As the old saying goes, "dying is easy, comedy is hard." In wrestling, mixing some humor can be a good thing. Sadly, as with so many other things, wrestling can go too far in trying to present "comedic" characters that never live up to expectations. Some guys can be comedy masters like R-Truth, Hurricane or Santino Marella. But not everyone is able to make comedy work, and too many guys in wrestling prove that.
Often, it's guys given comedy gimmicks that they are entirely unsuited for. Other times, the character itself is so terrible that it's laughable for all the wrong reasons. In some cases, these characters outright ruined careers and made for some awful television to boot. Here are ten "comedic" characters in wrestling that brought more cringe than laughs to show how tricky pulling off comedy really is.
10 Beaver Cleavage
You know an act is awful when even 1999 WWE gives up on it fast. The company was no stranger to stupid characters, but as soon as the vignettes of Beaver Cleavage showed up, fans were wincing. He was a parody of a 1950s sitcom character with the idea of lusting after his busty "mother" in one awful skit after another.
Amazingly, WWE got the message from the fan reaction as before his debut, Beaver "broke character" to talk about how stupid this was and went to being Chaz. But it still counts as one of the worst ideas of the Attitude Era.
9 The Governor
What's worse than a bad impression? A bad impression of a good impression. In 2009, the Beautiful People were joined by "the Governor," who was basically a xerox version of Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impression. The "joke" was the Beautiful People thinking this was the real Palin ready to lead them to the White House.
The comedy bits were terrible and no real payoff as the People were doused in paint after all that. Amazingly, under that outfit was Daffney, who proved herself a good actress despite the short-lived impression.
8 Oklahoma
Vince Russo had shallow standards in WCW, but this is still one of the worst ideas he ever cooked up. When he and Ed Ferrara joined WCW, Russo had Ferrara come out as "Oklahoma," a sardonic guy drawling in a bad accent and cowboy hat.
It was a blatant rip-off of Jim Ross that also insulted Ross' health issues. It was an awful act that was nothing but lame shots at Ross, and the first proof Russo's WCW tenure was not going to go well.
7 Perry Saturn
Here's proof why letting your temper get the best of you is not a good idea. In early 2001, Perry Saturn was a serious wrestler who snapped to beat down jobber Mike Bell for real in a TV bout. As punishment, Saturn was given a "head injury," making him a moron who treated a mop as his girlfriend.
Watching Saturn go around with "Moppy" was wretched and a shame a good worker like him was subjected to this. Yet it was his own fault to be given this cringy act.
6 Tim White
You have to wonder what goes through the minds of WWE creative sometimes. Tim White was a referee who seemed down in the dumps after some bad turns. This led to a bit where he was shown with a gun, and a shot heard off-screen.
For who knows what reason, WWE turned this into an online bit of "Tim White's Lunchtime" where White would attempt to off himself only for things to go wrong. For WWE to make light of such issues was horrible, and little wonder it was dropped fast.
5 The Gobbledy Gooker
For months in 1990, WWE teased some mysterious giant egg to open at Survivor Series. Guesses ranged from a debuting star to some returning face. Finally, the moment came, the egg cracking open to reveal...a guy in the worst turkey costume imaginable.
He and Gene Okerlund did a horrible dance routine as the fans booed hard. Amazingly, WWE wanted more with him, but the harsh reaction made them back off. The Gooker has popped up a few more times, but no one wanted this turkey around.
4 That 70s Mike Awesome
It's not just how bad this act was but who it was given to. Mike Awesome lived up to his name as a stunning warrior in the ring, smashing guys through tables with ease and dominating as ECW champion. His signing to WCW was a huge deal, and they should have made him a star.
Instead, he was given the gimmick of a '70s lounge lizard and lame jokes. That was then changed to him as the "Fat Chick Thriller," which was worse. It's astounding how badly WCW dropped the ball here.
3 Eugene
Nick Dinsmore had been a star in OVW as a multiple time champion. On the main roster, he was saddled with the character of Eugene, Eric Bischoff's "slow" nephew. Briefly, WWE seemed to know how to make the character work, making Eugene a wrestling savant who could emulate other legends like Stone Cold & The Rock.
But after a bad program with HHH, the character was pushed into lame stuff from shaving Bischoff bald to hanging out with hot ladies and got too annoying. Plus, making an act like this wasn't very respectful and didn't help Eugene get over.
2 The Many Faces Of Brad Armstrong
Brad Armstrong is best known as the son of a famous territory star and the brother of Road Dogg. He's also notable for some of the lamest characters in WCW history. First, he was "Arachnaman ", clad in a blue and yellow costume that was such a Spider-Man rip-off that Marvel Comics threatened to sue.
Then he became "The Candyman," handing out candy to kids, and that's as uncomfortable as it sounds. Then he was "Buzzkill," a total rip-off of Road Dogg. Every single one was worse than the others and never helped his career.
1 Doink
The original Doink was actually a genius creation. Matt Bourne played him as an evil clown who was terrifying for kids and cheating his way to win. When he left, the role was transformed into a comic character pouring a bucket of water on folks and a midget sidekick named Dink.
The fans soon hated him for this annoying stuff and WWE continued to push him hard. It's a shame what started as a fun twist on a darker character turned into an unfunny comedy act.