The importance of a wrestler's role in the promotion can never be undermined because of how wrestling characters can make or break a budding wrestler's career, with a competitor's ability to properly portray that gimmick being equally as important. We have seen many mega-stars being born in wrestling over the past few decades due to amazing personas which clicked with fans of the different eras of wrestling, but there have also been equally bad ones which threatened to end the careers of some of the promising wrestlers.

Not every wrestler who had been given a terrible role were bad in-ring competitors, as some terrible errors of judgment from the top wrestling promotions like WWE and WCW in the past have buried promising talents in their company. While some of these wrestlers recovered from a bad role and got new ones from their promotions (who probably realized their mistakes), not everyone was that lucky. Some saw their careers perish because of how badly their promotions had miscast them in their roles in the company.

A few wrestlers might've turned it around for themselves and gone on to achieve great things later in their careers, but some others were reduced to jokes because of their pathetic roles as we look at these wrestlers who were completely miscast.

21 Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw

So well before he was the arrogant rich-man who loved to flaunt himself to be "bigger" than the audience, Bradshaw had actually received some terrible roles in the WWE who couldn't really figure out what would be great for him. When he initially debuted for them, he was given the character of a tough cowboy and was actually managed by Zed Colter. He used to brand his opponents with the initials "JB" after winning matches, but the fans quickly lost interest in him because of how unfit he looked for the character. The WWE had probably realized their mistake at terribly miscasting him in this role and after a few months, they aligned Bradshaw with his storyline cousin in Barry Windham to form a tag team The Blackjacks, something which wouldn't really last for that long either.

20 Bret Hart As Raw GM

Bret "The Hitman" Hart enjoyed an illustrious in-ring career which definitely proved why he was known as the "Best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be" and many were surprised when he resigned with WWE and came back in late 2009. Hart would feud with Vince McMahon and even defeated him at WrestleMania XXVI, and later even won the US Championship! The Hitman would later become Raw General Manager but this role of a GM would not suit him at all. He looked really awkward and disinterested in doing it, because of which WWE quickly "fired" him from the job. The Hitman's return stint in the WWE itself was a rather underwhelming one because of how out of it he looked, but WWE made an even bigger mistake in terribly miscasting him as a GM, something which didn't suit him at all.

19 The Kiss Demon

WCW was famous for coming up with some really weird characters and storylines in an attempt to increase their ratings, but a highly ridiculous character created by them was Kiss Demon portrayed by wrestler Dale Torborg. So apparently WCW struck a deal with the band Kiss in the mid-90s and because of that, needed to create a Kiss Themed wrestler named "Kiss Demon". Torborg was given the helm of the character, whose entrance theme was inspired by Kiss, but the character never really clicked with the fans. Torborg looked very awkward in it and couldn't manage to portray the "cool demon" role WCW wanted him to portray and himself stated that he was never comfortable in portraying the weird character. It was quite evident in the end that he'd been terribly miscast by WCW in the role and the character eventually ended up being a flop.

18 "The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay

Brodus Clay looked like a really potent monster heel when he worked as the bodyguard of Alberto Del Rio after the two were aligned in the original WWE NXT, but what WWE decided to do with him after that was horrible. After Clay impressed as this monster heel, WWE thought it would be great to repackage him into this baby-face, funk dancing character who called himself as the "Funkasaurus". He came out to the theme song "Somebody Call My Momma" and even had his own cheerleaders in Naomi and Cameron. It seemed an absolute misfit for someone as intimidating as Clay to portray this fun-loving character and the WWE really dropped the ball on him by miscasting him with this role. They should've built him as a proper monster heel than giving him this ridiculous character, which reduced him to becoming this terrible act.

17 Dustin Rhodes As Seven

Dustin Rhodes has made his career as the bizarre Goldust in the WWE and has portrayed that character to perfection over the years, but he's also portrayed some very weird characters in the other companies he's been in the past. In his second stint with WCW, Dustin was given the character of "Seven" who would be this creepy face-painted wrestler who would terrorize children. He even did a vignette where he was in full face-paint and standing outside a child's bedroom and this character did not suit him at all. While Rhodes was known for portraying weird characters, he did not fit in this uncomfortable role of a child abductor. The character itself was shelved after WCW was asked to remove it due to the child abductor nature and the company really tainted Dustin's reputation by terribly miscasting in portraying this creepy character.

16 "The Pirate" Paul Burchill

Paul Burchill wasn't really that bad a wrestler which WWE might've portrayed him to be in the years he was with them, but some of the terrible characters he portrayed was a reason for his downfall in the company. After initially debuting as a tag team with William Regal, Burchill was given the role of a "pirate" in the WWE where he'd dress up like a Pirates of the Carribean character and act like a pirate. Burchill was then in some hilarious matches which undermined everything he did and this terrible character did not click with the fans at all. He had been awfully miscast in this bizarre role by the WWE who had probably thought it'd be highly entertaining, as Burchill failed to recover from this disaster and wasn't really helped at all when he was put in an incest angle with his "sister" Katie Lea Burchill.

15 Natalya's Flatulent Gimmick

Natalya is currently one of the veterans of the Women's Division in the WWE and has shown amazing ability to bring out the best in her opponents in every match. Even though she's a highly respected wrestler now, she made a terrible mistake a few years back when she accidentally let out some "gas" in a match. This propelled WWE to think that it'd be hilarious to give her a role which would see Natalya fart in some segments, creating some very awkward encounters with her peers. These humiliating segments were continued for quite a long time before WWE probably realized how terribly they were treating Nattie, as they decided to change her role when the damage had already been done. Natalya had to work hard to make people forget about that aspect of her character and that terrible role almost destroyed her hard-earned reputation in the WWE.

14 The Flirtatious Nia Jax

Nia Jax has proved to be a really powerful and hard-hitting wrestler in the WWE over the past few years and has especially played her role as a "monster heel" to perfection. While Jax might be slowly transitioning into a baby-face now, the WWE didn't think it is that good to turn her a few months back, which is why they decided to give her a "flirty" role in which she'd try to kick-up a romance angle with Enzo Amore. Jax started acting all kinds of different with Enzo as she started flirting with him and trying to seduce him in many segments. While thankfully this character has to be disbanded once Enzo got fired, the WWE really ruined her momentum by making Nia portray this awful character and they're horribly miscasting at having someone intimidating like Nia play this flirty role ruined her momentum on Monday Night Raw.

13 "The Wizard Of Oz" Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash enjoyed a legendary career where he was at the top of both WWE and WCW in his peak years, but things didn't really start on a high for him when Nash decided to become a pro wrestler. He was initially found in WCW, where he started out as a tag team wrestler before WCW decided to give him a rather weird character of "Oz". His role was to portray this character influenced by the "Wizard of Oz" storybooks as he'd dress in bright colors and be managed by "The Great Wizard". Nash did not suit in this role at all because of his intimidating nature but was forced to portray it due to contractual obligations but he looked awful in this role because of how it didn't fit him at all and WCW had horribly miscast him to portray this terrible rip-off character.

12 Luke Gallows As Festus

Luke Gallows might be known to be this intimidating bad-ass in the WWE, but his earlier stint wasn't really that memorable at all because of the terrible role which the WWE had miscast him with. Gallows was initially known as Festus in the WWE where he would be this mentally disabled man who came out with his "brother", Jesse and became a monster once the bell rang and the matches started. This awful character did not click with the fans at all and reduced Gallows into looking extremely foolish before WWE shelved it and repacked into the Luke Gallows character under CM Punk. Gallows had stated that after returning to WWE, Vince McMahon didn't even know that he was the man portraying Festus so many years ago, proving just how forgettable it was and how badly miscast he was even Vince forgot about who portrayed that character.

11 Diamond Dallas Page As A Stalker

Diamond Dallas-Page was one of WCW's best "original" wrestlers during his long career in the company but when they were bought up by WWE, Vince McMahon decided to sign him to do something very interesting with him. Now DDP was known to be a beloved baby-face in WCW, but WWE thought it to be great to give him a heel role after debuting as he was revealed to be a "stalker" of The Undertaker's wife Sara. This role did not suit him at all because of how he had always excelled as a babyface and failed to properly portray this maniacal heel character and the fans didn't buy into it either. WWE realized that they had badly miscast him with this role, but gave even an even worse gimmick later on as DDP's initial stint in WWE would be utterly disappointing.

10 Dean Malenko, Ladies Man

Dean Malenko was arguably one of the best in-ring technicians in the WCW during his years in the Cruiserweight Division, where he had some great feuds to really spark up the division. But Malenko decided to move to WWE later on and after initial dominance as a Cruiserweight in WWE, they decide to spice up his character by changing his role. Malenko changed into a character who loved to flirt with the women of WWE. He even tried to get the affections of Lita and even wrestled a match with her, which he won. But this character did not suit "The Iceman" at all and triggered him to retire from in-ring competition in the end. WWE terribly miscast him in this role and destroyed the ice-cold reputation he had worked hard to develop.

9 The Ringmaster Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin is still a beloved character because of the amazing stuff he did in the Attitude Era and how he helped WWE win the Ratings Battle over WCW and eventually establish themselves as the alpha-male of pro wrestling. While Austin would be remembered for his "Stone Cold" character, he was initially made to play the role of "The Ringmaster" who was part of the Million Dollar Corporation and even held the Million Dollar Championship. He acted like an arrogant heel, something which didn't suit him nor click with the fans. Austin was uncomfortable portraying it, later demanding a change in character and a few months later, the "Stone Cold" character was born. It was for the better that he demanded a change in role because WWE had terribly miscast him in this character of the "Ringmaster" which could've destroyed his WWE career had he continued with it.

8 Bray Wyatt's Sister Abigail

Bray Wyatt has been one of WWE's most intriguing characters over the years because of how his supernatural persona seemed similar to that of The Undertaker and how amazing he was in building up feuds. Wyatt had been doing some great work over the years, but WWE decided to thrash all that when they gave him the "extra" role of portraying the character of his deceased "Sister Abigail". In his feud with Finn Balor, Wyatt vowed to bring out Sister Abigail and instead of it being someone else, it was revealed that it was another "personality" of Bray which came out in some weird promos. But before he could compete as Sister Abigail, Wyatt got sick and couldn't compete in the match. It would actually be a blessing in disguise for him, as he'd already been humiliated enough when WWE terribly miscast him into portraying "Sister Abigail" himself.

7 The Shockmaster

Fred Ottman was actually a pretty impressive wrestler in his years in the WWE where he made great use of his intimidating figure and even won the WWE Tag Team titles with Earthquake, but a move to WCW would prove to be a terrible mistake for his career. After he moved to WCW, the company decided to give him the role of "The Shockmaster", who would be the "big-man" in the fan-favorite team of WCW and be pushed from the start. But it was then when the infamous "botch" happened of him failing to make a grand entrance and instead of falling and losing his head-gear. This hilarious incident is something which killed his career in WCW and the terrible role which WCW had miscast this talented wrestler with had backfired horribly, as they instantly ruined a talent who could've done great things for them.

6 Billy & Chuck 

Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo looked to be quite the exciting tag team when they were aligned together by the WWE in the early 2000s, but the characters they were made to portray did not help them at all. Billy & Chuck went on to become lovers and became a bit too intimate with each other as they were managed by Rico. While they did enjoy a lot of success and won the World Tag Team Championship twice during this time, they did not look fit for the role of homosexual lovers at all and it seemed extremely forced for them. In the end, WWE had them stop showing any signs of intimacy after receiving some backlash from the fans which probably propelled WWE to realize how much of a mistake they had made in terribly miscasting them with the role of lovers.

5 Max Moon

The character of Max Moon has to be one of the most bizarre ones to ever appear in WWE, as Vince McMahon intended this character to be a "Cyborg from outer space". It was initially given to Konnan who was making quite the name for himself in the wrestling community then, but it did not fit him at all because of how ludicrous the character really was. Konnan did not want to portray the character and often had heated discussions with WWE staff because of it and his relationship with them reached a boiling point after a few months, which cost him his job in WWE. They later gave it to Paul Diamond, who couldn't do any good with it either. In the end, WWE shelved the character after realizing how badly they had miscast it with these two promising wrestlers and wasted a lot of money at that.

4 Mark Henry's Chocolatey Goodness

Mark Henry might have been integrated into the record books after being inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2018 by the WWE, but his career in the company hasn't always been that legendary. While Henry did do some great things in WWE, things were really embarrassing for him during the Attitude Era when he started to portray the "Sexual Chocolate" character. This role of him trying to seduce women and fool around with women of all ages was just humiliating for him and something awful from the WWE to make him do. It made for some very embarrassing segments for Henry, who proved his loyalty to the company by actually going through with them without complaint. The WWE terribly miscast him with this role of a Casanova and this trainwreck almost ruined Henry's reputation as a terrorizing heel.

3 Tommy Dreamer's Just A Regular Guy

Tommy Dreamer is definitely a hardcore legend in his own right because of the amazing work he's done for the wrestling industry over the past few decades and once ECW ran out of business, Dreamer was one of the guys signed by WWE in the early 2000s. After the Invasion angle played out, Dreamer was repackaged as a new character where he'd portray "Just A Regular Guy". But as it would be revealed, he wasn't just "any regular guy" and would do all sorts of disgusting things like eating food from the floor and brushing his dog's teeth and his own teeth with the same toothbrush. He even drank the spit of The Undertaker during one segment as this awful miscast of a role not only ruined his reputation as a top star but also reduced Dreamer to becoming a joke to the general audience.

2 Kerwin White AKA Chavo Guerrero

Chavo Guerrero was definitely an under-rated wrestler in the WWE during his years where he was mostly made to appear in the Cruiserweight Division but after years spending there, WWE decided to go with a new direction with his character. They repackaged him to shun his Hispanic heritage and start portraying a character called "Kerwin White" who was a stereotypical, white Anglo-American. He dyed his hair blonde and came to the ring on a golf cart and often degraded the heritage of the African-Americans, Hispanics, and other religions. This character looked awful for him because of how it was nothing like Chavo and after Eddie Guerrero's untimely death, it was shelved. But WWE really made a mockery of Chavo by terribly miscasting him in this role which had him insult his own people and shun the values he respected so highly in real life.