Talent vs. Gimmick

[The Brain]

Professional wrestling is a world of gimmicks. Some are good, some are not so good, and some are laughably bad. If a wrestler is lucky enough to get a good gimmick he can have a long and memorable career. If he is saddled with a bad gimmick he will likely go down as a laughing stock in wrestling history. Do you think anyone can succeed with a great gimmick or does it take a talented individual to make the gimmick work?

The Million Dollar Man is widely regarded as one of wrestling’s greatest gimmicks. That gimmick went to Ted Dibiase and it seems to be unanimous opinion that he played that role brilliantly. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in that role, but is it possible that others could have made the Million Dollar Man work as well as Ted Dibiase? I know it’s impossible to imagine anyone but Dibiase in that role, but try to think about it. Dibiase was given the role in the summer of 1987. Another new talent to the WWF at that time was Sam Houston. A lot of you may not know who he is as he never really accomplished anything in the WWF. What if Sam Houston was given the Million Dollar Man gimmick? Would he have headlined WrestleMania IV and be a hall of famer, or would The Million Dollar Man have just been another failed gimmick? Conversely, what if Dibiase was given the dancing cowboy gimmick that Houston had? Would he have faded away within a year or would his talent have overcome the gimmick?

Speaking of talent overcoming a gimmick, let’s skip ahead a few years and look at Dibiase’s eventual tag team partner Irwin R. Schyster. I think most people remember Schyster as a pretty good mid card heel rather than someone with a ridiculous gimmick. Think about the gimmick for a second. He was an evil wrestling accountant that wrestled in suspenders and a tie. That doesn’t sound much better than the wrestling garbage man Duke the Dumpster Droese. I mean his last name was Schyster and his initials IRS. Not much different than wrestling plumber TL Hopper. Unlike Droese and Tony Anthony, Mike Rotunda was able to make his gimmick work. Over time we were able to look past his ridiculous gimmick and accept IRS as a legitimate wrestler. He was never a main event star but he went on to have several tag title reigns and contend for the IC title. He had feuds with Big Boss Man, Razor Ramon, and The Undertaker. He even worked a program and got a match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania. I didn’t see Droese doing anything like that. Was an accountant really that much better than a garbage man?

If the gimmick is good enough can a mediocre talent succeed with it, and can a great talent make even a terrible gimmick work? I suppose I answered the second part myself with the IRS example. What are some of your thoughts and examples? After reading some posts I’ll give my opinion regarding the Dibiase example.

 

[CelticCorey]

Yes. I have but one person to say that backs this up: "Dashing" Cody Rhodes.

I mean seriously, I was one of the many who thought Cody would become obscure and Ted would become big. Now a year later Ted is an undercard guy and Cody is one of, if THE best midcarder in WWE right now and is working an outstanding program with Rey Mysterio. Even though the Dashing gimmick is dying, let's look back at it.

I really am not big on the metrosexual lifestyle. They gave him a stupid, STUPID FACEPALM GIMMICK. And what did he do? He turned it to gold and I got behind it and I became a huge fan of Dashing Cody Rhodes. From the music, to the mirror, to the grooming tips, EVERYTHING!!! If they had Dashing Ted DiBiase would it have worked? Hell no. We can now see Cody is an exceptional enough of a talent to take a shit gimmick and get over.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Having a good gimmick can do wonders for a wrestler. I think the best modern day example would be Randy Orton. Orton was a cocky young Punk during his Evolution days, and he had this same character after he won the World Heavyweight Championship from Benoit at Summerslam. But Orton's face run was a disaster if you ask me. He never had that "wow" factor as the good guy. Orton would turn heel again, but over the years, his character would become a lot more darker and psychotic. Orton was supposed to be the bad guy during the Mania 26 feud with Rhodes and Dibiase, but the fans started to go nuts for him. Orton still gets insane pops now, and he can be looked as the most popular face/tweener in all of pro wrestling. As far as Orton's ring work goes, his matches are usually not worth looking forward to. Sure, he had an awesome street fight with Mick Foley at Backlash 2004, he had a nice match with Taker at Wresltemania, and his WWE Championship match with Cena at Summerslam 2007 was pretty damn good, but Orton has only had a handful of high quality matches. Orton can be boring in the ring. He has a quick and deadly finisher, and his DDT through the ropes can look devastating, but Orton can be boring with his constant attack of stomps and punches. Still, Orton is pro wrestling's most beloved lunatic. His facial expressions always look creepy, and Orton's deep and monotone voice makes him sound cold and calculating.

Then you have guys like Daniel Bryan. Bryan's character is nerdy, but there's nothing too spectacular about his gimmick. But Bryan is amazing inside the ring, and he did manage to get some nice reactions from live crowds in during his US Championship run in 2010. Bryan's talent inside the ring was able to get him over with fans, and he had an outstanding run in 2010, as he produced a good amount of high quality matches.

A good character can do wonders for a wrestler, but I do think the wrestler must have some talent. Guys like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles don't have the best or flashy characters, but they can wow us with their matches. During the Attitude Era, The New Age Outlaws were way over with the fans. Billy Gunn and The Road Dogg Jesse James had tons of charisma, and they could always be fun and entertaining to watch. Road Dogg could work the mic, and Billy Gun was very charismatic. These two probably won't be remembered as the best tag team of all time, but they were excellent as a duo, and the fans were always hanging on their every word during their promos.

 

[ABMorales787]

3 out 3, 5 out of 5, 10 out of 10, talent always wins. What your proof? look no further than the name "Ted DiBiase". No, not the person. The name. I mean both people. They both played the same character. One is remembered as one of the greatest heels of all time. The other, was an absolute embarrassment. Bad booking? No. People with talent can make bad booking good. The Undertaker can tell you more about that. Who in the hell thought a mortician/zombie was a good idea? Doesn't matter at this point, because Mark Callaway turned that gimmick into one of the most iconic figures of pro wrestling. Howie Doite wonders how he do it. Easy. Just add talent.

Why did the Goldust gimmick work? Because Dustin Rhodes had a knack for that. Slap in on anybody else. Only a talented worker will make it work. The Rock. Give his gimmick to... Bob Holly. Would it work? No. Why? Holly never had that kind of talent. Slap it on a guy like Road Dogg. He's shown he has the skills. Thats for sure.

Did I make my point? Talent > gimmick. Always. Otherwise, it won't work.

 

[luxferre]

Talent doesnt always win....one guy in particular stand's out as the best example.

Ultimate Warrior....Great gimmick....NO Talent

 

[ABMorales787]

Talent doesnt always win....one guy in particular stand's out as the best example.

Ultimate Warrior....Great gimmick....NO Talent

Nope. Still wrong. Jim Hellwig had the energy and body to pull off the attitude. No way in hell would it work on somebody who 1) Wasn't as musclebound and flexible as he was or 2) as energetic and charismatic as he was. He was a success because he had the talent to draw. Regardless of his greed, he showed he had the talent. You look at a guy like The Great Khali, no matter how big he was, it didn't matter and the fact that he was just height and no ring ability showed and he quickly died out. That, it an example of gimmick over talent. The monster always works, but if the wrestler has no talent, it won't last long.