Your favourite gimmick of recent times.

[Winds-Of-Change]

Title says it all really.

Whats your favourite gimmick of recent times?

Mine has to be Cody Rhodes' disfigured masked maniac. He convinced himself he was disfigured, when there was nothing wrong with him. Such an awesome potrayal of a troubled man.

 

[Just Do It]

Of recent times? Jeesh. Fandango had potential until it all went to hell with over saturating his pros. I like the little bull running around on Raw, it's fun and fresh

 

[Kaptain Klobber]

The Boogyman. That was a fun gimmick, albeit gross. He had a really cool entrance, and the eating the worms was creepy and cool. Boogyman started to go to hell after fighting the Miz at Armageddon 2006. He really wasn't a bad wrestler either. After he moved to the new ECW he had great matches with Kane and big daddy V. He had some fun moments, like the Worm Kiss on sharmell at WM 22. He was always a favorite of mine.

 

[dtroppe]

There have been very few good or fun gimmicks in wrestling in years. I loved the BoogeyMan and the Highlanders. I thought those were fun gimmicks and presented wrestlers that did not look like the Cookie-cutter WWE look that is currently a fad in WWE.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The Nexus.

Pro wrestling has always had vigilante groups in one form or another, but the writing and planning for Nexus was better than any I've ever seen. I never watched NxT, so I had no idea who these guys were when they first showed up, but the idea of 7 (or was it 8?) nobodies who wrought havoc because they did everything as a cohesive group made the Summer of 2010 one of the most memorable times ever in WWE. Their mass persecution of John Cena added miles to his character's dimension, as he displayed the principle that discretion was the better part of valor as he left the ring rather than being destroyed by all those guys (can you imagine Hulk Hogan in the 80's doing that?) and when Cena enlisted mega-heels like Chris Jericho and Edge to work with him against Nexus, it was such a completely unique concept that I couldn't think of anything in the past quite like it.

What I remember best about Nexus in that summer was that I couldn't wait to tune in Raw each Monday to see what they were going to do next. I can't give a higher recommendation than that.

 

[Pedigree1]

I am totally with Mustang Sally! The nexus without a doubt. The way it was written,it was nothing short of genius. A total band of badass men in the PG era made you want to tune in,every Monday Night Raw. When Cena had to enlist heels such as Jericho and Edge to rally against the Nexus? Are you kidding me? There is no other gimmick in recent memory that even comes close to the NEXUS

 

[GeneralKarim]

I'm onboard the Nexus train aswell.

They had me wanting to watch Raw every week like reall really wanting, unlike now where I watch just cause I hope something good will happen.Every week with them and their interaction with Cena and them stomping everybody was pure gold in my eyes.And Wade Barrett exceeded all expectations when he carried the Nexus on the mic all the way and did it confidently and articulately.

I loved the Masked Cody Rhodes angle as well.Tho I think they could've gone a step further and make his character even darker, it was still a pretty good executed storyline.The promos, the bags and all that good stuff was very nice and showed that Cody Rhodes is not just some other dude in tights.

I was in love with the Wyatt Familly ever since they I started watching some youtube stuff and later on watching everything they do on every show possible.Who would have knows that Windham Lawrence Rotunda at only 26 years of age can portray this character with such ease and masterfulness.

I wasnt that much of a fan of the tank with the ferrari engine gimmick ( tho it suited him I guess as a starter "gimmick" ) but I always saw something in his eyes that told me this guy can to better than this. Eric Rowan is ok. But Luke Harper, the dude is just amazing in this role and as Bray he has completely gone balls deep into his character.

But yea in the end, the Nexus was THE angle of the PG era, for me.( might have mentioned love 1 too many times ! )

 

[fenderjapan]

As far as the gimmick, I dig Zeb Colter/Jack Swagger's real american gimmick...if only it wasn't Jack Swagger. Can't stand JS. But I love the idea for the gimmick. Classic heel heat. And Zeb is a great mouthpiece. Its unfortunate they didn't get someone else to be the focal point of that angle.

 

[The Butcher]

I'm really big on Bray Wyatt's gimmick, and was as excited for his debut as I've been for any Superstar in recent memory. It borrows from a lot of great sources, but Bray himself has taken all the inspirations and wove them together to form something familiar, yet original. I was worried that WWE would misuse him on the main stage after he made such an indelible mark on NXT, but I really can't complain too much.

Similar to Wyatt and his family, I was a huge fan of the Straight Edge Society, in particular their leader, CM Punk. It's my favorite incarnation of Punk to date. Creepy, self-righteous, manipulative, and a great look. The hair, beard, and dark, baggy eyes just put him over the top.

I really dig what Bo Dallas is doing in NXT, what with the obliviousness to how much he's hated and the wordplay involving his name. It's unbelieva-bo! Staying with NXT, I also like Tyler Breeze. He's a better Fandango than Fandango.

Honorable mention to Kharma. The big wrecking machine is an overused gimmick on the men's side, but for the women it's so rare that for the short time Kharma was here, she was very exciting and refreshing. I had high hopes, liked her debut, and still hold out hope that she'll get another shot.

 

[ASKane]

The Shield. Young guys trying to solve the injustices committed by veterans. Also anyone whos gimmick tries to stop the Cena Problem is high on my list. I also like the teamwork side of their gimmick as it has helped them put on some great matches.

 

[Redrum]

has to be the Nexus it was to me the best group storyline since the NWO

 

[LODemolition]

I have a few. I'm a fan of darker characters, so Bray Wyatt has an excellent gimmick in my opinion.

AJ Lee's "crazy chick" gimmick was/is very entertaining. When she was making out with Punk, Bryan and Kane every week it was hilarious yet disturbing.

I really enjoy Sandow's gimmick as well, being the "intellectual superior" of the roster. His promos are great and his look/attire just make him look like a very believable pompous, arrogant prick. haha

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I loved the initial Brodus Clay, Funkasauras gimmick. No one saw that coming, I mean no one. I would mark hard each time I heard "Funk is on a roll." It wasn't the most unique gimmick in wrestling history, but damn was it fun for the first couple of months. An overweight guy that was built as a monster his entire career comes out shucking and jiving. It was gold.

 

[Laservision]

I suspect that almost everyone will say bray wyatt.
But not me i'm not a sellout! im in LOVE with PAIGE! she's the best diva ever her gimmick is amazing!


It brings out her wrestling power and at her age she's got a major career ahead of her, she's simply the most eye opener of the wwe. that's why i choose her and not some recycled gimmick we see over & over.

 

[Papi Chulo]

Pirate Paul Burchill was my absolute favorite. He came swinging in on a rope. Ha, classic! Bring him back! Also liked The Highlanders. WWE needs more kilts. I'm looking at you Drew!!

 

[Laservision]

Pirate Paul Burchill was my absolute favorite. He came swinging in on a rope. Ha, classic! Bring him back! Also liked The Highlanders. WWE needs more kilts. I'm looking at you Drew!!

Haha, i also liked paul burchill too i want him back in the wwe, that would be Great for business.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Sadly I think Burchill pretty much is out of the business now but that gimmick could have been immense cos the guy had great comedy skills as well.

I agree with you on Drew, bring Hot Rod in to be his manager - you know it makes sense.

While I can understand the "everyone will pick Wyatt" mentality it is important to say why so many WILL.

Forget the "Waylon Mercey" stuff for a moment and look at the situation. You have a guy who has had a taste of the limelight as part of Nexus, has a built in 2nd Gen gimmick but it didn't work. He was on the bubble of being let go but from somewhere within HIMSELF came this gimmick. It wasn't given to him or forced, Windham Rotunda created Bray Wyatt from the ground up. He thought about every aspect of the character, from the accent to the style and how it would be percieved. THEN he took it to Trips or JR or who ever had to greenlight it. Wyatt didn't develop - he was this good from Day 1 in NXT.

Why is it popular? It's genuinely creepy in a way others failed to do, it's using allegory and metaphor and also playing on fears. You think the blowing out the lantern and putting the arena into darkness or the christ pose is a joke part of it? No, it's a very pointed statement that "I am taking you out of your comfort zone whenever I choose to." The sheep masks, the music it really is the best package/gimmick that the E have had in a very long time. That it came from the talent himself is the other aspect that people love. It's part of Cena's appeal to, that he just became himself via the rapping and that was the key to unlocking the talent within.

Now personally, I think I am safe in saying as much as I love Bray's work I am going for Masked Cody as my answer. That was some excellent work out of what was a pure accident. I can see why they ditched it, but until this recent run, Masked Cody was the only one getting near the World titles. The Goldust stuff could still have happened but it would have been different. Why did it work - how Cody's mannerisms changed, how his voice changed. This was a guy who made his "life" about being Dashing...everything he held about himself was "gone" as he felt himself disfigured. He did it better than Kane did it cos he had lost something in front of us. His values, his perspective all changed. The paper bag stuff was controversial and ended cos of the bullying and Kane's return masked ended the run with the mask but like Wyatt it was a very personal gimmick that went to places the E rarely goes.

Close 3rd is "Best In The World" Jericho from the Shawn Michaels feud... again a masterclass in how to make a new gimmick work for an established talent when the fans "think they know him".

 

[joduke41]

Wow, this is tough. Loving the Wyatt Family thing. Just every part of it. The entrance is great. The psycho-babble. The look of the characters. Nexus was a good angle. Too bad none of them has had much of an impact since. Ryback has kinda regressed. Heath Slater should have stayed the "One man band baby". The Shield is a good angle. I may catch hell for this, but I liked Brodus Clay and the Funkadactils. Yea,Yea I know. Let the hell catching begin.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Nobody's mentioned it, but I gotta give a shout out to A.J. Lee, who's been the most entertaining Diva of the past several years. Her cute psycho schtick was fantastic. Similarly, the two man Abbott and Costello act that Kane and Daniel Bryan put on as Team Hell No was one of the best parts of 2012-2013.

 

[DDevine]

The Zombie from the WWE version of ECW. Even though he only had that one match against Sandman, his promo was awesome. I knew exactly what he was going to do in that match against Sandman. And he delivered on every promise he made on that microphone!

 

[The Shining Wizard]

"Undashing" Cody Rhodes, without a doubt. He completely turned his entire character around and turned it into one of the greatest things on WWE programming in the past few years. He embraced this new character and evolved along with it. From his promos to his mannerisms and to the way he wrestled. It was all perfect and really proved that he was more than most people thought he was.

It was the best accident that a person could hope for.

 

[Da Big Champ]

Mine would have to be MVP as the cocky, brash ballin playa. I loved his promos, as the cocky, better than you kinda guy. The 'Bidding war' for his contract made him seem high profile along with the 'No contract no contact' rule and getting JBL behind him on commentary was great to make him seem even bigger. I loved the VIP Lounge and the tunnel in his entrance. It all made him feel big better than the average superstar.