Gimmicks that didn't work you think could work now

[Guest MJHimJfadeaway23]

One off the top of my head is Waylon Mercy. I think in the mid 90s, there wasn't but so much they could do with this gimmick. But they still could have worked it reasonably. Now the split personality character he had could get over like crazy if the WWE used him right. Playing mind tricks with the fans and wrestlers. He could start off normally, just showing a more ruthless nature in the ring when necessary. Then after weeks of befriending someone on the roster, make the big turn. With weeks of building up to his "uneasy" demeanor and personality.

[Loss]

Waylon Mercy was the first one I thought of as well.

 

I also think Razor Ramon, with some mild adjustments, could be a huge character right now based on the popularity of The Sopranos.

 

Lenny and Lodi also should have been Billy and Chuck, and it might have even gotten over.

 

3 Count would have been overwhelmingly over as an act in 2000 WWF.

 

EDIT: Razor Ramon isn't really one that "didn't work", but I wanted to include him anyway.

[Coffey]

I don't even know. Who would've thought that Cena's wigger rapper gimmick would get over? Who would've thought that Eugene being a retard would get over? It's hard to tell what will stick. Shit, I didn't think 'Taker would still be around fifteen years later when he debuted at the Survivor Series.

 

I'm banking on The Boogeyman failing.

[sek69]

Waylon Mercy would have worked then too, had Spivey's knees not exploded. I agree, it would be huge if done the same way now.

 

You could make the point that Chris Masters is proving the Narcissist gimmick wasn't too bad as well.

[Loss]

They should have run with the Narcissist gimmick, actually. Hart versus a heel Luger at Summerslam would have been a bigger draw than Luger/Yoko was I think, and Hogan/Luger was a mark mag "dream match" at the time that would have probably done big business. Too bad they turned him face, and the Lex Express bombed out huge.

[Coffey]

Man, I remember watching a Spivey match against Lex Luger in early 90's WCW. They were trying so hard to get Luger over. Spivey hit him with EVERYTHING. A Piledriver, A Tombstone, A DDT...just every damn move he could think of. Luger just kicked out of it all like it was nothing then went on to win the match. That's when I knew that Spivey wasn't going to have a career.

[Guest MJHimJfadeaway23]

They should have run with the Narcissist gimmick, actually. Hart versus a heel Luger at Summerslam would have been a bigger draw than Luger/Yoko was I think, and Hogan/Luger was a mark mag "dream match" at the time that would have probably done big business. Too bad they turned him face, and the Lex Express bombed out huge.

I agree. And they were building Lex Luger really well as a heel. It's a shame/nonsensical that he attacked Bret Hart at the WM 9 Press Conference and there was no blowoff to that whatsoever. It was barely even acknowledged.

[Mad Dog]

Lenny and Lodi also should have been Billy and Chuck, and it might have even gotten over.

I have my doubts about that. The problem with the WWF and gay gimmicks is they ultimately chicken out.

[Guest teke184]

The Goon could get over if you had a big enough guy to do it and they worked some hockey-like moves into his match.

 

I've got a beefy Foley-like guy in mind because my mental image is of someone like Dave "The Hammer" Shultz of the 1970s Philadelphia Flyers, or "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan doing his football-player schtick with the three-point stance and shoulder-tackles.

 

They'd just need to say he was kicked out for excessive roughness and NOT that he was laid off as part of the NHL strike.

 

 

 

The problem with the gimmick in the mid-90s was, IMHO, it was treated as a joke and, besides that, Wild Bill Irwin was never taken seriously anywhere but in Bill Watts' UWF.

[Guest teke184]

I don't even know. Who would've thought that Cena's wigger rapper gimmick would get over? Who would've thought that Eugene being a retard would get over? It's hard to tell what will stick. Shit, I didn't think 'Taker would still be around fifteen years later when he debuted at the Survivor Series.

 

I'm banking on The Boogeyman failing.

Cena and Eugene are examples of someone getting to show off some of their strengths to save what appears to be a shitty gimmick.

 

 

1. Cena was given the rap gimmick at the SD Halloween Party in 2002, IIRC, because he'd actually been a rapper in his youth and was good enough on the mic that he could make it work.

 

That's an extension of the Jim Cornette philosophy "Most good wrestling personalities aren't gimmicks... they're a person's personality turned up a few notches."

 

 

Fuck... he was so good at it he even got Bull Buchanan over for a brief while as his henchman, B Squared.

 

 

2. Eugene took off because Nick Dinsmore was allowed to show off his good technical skills in the ring while playing the gimmick to a T, which was due to the immense old-school training he got from "Nightmare" Danny Davis and Jim Cornette.

 

If he hadn't had that kind of old-school experience working under Cornette and Davis, I'm guessing he'd NEVER have gotten over because charisma was never one of Dinsmore's stronger suits. (Great wrestler, not colorful enough to capture the imagination without a gimmick IMHO)

[Guest Cam Chaos]

I'd be interested in a Nailz style gimmick, an ex-con that tries to do right but then goes nuts. I thought they might have done that with Luther Reigns but sadly no dice.

 

Teke, Monty Brown would fit that kind of gimmick. Especially with his football shoulder tackle "Pounce" finisher. Change NHL to NFL and I think it'd be fine. Bob Sapp would be even better.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

I thought they might have done that with Luther Reigns but sadly no dice.

I just wanted to point out that I thought he had one of the best gimmicks ever.

 

"I've been to prison. I know you're not gonna rape me in the ass during the match, so I'm not scared of anything you can do."

 

I mean, he never outright said it like that, but that was the idea.

[sek69]

I looked like they were trying to do a Nailz-like gimmick with Nathan Jones before he exposed himself as completely inept.