In the 1990s, WWE and WCW had their fair share of odd wrestling gimmicks. In WWE, Superstars would often have occupational gimmicks such as dentists, garbage men or hockey players. Meanwhile, WCW would have more outlandish gimmicks such as mythological and supernatural figures.
Sometimes these gimmicks end up being a success, but for every Undertaker there is a Shockmaster, and for every IRS there is an Isaac Yankem. Some of these gimmicks were so bad that they were doomed to fail from the beginning, whilst others lasted a lot longer than any of us wanted them to.
10 The Mountie
After Ray Rougeau retired in 1990, Jaques Rougeau went on a solo run in 1991 as The Mountie. The Mountie was said to be part of The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, wearing a scarlet military style tunic and Stetson hat, this was certainly a unique gimmick.
The Mountie would carry a cattle prod and handcuffs, often using them on his opponents. He was a corrupt member of the RCMP, which eventually meant he was banned from performing in Canada under the name The Mountie. Despite the ridiculous gimmick and the opposition to it from his home country, The Mountie did win the Intercontinental championship against Bret Hart in 1992.
9 Papa Shango
Charles Wright had many outlandish gimmicks during his time in the WWE. He was Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather. But first, he was Papa Shango. Shango was a voodoo practitioner who carried skulls to the ring, cast spells on his opponents, and created strange happenings in the arena.
He is perhaps best remembered for missing his cue for interfering in the Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan match in the main event of WrestleMania VIII. The gimmick was a failure. However, Wright would go on to have more success in WWE later on in the '90s with other gimmicks.
8 Friar Ferguson
There haven't been many clergy based wrestlers in history but Friar Ferguson was one of them. Described as being a 'mad monk,' the Friar's attire would consist of a long brown robe, which he would often lift over the head of his opponents, and a rope around his midriff area.
WWE faced a negative reaction from the Catholic Church of New York City, which forced them to drop the gimmick and find something new for Mike Shaw. He would eventually go on to play another ridiculous gimmick.
7 Bastion Booger
After his brief stint as Friar Ferguson, Mike Shaw became Bastion Booger. A product of Vince McMahon's sophomoric sense of humor, Booger came out to what sounded like snoring noises. Booger was overweight and wore a beige singlet to the ring, he would often have drool on his facial hair, making him appear as slobbish as possible.
The gimmick of Booger is rumored to have been punishment for him being overweight, but you can't fault his commitment to the character. Booger enjoyed a 10 month run with until his eventual release in August 1994.
6 Mantaur
Of all the gimmicks in WWE's New Generation era, none were as silly as Mantaur. Mike Halac wore a bullhead down to the ring in an attempt to scare fans, but rather than be scared, most of them just looked confused.
To make matters worse, Mantaur would 'moo' at his opponents, as opposed to something intimidating, like a roar. In addition, his theme music was also a 'moo'. Although most of his in-ring work was decent, his gimmick was terrible
5 The Yeti
Silly gimmicks were not just confined to the WWE in this era, WCW had their fair share of them too. One of them was The Yeti, a mythological creature billed at over seven-feet-tall, with a costume resembling more of a mummy than an actual Yeti.
Yeti was an intimidating presence, such was his large stature, but he was more Giant Gonzalez level of scary, rather than Undertaker level of scary.
4 Oz
Before Kevin Nash was Diesel and one of the main men in the nWo, he was Oz. Nash went through a fair few terrible gimmicks while in WCW, including Vinnie Vegas and Master Blaster Steel. But Oz may well have been the worst of all.
This character was based on the wizard from The Wizard of Oz, he would come down to the ring a long green cape, green hat, and a big fake beard. It's fair to say Nash had more success in WWE as Diesel than he did with this run.
3 The Shockmaster
If there was ever a gimmick that was doomed for failure right from the beginning it was The Shockmaster. On an interview segment called 'A Flair For The Gold' at Clash of the Champions XXIV, Sting and Davey Boy Smith introduced their fourth tag team partner for the War Games match.
A small explosion, complete with pyrotechnics then went off on a wall and The Shockmaster would emerge through it, falling face-first on the floor with his silver Stormtrooper helmet falling off. His planned push was immediately stopped as a result of this disaster.
2 Max Moon
Max Moon was originally supposed to be portrayed by Konnan, but after he left the WWE, Paul Diamond took on the character. It is unclear what Max Moon was meant to be, but he looked futuristic. A sky blue bodysuit, with outlandish markings, a mask, and skin-tight pants made him look rather bizarre even for this era.
Moon would often come down to the ring with two firework launchers on his wrists (yes, really) and a jetpack on his back. This gimmick was quickly shelved and it was probably for the best.
1 Isaac Yankem, DDS
Glenn Jacobs went through a couple of terrible gimmicks before he became Kane. Before he was 'fake' Diesel, he was Isaac Yankem, DDS. Yankem was an evil dentist residing in Decatur, Illinois.
During a series of vignettes in 1995, Yankem would be seen attending to patients in his dentist room with a needle and drill. This gimmick would not take off, thankfully for Jacobs. He would eventually find his place with the Kane character two years later.