Gimmicks: at the end of the day, they are the reason we love wrestling. Viewers need that emotional attachment to characters, and it's something wrestling provides that differentiates it from all other sports. Well, that, and the fact it's all make-believe.

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It's not always easy to get it right; sometimes you have to fail a bunch before coming into your own. Many wrestlers on the current WWE roster can attest to that. Heck, some of the company's biggest superstars have been through some rough patches when it came to their gimmicks. They are living proof that you just gotta get up when you get knocked down.

10 AJ Styles

It's tough including AJ Styles on any list with the word "failed" in the title, but here we are with his "New Nature Boy" gimmick. AJ Styles retained his TNA title against Kurt Angle at TNA's Genesis 2010, when he turned heel and aligned himself with Ric Flair. Becoming Flair's protege, Styles adopted his mentor's moves, robe, and strut, but unfortunately, the charisma didn't follow; it was an ill-advised attempt to mimic one of the greatest.

The gimmick didn't work, but it's far from the worst thing Styles went through in TNA - the less we talk about the Claire Lynch storyline, the better.

9 Becky Lynch

We'd do anything to hear what The Man has to say about this gimmick nowadays. Can you believe this Irish jig dancer was the winner of the first-ever WrestleMania main event headlined by women?

The steampunk gimmick Becky Lynch had for the majority of her career before The Man came along was fine overall, but this first gimmick in NXT was atrocious, to put it mildly. Embracing your heritage is never a bad thing, except when it stereotypically involves dressing up in green and jig dancing your way to the ring. We're surprised Vince didn't bring in his son, Hornswoggle, to be paired with Becky...

8 Drew McIntyre

No, we're not talking about Drew McIntyre's bland Chosen One gimmick (although that theme song he had was excellent); that was clearly a failed experiment, but at least there's some of that cocky, "chosen one" mentality with the current Scottish Psychopath. Do you know what his final gimmick was before being released by WWE earlier in his career? 3MB.

Can you imagine today's McIntyre pulling the 3MB schtick, air guitar, and all? We're not sure what he did during his time away from the WWE, but Drew really honed his craft, changed his look up, and came back stronger than ever. Maybe it's the chest hair?

7 Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss is one of those cases where the wrestler didn't shine in NXT and instead found their success on the main roster. It seems like Alexa is always involved in the Women's title picture, whether it's for individual or tag team gold. Before she was The Goddess, though, she was a... fairy princess?

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It took Bliss some time to find the right character, as her debut gimmick was far from good. Dressed in colorful outfits, Alexa would make her entrance while throwing glitter everywhere. She eventually found her groove when she began to manage Blake & Murphy.

6 Andrade

Oh man, was Andrade "Cien" Almas almost a complete bust in NXT. Luckily, they took their time with him, turned him heel, paired him up with the awesome Zelina Vega, and he became "El Idolo" and NXT Champion.

Besides the absolute blandness of his babyface character, Andrade wore some of the most laughable entrance gear we've seen in years, coming out topless with suspenders and a plumed fedora hat. It's never a good thing when you get vibes from WCW's American Males.

5 Naomi

We often forget how a superstar is first introduced to the WWE Universe, but unfortunately for Naomi, we remember how she spread her Funkadactyl wings to try and fly. "Somebody Call My Momma" would hit, and Naomi & Cameron would come out, dancing their way to the ring, followed by The Funkasaurus. Hard times.

While many people are critical of the "GLOW" gimmick she's had ever since the 2016 WWE Draft re-established separate brands and rosters, it's miles better than whatever a Funkadactyl is. Naomi can show off her athleticism and in-ring skills, without having to danc-- oh wait.

4 Luke Gallows

Look at that face. It's amazing how Luke Gallows looks older as Festus than he does today - and that was in 2008! Those OC boys are lookin' good! Before we get to this poor gimmick, we have to quickly mention Gallows' first appearance in WWE: he was Impostor Kane! Remember that? No? Lucky you...

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Good ol' country boys Jesse and Festus didn't achieve much success, but they were good enough hands - it was always fun to see the dimwitted Festus lose his mind when the bell rang. They split up after the 2009 WWE Supplemental Draft; Festus ended up on SmackDown, where he found his straight-edge savior in CM Punk.

3 Kofi Kingston

"Jamaican me crazy!" Those were the words uttered by Michael Cole that ruined any sort of credibility this gimmick had. We've already talked about how the WWE sometimes includes a wrestler's heritage as part of their gimmick (or makes it entirely their gimmick...), but this was an awkward case of mistaken identity: Kofi Kingston's not Jamaican.

Born in Ghana and raised in the US, Kofi has zero ties to Jamaica, but that didn't stop Vince and co. from saddling him with a stereotypical Jamaican gimmick, accent and all - even his last name, "Kingston," references Jamaica's capital and largest city. What's incredibly awkward is how Kofi just stopped speaking with the accent one day, hilariously called out by Triple H. At least he won the WWE title for his troubles... in paradise.

2 Bray Wyatt

Wait... Husky Harris... Huskus the Pig Boy... Could it be?! Yes, indeed, one of the residents of the Firefly Fun House is a parody of Bray Wyatt's failed gimmick. It was crazy to witness Bray re-invent himself, going from captain generic to one of the most interesting WWE characters in a while.

We can't even mention a memorable Husky moment; he was part of The Nexus? Good thing he was shipped back to NXT, where he found his calling as a backwoods cult leader.

1 Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler's another wrestler who's had multiple bad gimmicks. Remember when he was into golf? Ziggler was introduced as a golf cart-driving caddy for Kerwin White, another absolutely terrible gimmick. This storyline was so bad that it took a tragic real-life event to mercifully end this for everyone involved.

Dolph didn't get it right the first time, and although his second attempt proved much more fruitful, it still stunk: give us an "S" for the Spirit Squad! We have to give it up to "Nicky" and the other male cheerleaders, they made the most out of a really, really dumb gimmick.

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