Guys who didnt "fit in"

[ElHijodeGorgeousGeorge]

Taz in WWF. For a guy that was such an interesting character and top guy in ECW, he just never worked in WWF.

[Bierschwale]

RVD in 90s All Japan has always given me a good laugh. I would've LOVED him in MPro around the same time, but him just being this awkward guy in All Japan that was not over in the slightest is just my favorite thing.

 

He did too much there, but his highlights (the Kroffat & Kikuchi title matches most easily come to mind) are great and so utterly distinct from the rest of the promotion that I think that he was clearly providing value.

[Bierschwale]

Or, Tatanka and Matt Hardy in 2005 WWE... damn, that was a weird period for the company.

 

The near-endless Matt-MNM feud is kind of one of my favorite things ever, especially with his revolving door of tag partners (Tatanka, Animal, Lashley, Brent Albright) before Jeff came back. Especially because it transitioned almost perfectly into the near-endless Matt-MVP feud.

[jpchicago23]

Volkoff in 95 WWF.

[Mad Dog]

Dick Slater in 1986 WWF.

[Matt D]

Patera in 87-88 stands out huge to me.

[Mad Dog]

I just watched through Patera's whole return. Honestly Monsoon taunting Heenan over getting beat up on Wrestling Challenge and Primetime is more memorable than anything Patera is doing.

[Matt D]

Babyface Muraco's pretty out there too. Orndorff in his last babyface run against Rude, too.

[van_Fair]

Karl Anderson right now in WWE just seems really awkward. Might be a case that he is one of those guys that only really fit in in Japan.

[Mad Dog]

I agree. I was really surprised they signed Anderson because he just doesn't strike me as a WWE guy.

[Judy Bagwell]

coming in to WWF as a first time fan in 88 babyface Muraco was fucking awesome

[Judy Bagwell]

Patera in 87-88 stands out huge to me.

good pair of legs though, he looked like one of my Aunties on a seaside vacation

[Judy Bagwell]

KIdman in the WWE

it wasnt a horrible run but by gawd it was generic

[The Thread Killer]

Other ECW oddballs were Hawk (no animal though)...didnt PN News have a heel run there? I know he got squashed by Spike Dudley on an early episode of the TNN show.

 

Hawk appeared in ECW during the very brief period that he and Animal were on the outs over Hawk quitting the WWF in 1992, burning the bridge with Vince and leaving Animal holding the bag. Then Hawk went to NJPW and formed the Hell Raisers with Sasaki and didn't even tell Animal he was doing it. (By this time, Animal was injured and collecting insurance so he couldn't have done any wrestling anyhow, but he was still pissed.) Plus, Hawk was apparently pretty heavy into the illicit substances by that time. They patched things up in 95 and ended up working in WCW for about six months.

 

Paul "PN" News was a founding member of "Da Baldies" in ECW before he allegedly got caught stealing from the Locker Room, beaten up by New Jack, and fired.

[van_Fair]

I just thought of another guy along the same line as Karl Anderson. His former tag team partner Giant Bernard/Lord Tensai when he came back to WWE. The crowd just did not accept him in his new gimmick and his in ring style at that point was a weird fit for WWE at the time. I think he would do a lot better if he had come in now.

[ButchReedMark]

Honky Tonk Man in WCW always just felt really surreal

[Bierschwale]

That's actually why Anderson getting signed made sense to me once I thought about it. Albert is a HHH Guy, and Anderson is Albert's guy. Gallows seemed weirder just because it would be his fourth different gimmick with the company.

[Bierschwale]

Brand split era signings are weird, but SmackDown has RAW beat. Tatanka & Animal as already mentioned. Juvy & Kid Kash. And of course the minis (and Porky, which I think is the most WCW signing ever made by the WWE). That's all just 2006!

 

Something that they kept off of TV because it wouldn't have fit but might have been really fun had they: Kanyon working dark matches as SD's tryout guy with the Mortis gimmick in 2003. Del Rio keeping his Dos Caras, Jr. persona when he went around the horn working dark matches before his debut applies under the same logic. He just would have been really distinct.

[JRH]

Mr. Perfect in 1993 WWF also came to mind. Even though the babyface turn on Flair was a memorable moment, as was the loser leaves town match, he didnt seem to fit in, and the fact that he was still playing up the "absolutely perfect at everything" gimmick as a babyface wasnt helping matters.

[mrwaukegan]

Karl Anderson right now in WWE just seems really awkward. Might be a case that he is one of those guys that only really fit in in Japan.

I wonder if they have him work slower ala classical Anderson style he would be better fit?

[sek69]

Honky Tonk Man in WCW always just felt really surreal

 

 

This is my all time "that didn't really happen, did it?" moment. Fundamentally I know it took place, but any time I watch it, it just seems like some kind of bizarre fever dream.

[joeg]

Matt Borne's ECW run hasn't been mentioned.

[C.S.]

Many of the ECW wrestlers in WCW - particularly Hardcore Hak (Sandman) and Mikey Whipwreck - seemed really out of place. Sabu in the early days of Nitro definitely didn't work. Come to think of it, Sandman and Sabu didn't work in WWE either.

[joeg]

Sandman's whole sctick was that he had the coolest entrance in wrestling. I often wonder how ECW never ran afoul of a county liquor board from Sandman's entrance

[Memphis Mark]

Ricky Vaughn playing the role of Lance Von Erich . The long lost son of Waldo.