a gimmick like that could definitely work.

 

[The C. Hicks]

I loved Waylon Mercy!

I don't think he would work now though. He was pretty unimpressive even undefeated...althugh I loved the gimmick. But then again...I was 9. Dan Spivey was more impressive as a when he was part of the Skyscrapers.

But then again...I can somehow see WWE fans latching on to his caracter...especially with the catchphrase...
"Lives are gonna be in Waylon Mercy's hands...you know what I mean?" Maybe in a comedic sort of way? I think with some repackaging, he could work...maybe as a sideshow deal (Boogeyman...Kizarny)...or even a manager.

 

[Missin90sWrestling]

Wasnt Walyon Mercy's debut match against a young Jeff Hardy? or was Jeff's debut against Waylon Mercy? im not sure exactly, but i know they wrestled a match against each other... however it wasn't that great

 

[Blueshirt]

The short answer is anything can work if management pushes it hard enough.

 

[dsfedor]

The short answer is anything can work if management pushes it hard enough.

i disagree. a wrestler can get a hard push, but it's ultimately the fans who determine who will work or not.

for example, Kozlov is currently getting an undefeated push (ala Goldberg) and has even been (prematurely) forced into main event title matches at PPVs. yet Kozlov has no personality or charisma and is not getting over as a heel or a face. the fans just don't react to him.

 

[Megadeth]

Festus's Gimmick could be viewed almost like the modern day version of this. I know it's not quite the same, but basically they are both calm before a match, then snap when the bell rings, and change back at the end of the match. Festus seems to have gotten over well enough so I think while Waylon Mercy wouldnt be a main-eventer, he could have been a steady mid-carder.

 

[fallingfraser]

Waylon Mercy got defeated by Savio Vega at In Your House when Diesel and Shawn Michaels beat Bulldog and Yokosuna (the one where Owen Hart missed the match). It was the opening match on the card.

Having said that, that was his only defeat and was a very good character, problem was that he was washed up as a wrestler.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

First, I did a bit of a background check. His gimmick is based off that of DeNiro's from "Cape Fear". Anytime a character is based on that of someone from the movies, it's almost never going to work.

I don't know dude. The original Kane persona screams Jason Voorhees in every way imaginable to me. And wasn't Mankind supposed to be modelled after Hannibal Lecter?

I guess a lot of gimmicks seemed stupid when they were first conceived, even the ones that were popular in movies previously. The success of a gimmick is usually based on the talent and their ability to get over.

Thankfully, back in the day, having a decent manager was all it took for a boring, one trick pony to get over back in the day. I mean look how well Kane, Mankind and Undertaker benefitted from having Paul Bearer as a manager.

As for Waylon Mercy, i've honetly never heard of the guy, so i couldn't say.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Dan Spivey was actually very talented at one point. But by the time he became Waylon Mercy he was coming to the end of his career. I don't know if it would've worked. Even as a ten year old I was unsure if I was supposed to take him seriously.