Which successful wrestler do you think does not enjoy the gimmick that he plays?

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

A question that is based out of a thread in this very section and a request via rep from my friend Ferbian. It's a confounding question to be honest and something that is almost impossible to know unless you really know that person in real life. It's not very easy to decipher it by just watching the show. For example according to JBL, Eddie Guerrero hated being a face champion in 2004. I, for one, would have never gotten that. He seemed like he was having the time of his life. But regardless of that little anecdote, I'd like to know what you think.

The only two people who I can think of as the ones who fit the bill are:

John Morrison: It's funny how most people think he is uncharismatic because that did not seem to be a complaint when he was a cocky ladies man. I just get the feeling that he does not enjoy being a face. His promos seem uncoordinated and it feels like he is just reading those lines of a book when he plays a face. He seemed more natural as a heel. He wrestles more or less in the same manner, though.

Jack Swagger: I get the feeling that he does not really like the gimmicky aspect of wrestling all that much. He seems to be a bit concious about his speech impediment and I get the feeling that he considers promo cutting to be a chore. Plus his character is a bit of a goof and maybe because he has a legit amateur background, he does not enjoying portraying a goof. Some of his promos and taunts like the airplane spin look half hearted at times.

OK I'm done, so who do you think does not enjoy playing their gimmick?

 

[Ferbian]

Despite the fact that I agree, it's a hard question to answer, there's one specific name that stands forth for me the most. The name is Kofi Kingston, and sure he seems like he's having a blast, he seems to enjoy himself, but there's just something about his attitude and gimmick that makes it seem forced. He seems like he's forced to be this over the top constantly energetic persona that really needs to be pushed to snap.

And to be honest, I think if Kofi got to play out his "Angry Kingston" persona, you know the one we all got to see against Randy Orton, the one that gave him his push? Yeah, that one. I think he would definitely seem less forced, not because he'd rather be an angry man, but mostly due to the fact that he wouldn't need to be a super friendly persona all the time.

Booker T: Now, this is a sort of weird one really, because I honestly think that Booker T's current gimmick could work, and I'm confident he'd be fully fine with it as well, if he was actually wrestling. The commentary Booker T we have strikes me mostly like a downplayed original Booker T. Hell even I hate that, and I'm sure Booker T could possibly be hating it as well. But I think it lies mostly in the fact that it's due to him not being a wrestler, and being forced to commentate, where the 'ghetto' like style he runs just doesn't really cut it.

Heath Slater: The One Man Rock Band, I mean come on, seriously? He haven't at one single point during his WWE career displayed anything somewhat resembling of a one man rock band, and despite him being energetic and seemingly enjoying it, I'm confident that he'd have to hate it, mostly because it doesn't really make much sense.

 

[The Future Rises]

I had to think about this for awhile. Here's who I think isn't exactly enjoying their gimmick right now :

Ted DiBiase : Ok, what exactly is his gimmick? Oh, that's right, an afterthought! Seriously it seems like that's all everyone thinks of DiBiase. He was Cody Rhodes' bitch for months and I expected a great comeback with a new, fresh character and what happens? He comes back pissed off at Cody only to lose to him at Night Of Champions. New character? No. He's still the afterthought that everyone thinks he is.

Michael McGillicutty : This one is a no-brainer. Joe Hennig has expressed his dislike for his gimmick apparently according to some reports on the internet and a retweet he made on twitter. I definitely see why Joe hates his gimmick, he's a Hennig for crying out loud. Both his father and his grandfather were legends in this business I don't see why they would give him such a crappy name. It seems like a desperate attempt to take the Hennig name away from him and I don't understand why they're doing it. Joe has potential, he has a good look and he definitely learned from the best. The only thing that's stopping him from becoming a star is his crappy ring name and the fact that he's not been given a proper gimmick. The WWE needs to revamp his character and give him the Hennig name. They seriously don't want to drop the ball on him. It's obvious he hates his character and I can't say I can blame him.

 

[harrythem]

I know DDP hated being the "stalker" in 2001...It was too far removed from the real DDP for him to get involved with...and fans were meant to accept that, even though he was banging Kimberly, he'd become obsessed with that troll Sara? Bollocks!!!

I can't imagine Mark Henry was too happy playing "Sexual Chocolate" when they started having him screwing shemales, banging old birds to make hands and admitting he'd been having sex with his sister from the age of 7

 

[SD619]

This is a really interesting thread.

The only current superstar that i feel does not enjoy the gimmick he plays is Daniel Bryan. The whole gimmick of a geek does seem really forced and he seems really uncomfortable doing it. He would be better with a more serious type of gimmick(not necessarily a heel) as it seems to match his in-ring style as well.

 

[One to Remember]

I think when Kane was trying to be comical. Then there was the weeks following his unmasking where they depicted him as grotesque looking.. it was his actual face.. that had to hurt..

Im not sure how much Jeff Jarrett enjoyed being a sexist and battling Chyna.

Austin being pro WCW seemed to trivialize his struggles with them in the early part of his career. I always thought if he was to be in the Alliance atleast give him an ECW shirt.. they treated him better..

Then when he joined forces with Vince I felt like he felt like it was ruining his character and contrary to his established persona. I espcially think he hated playing that guitar backstage.

If Eddie Guerrero hated being a face in WWE its understandable. Anyone that watched him in WCW knows Latino Heat was at his strongest as a heel.

Michael McGilicuddy probably hates not being able to showcase thatfamily name and be called a third generation superstar.

Anything other then the American Dragon persona is going to make Daniel Bryan's teeth grind.

 

[Trill Co$by]

It's easy... John Cena.

Don't let the promos fool you... or even the media interviews... just look at his face when he enters into the arena. You can see that even behind that smile, he wants to just go to the first fan booing him and punch them in the face. And honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he did. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he loves being the Superman/Hogan like character that gets cheers from the fans that he does have, but at the same time, I also can see that he's a man... and just like any man, if you continue to push that man's buttons then he's gonna get angry.

Maybe I'm just over thinking the situation, however, I don't think it's likely. Cena's done everything to perfection recently and still gets booed for it because of some stupid stigma that's been stuck with him. He's like Kurt Angle when he was in WWE... no matter how many times his music played or how many times he went face, Angle would always be stuck to the "You Suck!" chants... which I honestly believe was another reasoning for his departure from the WWE.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It goes back 20 years, but Terry Taylor probably never enjoyed playing "The Red Rooster"......given that he had to die his comb red and crow out loud on the mic. In fact, he most like cried "foul" at having to portray a "fowl."

If his gimmick had been created during the Attitude Era, he probably would have been nicknamed "The Fighting Cock," a term that would have caused Terry to be tarred and feathered back in the era he was active.

 

[ProudFlairMark]

I agree with one of the other posters that the further you get away from the actual person, the chances of success for that gimmick decrease exponentially. Flair, Austin, Rhodes, Rock -- while they may have been exaggerated, those gimmicks directly reflected their actual personalities.

The person who I believe probably dislikes portraying their particular gimmick is The Undertaker. My personal belief is that Mark Calloway does not enjoy portraying "The Dead Man." I think he continues to play The Undertaker because the gimmick is way over, it's established and ingrained in the fabric of WWE history and, quite simply, he's very good at it. I still believe that he probably felt more "in his own skin" as The American Badass/Big Evil. Just my opinion, though.

 

[CleverName51]

First off, to the guys who said Michael McGillicutty...why? that was his idea...he wanted to be different than the family name.

Now on topic: Undertaker, in Mick Foley's second book Foley is Good, I believe Foley actually said that Mark hated the 1999 version of the Undertaker because the blatant references to being Satan made him uncomfortable which led to him taking the time off and coming back as Biker-Taker which was more based on his real life persona.

Also: Sin Cara (Luis Urive): he's obviously uncomfortable working the WWE style and not his Lucha background which is partially why he botches a lot, that has to be frustrating for him

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Now on topic: Undertaker, in Mick Foley's second book Foley is Good, I believe Foley actually said that Mark hated the 1999 version of the Undertaker because the blatant references to being Satan made him uncomfortable which led to him taking the time off and coming back as Biker-Taker which was more based on his real life persona.

I kinda remember Mick Foley's book stating that MICK would have been uncomfortable playing a character with satanic tendencies, but that Calloway was ok with it. Mick also said he missed the original Undertaker character.

The "Bad-Ass" 'Taker IS more true to life for Calloway and I loved the gimmick. However, he took time off due to injuries, and then got injured again when training for a comeback which is why he was off-screen for so long. Also, the gimmick change freshened up the character, which is what alot of wrestlers do after time away- look at Jericho.

With the backstage power Calloway has in the WWE, I do not think he would be still playing the Undertaker gimmick if he hated it, and would not have done the satanic stuff had he been uncomfortable with it. He would have been allowed to alter the gimmick as he is so important to the company.

 

[ABMorales787]

How Mexican Icon, Hector Guerrero even enjoyed dressing as the Gobbledy Gooker is beyond me. The guy is a Mexican icon and was moderately successful in the US. But the most notable fact of his career is that he came out of a giant egg dressed as an anthropomorphic turkey. It wasn't CHIKARA and I doubt the fact that Lady Gaga did a similar thing makes him feel any better.

Shelton Benjamin as a heel also seemed so forced that I doubt he liked it. He was always more flash than anything. How did WWE ever expect him to draw boo's? They even made him go around with his own "mama".

 

[Brahma Bull]

Great thread.

I also think that Cena may be an example. I do believe he plays who he really is in real life, and loves being a hero to the children, but he probably gets pretty pissed when he is constantly booed by a huge amount of fans.

I also think that some black wrestlers did/do not like their gimmick being a stereotypical "black person." An example is cryme tyme. Im sure they had fun with it, but they probably got annoyed about it.