Gimmicks That Were A Missed Opportunity

[Aeon Mathix]

I'll leave Sean O'Haire out as he has been discussed plenty as a huge ball dropped.

This thread is mainly discussing which gimmicks that you viewed as gold but were in disbelief at how they were handled so poorly. It can be anything from the past or even present day if you view a superstar's gimmick should be used better.

I will start off by throwing Bad News Barrett into the hat. Now while I don't think Barrett is bad at this gimmick or it wasn't getting over, I feel it could have been SO much more than him simply coming out before a match and insulting the crowd or saying how much of a bummer it is that he is going to win and his opponent is going to lose.

Case in point; the 2014 Royal Rumble. I thought about this as the Rumble was going on, but I cannot take credit for it as I remember another poster bringing it up in I think a live discussion. Number 30 hits and everyone is wanting Daniel Bryan but instead gets silence when the buzzer hits and then someone says "Im afraid i've got some BAD NEWS" and Barrett comes out as the number 30th instead of Bryan. This would have been gold, but unfortunately did not happen as I don't think WWE was expecting the reactions from that night.

I also feel they missed a great opportunity with Barrett in the first Chicago Raw after Punk walked out. Could you imagine the riot with Punk's music playing and someone comes out in his ring gear and hoody only for Bad News to turn around and reveal it was him? It would have been great.

Goldberg in the WWE is kind of debatable as it wasn't really a missed opportunity more than it was just a straight up flop. His booking could have and should have been MUCH better in my opinion.

Any wrestler you know that could have been better utilized past or present?

 

[supaman5279]

Bray Wyatt. I don't know who thought letting him be a tweener face was a good idea. The guy is a heel. Letting the crowd sing along with him and even going for the cheap pop during his entrance is just dumb. He wrestles against faces and having the crowd pop for him while still popping for his opponent is counterproductive. The WWE roster is running low on strong heels and he could've filled that void. I think he was toned down to get more heat on The Authority.

 

[mral82]

The Greatest Gimmick that woulda and coulda been great was Muhammad Hassan but due to the way the world has become ever since Sept 11th, 2001 a bunch of Sissified Whhinny lil brats that can't decipher TV from Reality. I myself was loving the character that Marc brought to it but a bunch of lil biyotches got him pulled as I'm surprised Rusev has lasted this long. So my pick for the Gimmick that got a missed opportunity was and is Muhaamad Hassan.

 

[Slash-LN]

The Greatest Gimmick that woulda and coulda been great was Muhammad Hassan but due to the way the world has become ever since Sept 11th, 2001 a bunch of Sissified Whhinny lil brats that can't decipher TV from Reality. I myself was loving the character that Marc brought to it but a bunch of lil biyotches got him pulled as I'm surprised Rusev has lasted this long. So my pick for the Gimmick that got a missed opportunity was and is Muhaamad Hassan.

They would have been fine if it weren't for the media backlash over the men in ski mask carrying Daivari out the way they did so soon after the London bombings.

If they had just edited that part out of the show there wouldn't have been any problem and the storyline could have continued.

I don't really get why he retired after that. Maybe he felt he had reached his peak and would never be able to get back there again.

It sucks for him though because he was really hot at the time and working with the Undertaker.

He probably could have had a decent run.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Bray Wyatt. I don't know who thought letting him be a tweener face was a good idea. The guy is a heel. Letting the crowd sing along with him and even going for the cheap pop during his entrance is just dumb. He wrestles against faces and having the crowd pop for him while still popping for his opponent is counterproductive. The WWE roster is running low on strong heels and he could've filled that void. I think he was toned down to get more heat on The Authority.

You're missing the point entirely... he's a CULT LEADER...

So every cellphone that lights up or voice that sings is part of the Wyatt Family...the cult... parents, kids, thats pretty scary when you look at it...and a great heel... the one who manipulates you into loving him... That doesn't mean WWE won't blow it, but I think the massive rise on the PWI 500 might actually impress/refocus them with him now... 115 to 6 in one year means they have something very special.

As for true missed opportunities...it's easy to point to guys like Barrett from the Nexus period and the like but that's not really the gimmick not being used right...it's politics.

One that stands out for me was "heel" R-Truth a few years back, instead of rapping and involving the fans he would smoke on his way to the ring and basically be completely anti-fan. Truth has a limited appeal, but they had something with that, the guy who genuinely just didn't give a "shizzle"... They could have taken that to some good places with time and the courage to stay the course, not ditch it as soon as some parent's group or anti-smoking group complained...speaking of Truth, if the Bunny and R-Ziggler are ok then they should have also done some more with Pretty Ricky.. if you've never seen it, it's on youtube and that again, was something pretty good that could have gone somewhere... guessing the rappers of the same name complained...

Going further back, Palmer Cannon was a gimmick that could have gone somewhere. They gave it to Johnny in the end as "Mr. Entertainment" but Cannon as the "network exec" was headed in that direction too.. things like People Power may have worked a lot better with him.

One guy few will remember was Hade Vansen, he was around developmental for a looong time and he only did one promo on WWE TV... he had a strong look and a gimmick somewhat similar to the Mandarin from Iron Man 3... but he was targeted for Taker far too soon and it was aborted... The promo that aired wasn't as good as say the O'Haire ones but the potential in his "Prophet" gimmick was definitely there... Rumor is the Taker feud was a pet project of Freddy Prinze Jr. during his time as a writer and Vince saw Vansen and felt he was "too small"... which is fair, he'd be giving away nearly a foot and 100lbs... BUT that's typical Vince, worried about that when they still could have used him, but as a longer build to Taker, or to take on others like Punk, Jeff Hardy etc... He had the look, the classic "English Movie Bad Guy" accent and was no slouch in the ring, anyone who gets hired first ahead of Barrett, Sheamus and McIntyre clearly could go.

 

[MattRhys20]

I've said before and I'll say again... 3MB mocking local bands

Now I can't be the only one that thinks this should have carried on as it was, if Damien Sandow can come out as Davey Crockett, Sherlock Holmes, Lebron James etc, then 3MB should have been allowed to carry on as they were. Each week that they go to a city with some kind of musical influence or famous artist, have 3MB come out and parody it.

Miami: The Pitbulls (parodying Pitbull)
New York: 75 Cents (50 Cent)
Brooklyn: Kay Z (Jay-Z)
Anywhere in California: The Sandmen (The Beach Boys)
New Jersey: Non-Jovee (Bon Jovi)
Detroit: N and N (Eminem)

 

[Mustang Sally]

Barry Windham as The Widowmaker.

This happened so long ago I can't believe I remember it (1989-90), but it was such a fearsome gimmick that it scared the hell out of me. Windham was a big guy and had a menacing presence. As he talked about going after Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart, I couldn't wait for it all to happen.

But, it never did. He won preliminary matches....and I can't remember him ever losing, but he kept disappearing from the TV screen with no explanations....and his career was never able to gather enough steam to make a difference. Possibly he was constantly fighting with WWE management over how his role was to be played; I'd read that Barry Windham could be a contentious S.O.B.. At any rate, he was gone before engaging in matches against the top guys.

Too bad, because The Widowmaker scared me in the same way The Undertaker did back in those days.

 

[fenderjapan]

Waylon Mercy. Its not anyone's fault really, Spivey was just too beat up to do it. Unfortunately the re-hash with Bray Wyatt (yes yes I know its not identical but close enough, and obviously inspired) isn't quite the same.

 

[OYDK]

Raven. I thought this dude was incredible in both ECW and WCW but for some reason WWE never even gave him chance after his return in 2000. I always felt Raven was legitimately relatable to the "Outcast" section of WWE's audience and could have been the first "Voice of the Voiceless".

 

[Elder_Cartwright]

They pretty much drop the ball whenever they label someone "The Future" ; My two main examples being Drew McIntyre and *prepare yourselves* Frankie Kazarian. I think Drew McIntyre was incredibly talented. And I really liked him being hand-picked by Mr. McMahon to be the future of WWE. And Kazarian was announced as Frankie "The Future" Kazarian. That's where he got the whole "Back to the Future" idea (his finisher was called the "Flux Capacitor") And Drew became a jobber rocker and Frankie got his fame in TNA but I feel that both of them could've exceeded where they ended up had WWE handled them better.

Honorable mention : The Hart Dynasty. I'm a huge fan of both Kidd and Natalya, and I really wanted to see them really excel.

Honorable Mention 2.0 : Almost every second generation wrestler. When they make them dependent upon the fact that their father was a wrestler, it almost makes it seem like they don't have nothing going for them except being Joe Everywrestler's son.

Last one : The Legend Killer

 

[Wolf Pac]

I'm gonna with a guy who hasn't wrestled for any of the major companies - Krimson. Krimson is an indy wrestler whose gimmick is based on Heath Ledger's Joker, he tried to get a job with TNA a few years back, but TNA never hired him and they stole his name and character, and gave them to Tommy Mercer (Crimson) and Sting. I've never seen the guy wrestle but from what I've seen of his promos, he nails The Joker character perfectly and cuts some fine promos. The Krimson name and Joker character were wasted and never went anywhere on Sting and Crimson, but had TNA hired this guy, it could've been gold. I could have seen him having some potentially awesome feuds with guys like Abyss, Sting, Angle, Hardy, getting into their heads and playing mind-games with them.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I can't believe I'm actually saying this out loud, but I'll go with the evil version of Doink the Clown. In this original version of Doink, we had an interesting character, one who started out jovial, went dark and intense, and then reverted back to laughter again. When he got down to business, evil Doink was someone not to be messed with. I thought he was a pretty interesting character, and the wrestler who portrayed him was pretty decent as well.

Then of course he went to comedy jobber status, complete with tricycle, a sidekick named Dink, and all of the other garbage that essentially ruined the character beyond repair. While I'm not sure how much longevity that character would have had, I think he could have stuck around longer than he did, and had a more significant run.

Of course, some would say there's no place in professional wrestling for a wrestling clown. That could never be taken seriously, and is a slap in the face to the guys who ply their trade in a more conventional manner. However, in an era when we have matadors with their own personal bull, alligators in costume, wrestling bunnies, ballroom dancers, and for a while, a Funkasaurus, I wouldn't be too quick to discount the possibility of an evil wrestling clown.

 

[wrestler36]

I can't believe I'm actually saying this out loud, but I'll go with the evil version of Doink the Clown. In this original version of Doink, we had an interesting character, one who started out jovial, went dark and intense, and then reverted back to laughter again. When he got down to business, evil Doink was someone not to be messed with. I thought he was a pretty interesting character, and the wrestler who portrayed him was pretty decent as well.

Believe it man! I was going to say the same thing. Heel Doink (Matt Bourne) was AWESOME. His promos of a pained clown were so eerie, kind of like a combination of Piper and Jake the Snake rolled into one. Man, if he was around during the Attitude era, dirty up his costume, have him play with fire or something, he could've had some good feuds with the likes of Mankind or Undertaker. People remember the goofy music and costume and of course, Dink. But his first few months as a heel, he was pretty awesome. A victim of bad timing really. Here is one of his awesome promos

 

[The Boss]

The New Blackjacks. While I know that anything labeled "the new" is doomed to fail, I had high hopes for this team. First of all they had the look and the act down to a tee. Barry Windham as the son of Blackjack Mulligan looked especially like his dad. And his partner Blackjack Bradshaw was the nephew of Blackjack Lanza who was also their manager. This was much more than just a couple of guys copying a legend's gimmick. This was a good package with two talented wrestlers bringing back a favorite gimmick from their families past.

 

[Freddy4190]

I really dug Mordecai. I just... REALLY REALLY loved Mordecai. I wish that would have went farther. He was a big dude, he was built, he was terrifying, he had a killer theme song and a killer gimmick I believe. He was a little iffy as far as in-ring work, but he could have worked the kinks out. Him and Undertaker or him and Kane would have been glorious once they had him where he needed to be. Special mention definitely goes to Muhammad Hassan, because that dude had so much damn heat, and he was a pretty rad wrassler as well, but because of the people getting butthurt, it wasn't so.