Very badly cast

[JerryvonKramer]

What are some examples of guys shunted into roles they clearly didn't suit?

 

The two I will put forward are:

 

Greg Valentine in Rhythmn and Blues -- never has a guy looked less comfortable and more awkward in a role than him with black hair trying to do an Elvis face.

 

John Tolos as The Coach -- now I don't know this guy's older stuff. Remember reading that he was quite a star on the West Coast, but he properly sucked as Perfect's manager.

 

Who else?

[FLIK]

Lord Tensai

 

Guy's strengths are playing dominant monster and is really good at having competitive matches that are worked as either slugfest brawls against tough guy wrestlers or faster paced cat & mouse type matches vs smaller flashy dudes

 

WWE signs him, makes him work as a 1980's cartooon stereotype in really slow paced squashes then wonders why he doesn't get over.

[Jingus]

Malachi/Kevin Thorne. That guy did not resemble some kind of scary supernatural badass in any way. He was too short, and occasionally you could see his legendary case of stage fright peeking through. Plus he was horrible at squashing people as well.

[jdw]

Scott "Gator" Hall

 

My lord... what the fuck where they thinking?

[Moonsault Marvin]

How about Bart Gunn in the New Midnight Express? I don't think he ever cracked a smile during that gimmick. Bob Holly at least had a little bit of that slimy swagger needed to fit the role.

[JerryvonKramer]

This is going to be massively controversial but how about Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton, two of the ugliest men anywhere in the USA in the 80s, being cast as pretty boy heart throbs.

 

Obviously, somehow, they made it work, but I always thought that The Fantastics looked the part much much more than the R n R.

[Dylan Waco]

Abby as a babyface in 87 Montreal who comes out to Eye of The Tiger is awesome but makes you wonder if mescaline is legal in Quebec.

[Matt D]

I think either Barry Windham as The Stalker or DDP as A Stalker would count.

[Blehschmidt]

I always thought Brian Adams as the coconut smashing, bright yellow and orange wearing baby face was a terrible miscasting.

 

Also when they turned Adam Bomb face and had him throwing little nuclear footballs or whatever they were at the crowd.

 

Also, whoever cast Nathan Jones as a professional wrestler obviously didn't know what they were doing.

[Matt D]

Honestly, Crush was super over for his first couple of months, before they really played up the accent and everything. I think he was the third most over babyface on the roster right before the Perfect turn.

[JerryvonKramer]

This seems very unlikely.

 

Savage, Warrior, Bret Hart, British Bulldog, The Undertaker, Tatanka even, Tito Santana even.

 

Don't see where or when Crush is coming in as 3rd most over babyface. He wasn't even on the card for Survivor Series 92 just after Perfect's face turn.

[Al]

Three of the first four mentioned were gone by Wrestlemania IX though (Savage was around, but not actively wrestling).

[Matt D]

This seems very unlikely.

 

Savage, Warrior, Bret Hart, British Bulldog, The Undertaker, Tatanka even, Tito Santana even.

 

Don't see where or when Crush is coming in as 3rd most over babyface. He wasn't even on the card for Survivor Series 92 just after Perfect's face turn.

Fans went nuts for him. I always forget Taker, but he was more over than Bulldog. I don't know why. He just was before they gave him the accent. Savage, Warrior, Bret, and Taker, yes. Though Warrior was gone a week before Survivor Series. He had a dark match and again, was super over.

 

Like Sid right before Royal Rumble 92 over. I think kids loved the head vice or something.

 

He was the wrong guy for the Doink feud.

 

I don't feel like going Superstars digging. Can we just trust that he was over enough to surprise me despite logic dictating otherwise?

[Johnny Sorrow]

Valentine was supposed to be Roy Orbison, actually.

[Rock_Of_Jericho]

Paul Roma as a Horseman

 

Red Rooster, though I don't think anyone could have suited that garbage.

 

Al Snow as a Rocker

 

Barry Windham as a Blackjack (Yes, I know who his father was, but it just didn't seem right at all)

[cm funk]

Crush was over with kids. I was 11 when he was getting his push in 93 and I loved him, and all the kids I knew who liked wrestling loved him too. We all thought he was going to beat Yokozuna for the title, lol.

[FLIK]

I legit thought he was a future WWF champ waiting to happen at one point as well

[GSR]

This is going to be massively controversial but how about Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton, two of the ugliest men anywhere in the USA in the 80s, being cast as pretty boy heart throbs.

 

Obviously, somehow, they made it work, but I always thought that The Fantastics looked the part much much more than the R n R.

I never had an issue with Morton playing that role, but did think Gibson with his wandering eye was a bit of a stretch.

[flyonthewall2983]

Morton always reminded me of Joe Flaherty.

[Mr Wrestling X]

Chavo Guerrero as Kerwin White - In retrospect, I believe this gimmick would have worked had it been given to a Caucasian-American who played up the middle-class, suburban and very conservative elements of the gimmick - an enemy to the everyman. Hence, you would have a heel with a lot of potential to get over without resorting to somebody performing a kind of minstrel show. Having someone like Guerrero denounce his heritage and drop risque racial comments is just distasteful and offensive.

 

Mistico as Sin Cara - Controversial, I know but I genuinely feel that Mistico was a bad choice for what WWE wants. Namely, they want a guy to succeed Mysterio who is nearing the end of his active in-ring career. Mistico can only work as Mistico, this is what made him so famous in lucha and that is why he hasn't succeeded as Sin Cara. I'm not saying it won't ever happen, but WWE is kidding themselves if they think that a hugely popular luchadore is going to come in, immediately pick up their style and reach overnight levels of popularity with the goal of eventually succeeding Rey Mystero.

[Jingus]

Chavo Guerrero as Kerwin White - In retrospect, I believe this gimmick would have worked had it been given to a Caucasian-American who played up the middle-class, suburban and very conservative elements of the gimmick - an enemy to the everyman. Hence, you would have a heel with a lot of potential to get over without resorting to somebody performing a kind of minstrel show. Having someone like Guerrero denounce his heritage and drop risque racial comments is just distasteful and offensive.

From what I remember, the minstrel aspect was the entire point. This was one of those "the office amuses themselves at the audience's expense" gimmicks.

[Loss]

Honestly, I think that's every gimmick. WWE books for an audience of one, and if other people like it, that's incidental.

 

That sounded way more negative than I meant it. I actually just meant it as an observation.

[khawk20]

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Thunder Bay represented x 2...nice.

 

 

(carry on)

[Dooley]

Morton always reminded me of Joe Flaherty.

Weird. Gibson always reminded me of Joe Flaherty.

[Mad Dog]

Ricky Steamboat in the Flair feud of 1989. He just doesn't work. He does his "for my family" promos and he comes across as lame, not someone you want to root for. The matches were really great but I found that Steamboat kind of made the feud tedious to get through. I'm really just looking forward to the Funk things now. Steamboat just lacks the edge for the feud and seems out of place with the rest of the company.