Manute for Ever!
05-18-2010, 02:06 AM
I was kicking back last night channel surfing and the WWE was on and I saw Hornswoggle. I haven't watched wrestling for a long time, but he has to be one of the worst gimmicks ever. So I did a search to see what I could find about 'worst gimmicks/characters' and I came across this (I actually remember a few of these guys):
Whether you were a fan of professional wrestling in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or the new millennium, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered some really ridiculous nicknames and gimmicks. Since the beginning of professional wrestling, stupid gimmicks and nicknames have popped up. I must admit, I was always more fond of the NWA and WCW, so I may be a little slanted. I’m going to group nicknames and gimmicks together, although they are actually different. Let’s start out the countdown with #10.
#10 - Johnny B. Badd:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14096_featured.jpgBefore he was The Wildman, he was a Little Richard impersonator, Johnny B. Badd. It was an unfortunate gimmick for Marc Mero, a guy that could perform really well. The 90’s saw a guy that talked and acted like Little Richard, and shot a confetti cannon on his way to the ring. Despite the incredibly bad gimmick, his skills in the ring were undeniable as he won the TV title three times. Not bad for one of the worst gimmicks ever, huh? It’s too bad good performers have to get saddled with terrible gimmicks. He made the most of it, though.
#9 - Lazer-Tron:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14097_featured.jpgToo bad. For a guy that could actually wrestle, Hector Guerrero, this was an insult. This pitiful attempt at a gimmick was done in the mid 80’s. The masked man was supposedly a robot. A team from the future, The New Breed was then sent from the year 2002 to destroy Lazer-Tron. Ouch. That really sucks. He was also the original Gobbledy Gooker, but that was too short lived to be considered a true gimmick or nickname. Surprisingly, he had some success with the Lazer-Tron gimmick, capturing the Jr. Heavyweight Title. This was undoubtedly due to his great ring skills, which were truly undeniable.
#8 - Mr. Ass:
http://eclecticcommons.telldat.net/files/2007/07/mrass.jpg
Are you kidding me? Billy Gunn, as he was known, went from Bad Ass Billy Gunn to B.A. Billy Gunn, and finally settled on Mr. Ass? Oh how stupid. Too bad, since he was really athletically talented and could perform well in the ring. He had a decent run in the WWE, was a part of DX, and even succeeded in TNA wrestling. He’s done pretty well for himself, but I just cannot get over the nickname. Perhaps the coffin was sealed with a promo where Billy was having a female shave his rear. When she saw a pimple on it, Billy Gunn told her she better not tell anyone, or she would never get to shave his ass again. Ouch.
#7 - The Red Rooster:
http://www.prowrestlingnewznviewz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/red-rooster.jpg
Terry Taylor could wrestle. He could wrestle well. Everyone wanted to see him perform in the 80’s. He went to the WWE (then WWF) and adopted the Red Rooster gimmick with his manager Bobby the Brain Heenan. Not only was his hair spiked and colored red down the middle, but he also crowed like a rooster from time to time. In 1988, this nickname was among the dumbest of the era. It was unfortunate, since Terry Taylor was a very good professional wrestler.
#6 - Amish Roadkill:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14099_featured.jpgOkay, I know ECW had some really dumb characters, but this one had to be the worst of them all. Nobody could have possibly thought that the nickname and gimmick of Amish Roadkill was a great way to go. I'm not sure who exactly came up with it, but it was pretty feeble, in my opinion. To Michael DePoli’s credit, he was able to make the most of it for a full decade.
#5 - Jake “The Milkman” Milliman:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14100_featured.jpgOkay, I actually rooted for the Milkman back in the 80’s. The AWA was a hotbed for young talent back then, but Jake Milliman didn’t fit the mold. He was short, somewhat chubby, and didn’t appear to have a neck. In addition, he really lacked ring skill. Still, despite the dumb nickname, Jake "The Milkman" Milliman was pretty popular. While the gimmick lasted for two decades, who can really say “The Milkman” is cool?
#4 - Kenny “The Sodbuster” Jay:
http://rocknrollwrestling.com/images/Kenny%20J.jpg
Okay, he owned a landscaping business in Minnesota, which has to be where the Sodbuster nickname comes from, but come on...the Sodbuster? Who could possibly think that was cool? The Sodbuster never really accomplished much in the ring, but can still be watched on Classic AWA wrestling on ESPN.
#3 - Bastion Booger
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14101.jpgIn the early 80’s he wrestled as Makhan Singh in Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling. You could read all about him Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other magazines of the era. It seemed he was headed for stardom the 80’s came to a close. Well, then came the 90’s. After a two year run with a nickname and gimmick that just missed the top 10, Norman the Lunatic, he became known as Bastion Booger in 1993. The gimmick lasted about 2 years. Thanks a lot, WWE and Vince McMahon. This poor wrestler was also saddled with a “Mad Monk” gimmick and the nickname “Trucker Norm.”
#2 - The Yeti:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14103_featured.jpgHe was a mummy kind of thing. How dumb was that? Ron Reis, known to some as Ron Studd, never really accomplished much in professional wrestling, despite his height and at least mediocre skills for a big man. Coincidentally, he was also “The Giant Ninja” which just narrowly missed the top 10. If done on a cumulative system, The Yeti and The Giant Ninja would battle it out with Bastian Booger and Norman the Lunatic and The Gobbledy Gooker and Lazer-Tron in a triple threat match. How is it that guys get hit with multiple bad gimmicks?
#1 - Doink and Dink the Clowns:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14102_featured.jpgAre you serious? One character, Doink wasn’t enough, so they had to get a midget to play Dink the Clown? Several people wore the Doink mask of shame, but it was started by Matt Borne. How do you go from being the well respected “Maniac Matt Borne”, to the laughable Doink the clown? Actually, Matt Borne pulled the gimmick off pretty well, but you just can’t get past the fact that he’s a clown. 1992 will live in infamy as the year of Doink. I’m not sure if I can ever forgive the WWE for this one.
http://www.infobarrel.com/The_10_Most_Ridiculous_Professional_Wrestling_Gimm icks_and_Nicknames
Feel free to add your own, I know I'll be adding more to the list.
Whether you were a fan of professional wrestling in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or the new millennium, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered some really ridiculous nicknames and gimmicks. Since the beginning of professional wrestling, stupid gimmicks and nicknames have popped up. I must admit, I was always more fond of the NWA and WCW, so I may be a little slanted. I’m going to group nicknames and gimmicks together, although they are actually different. Let’s start out the countdown with #10.
#10 - Johnny B. Badd:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14096_featured.jpgBefore he was The Wildman, he was a Little Richard impersonator, Johnny B. Badd. It was an unfortunate gimmick for Marc Mero, a guy that could perform really well. The 90’s saw a guy that talked and acted like Little Richard, and shot a confetti cannon on his way to the ring. Despite the incredibly bad gimmick, his skills in the ring were undeniable as he won the TV title three times. Not bad for one of the worst gimmicks ever, huh? It’s too bad good performers have to get saddled with terrible gimmicks. He made the most of it, though.
#9 - Lazer-Tron:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14097_featured.jpgToo bad. For a guy that could actually wrestle, Hector Guerrero, this was an insult. This pitiful attempt at a gimmick was done in the mid 80’s. The masked man was supposedly a robot. A team from the future, The New Breed was then sent from the year 2002 to destroy Lazer-Tron. Ouch. That really sucks. He was also the original Gobbledy Gooker, but that was too short lived to be considered a true gimmick or nickname. Surprisingly, he had some success with the Lazer-Tron gimmick, capturing the Jr. Heavyweight Title. This was undoubtedly due to his great ring skills, which were truly undeniable.
#8 - Mr. Ass:
http://eclecticcommons.telldat.net/files/2007/07/mrass.jpg
Are you kidding me? Billy Gunn, as he was known, went from Bad Ass Billy Gunn to B.A. Billy Gunn, and finally settled on Mr. Ass? Oh how stupid. Too bad, since he was really athletically talented and could perform well in the ring. He had a decent run in the WWE, was a part of DX, and even succeeded in TNA wrestling. He’s done pretty well for himself, but I just cannot get over the nickname. Perhaps the coffin was sealed with a promo where Billy was having a female shave his rear. When she saw a pimple on it, Billy Gunn told her she better not tell anyone, or she would never get to shave his ass again. Ouch.
#7 - The Red Rooster:
http://www.prowrestlingnewznviewz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/red-rooster.jpg
Terry Taylor could wrestle. He could wrestle well. Everyone wanted to see him perform in the 80’s. He went to the WWE (then WWF) and adopted the Red Rooster gimmick with his manager Bobby the Brain Heenan. Not only was his hair spiked and colored red down the middle, but he also crowed like a rooster from time to time. In 1988, this nickname was among the dumbest of the era. It was unfortunate, since Terry Taylor was a very good professional wrestler.
#6 - Amish Roadkill:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14099_featured.jpgOkay, I know ECW had some really dumb characters, but this one had to be the worst of them all. Nobody could have possibly thought that the nickname and gimmick of Amish Roadkill was a great way to go. I'm not sure who exactly came up with it, but it was pretty feeble, in my opinion. To Michael DePoli’s credit, he was able to make the most of it for a full decade.
#5 - Jake “The Milkman” Milliman:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14100_featured.jpgOkay, I actually rooted for the Milkman back in the 80’s. The AWA was a hotbed for young talent back then, but Jake Milliman didn’t fit the mold. He was short, somewhat chubby, and didn’t appear to have a neck. In addition, he really lacked ring skill. Still, despite the dumb nickname, Jake "The Milkman" Milliman was pretty popular. While the gimmick lasted for two decades, who can really say “The Milkman” is cool?
#4 - Kenny “The Sodbuster” Jay:
http://rocknrollwrestling.com/images/Kenny%20J.jpg
Okay, he owned a landscaping business in Minnesota, which has to be where the Sodbuster nickname comes from, but come on...the Sodbuster? Who could possibly think that was cool? The Sodbuster never really accomplished much in the ring, but can still be watched on Classic AWA wrestling on ESPN.
#3 - Bastion Booger
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14101.jpgIn the early 80’s he wrestled as Makhan Singh in Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling. You could read all about him Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other magazines of the era. It seemed he was headed for stardom the 80’s came to a close. Well, then came the 90’s. After a two year run with a nickname and gimmick that just missed the top 10, Norman the Lunatic, he became known as Bastion Booger in 1993. The gimmick lasted about 2 years. Thanks a lot, WWE and Vince McMahon. This poor wrestler was also saddled with a “Mad Monk” gimmick and the nickname “Trucker Norm.”
#2 - The Yeti:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14103_featured.jpgHe was a mummy kind of thing. How dumb was that? Ron Reis, known to some as Ron Studd, never really accomplished much in professional wrestling, despite his height and at least mediocre skills for a big man. Coincidentally, he was also “The Giant Ninja” which just narrowly missed the top 10. If done on a cumulative system, The Yeti and The Giant Ninja would battle it out with Bastian Booger and Norman the Lunatic and The Gobbledy Gooker and Lazer-Tron in a triple threat match. How is it that guys get hit with multiple bad gimmicks?
#1 - Doink and Dink the Clowns:
http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/14102_featured.jpgAre you serious? One character, Doink wasn’t enough, so they had to get a midget to play Dink the Clown? Several people wore the Doink mask of shame, but it was started by Matt Borne. How do you go from being the well respected “Maniac Matt Borne”, to the laughable Doink the clown? Actually, Matt Borne pulled the gimmick off pretty well, but you just can’t get past the fact that he’s a clown. 1992 will live in infamy as the year of Doink. I’m not sure if I can ever forgive the WWE for this one.
http://www.infobarrel.com/The_10_Most_Ridiculous_Professional_Wrestling_Gimm icks_and_Nicknames
Feel free to add your own, I know I'll be adding more to the list.