Although AEW has only been around for three years, they have had their fair share of strange gimmicks. Some of these can be attributed to early growing pains and creative failures, while some have very little explanation at all.
The term ‘weird’ can have a few meanings, from scary and spooky to downright random, with an array of different gimmicks in between - and some of these have even been hugely successful! Professional wrestling always has a place for weird gimmicks, with plenty of them becoming champions in various promotions, with AEW being absolutely no different, although there have been a lot of failures too when it comes to strange characters.
10 The Dark Order
The original Dark Order received chants of ‘spooky perverts’ from the AEW crowd, showcasing how weird Evil Uno’s throne of ‘creepers’ was. The cult gimmick was initially very cheesy yet off-putting, and it didn’t go down very well.
However, once the group changed with their personalities shining through, they are a different sort of weird. Their interactions on BTE for example are completely ridiculous in a comical sense, with them coming out with all sorts of crazy statements and innuendos, becoming a group of loveable weirdos.
9 ‘Alien’ Kris Statlander
Kris Statlander’s in-ring performances were never an issue, but perhaps a reason for her not quite reaching the next level was due to her alien character. Being billed from the ‘Andromeda Galaxy’, there was never really an explanation as to how and why she was an alien.
In the end, she just appeared to be a peculiar person who pretended she was an alien, with AEW not doing enough to sell the gimmick or to make it clear that it was all a joke. Either way, it was very odd.
8 Michael Nakazawa’s Baby Oil
At the start of AEW, Michael Nakazawa had a more active role as a wrestler, but his gimmick wasn’t too good on the stomach. He had an obsession with baby oil and underwear, drenching himself in the stuff during matches.
Thankfully, this gimmick was dropped quite quickly with Nakazawa becoming more of a sidekick to Kenny Omega rather than a baby oil loving oddball.
7 Orange Cassidy
Orange Cassidy is one of the most over stars in AEW with one of the most beloved gimmicks, but that doesn’t make it any less weird. Cassidy is a laid back wrestler who uses lethargy to play mind games, but also due to him not being bothered most of the time.
He speaks infrequently, he sleeps at the commentary desk, and he delivers the softest kicks at times. Throughout his run, it is clear that this is more due to mind games, but at the start of his time in AEW, his lack of energy and uncaring nature was highlighted a lot more.
6 Kip Sabian With A Bag Over His Head
For many months now, there has been a man ringside at AEW shows with a bag over his head. After a little while, it was rumored that this was the injured Kip Sabian, with it now being more-or-less confirmed that he is actually under there.
However, AEW have given him miniscule attention, and with this carrying on for such an extended period of time, it has left fans wondering… why? It is very weird to have a talented and young star with a bag over his head, with it feeling as though it has little reasoning.
5 Abadon
The presentation of Abadon and her commitment to the gimmick made it seem as though there were big things in her future. However, after just a couple of matches here and there on TV, she has been an afterthought. This is perhaps due to her gimmick being a bit too wacky.
Abadon crawls to the ring with blood pouring out her mouth, occassioanlly no selling offense but then sometimes selling it, which doesn’t really make much sense. She is part-supernatural, but the explanation behind her gimmick hasn’t been thorough when it comes to AEW.
4 Many Faces Of Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy came into AEW under his ‘Broken’ persona, which in itself is one of the weirdest gimmicks of all time. Add that onto the fact that his personality could change in an instant, becoming multiple past versions of himself, then it becomes even more strange.
Particularly at the start of his AEW run, Hardy was able to teleport, do magic, and change clothes in a heartbeat, making this quite a divisive character due to its lack of realism.
3 Danhausen
Danhausen speaks in a funny accent, paints his face, and tries to curse people. On paper it is weird, in execution it is weird, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking the wrestling world by storm, becoming a hugely popular act in AEW.
He is a comedy character who isn’t supposed to be taken seriously, but overall he is weird, in a very wonderful way.
2 The Librarians
The Librarians were one of the first gimmicks introduced by AEW, with their character depth not going very far past the fact that they were just Librarians who were wrestlers too.
They wanted the crowd to be silent, they would try to read wherever they went, and that was pretty much it. It was a baffling gimmick which made no logical sense, and it felt right out of the 80s.
1 Nightmare Collective
Not only are the Nightmare Collective up there with the weirdest gimmicks of all time in AEW, but the group are also up there with the absolute worst. This was a cult led by Brandi Rhodes, who would ask people to shave their head, for whatever reason. They would chop off their opponents hair as trophies, and they would talk in vague and spooky statements.
It was a haphazard group of individuals, including Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Luther, and Mel, and it was absolutely horrific.