In wrestling, stars are often given a gimmick. It’s a character that’s supposed to represent the wrestler’s personality. Throughout the decades, we’ve seen plenty of gimmicks, with some more outrageous than others. Sometimes these gimmicks can actually become a hit. For instance, The Undertaker gimmick is one of the most popular of all time. Plus, most recently we’ve seen The New Day spin their positivity gimmick into a hit.

While these gimmicks are popular with fans, there are some that have been terrible over the years. Who remembers The Boogeyman? Although it was scary, over time it wore itself out. Most recently the Emmalina gimmick was a flop before it even started.

Having the right gimmick can either make or break a wrestler’s career. In the past, we’ve seen wrestlers take a horrible gimmick and turn it into gold. For example, The New Day were able to turn the power of positivity into one of the best gimmicks the audience has seen in a long time. However, most of the time when a wrestler is stuck with a bad gimmick, it makes them look like a fool. There’s been plenty of terrible gimmicks over the years and they’ve caused a lot of damage to a wrestler’s career. The main reason is the wrestler is known more for the gimmick and less for their wrestling skills.

So let’s take a look at wrestlers, who had terrible gimmicks and how it derailed their lives.

15 Jillian Hall

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Blonde beauty Jillian Hall had the looks, athleticism, and charisma to make it as a big star in the women’s division. Yet, like many women Jillian was stuck with one bad gimmick after another. Her most memorable gimmick was her Britney Spears pop singer gimmick, although Jillian was no Britney. Fans cringed when she came out screeching the latest pop hits, then they applauded when the other Divas would beat her up to stop the singing. In 2010, the singing gimmick came to an end when Jillian was released from the company.

After her tenure with WWE, Jillian tried to make it as a wrestler on the independent circuit; she booked a few gigs, yet didn’t have the star power to make it in the small league. In 2014, she decided to retire from the squared circle and spends her time attending wrestling conventions.

14 Simon Dean

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There’s many wrestlers who come and go that have a terrible gimmick that fans wish to forget. One of those was Simon Dean fitness instructor. From 2004 to 2006, Simon Dean was WWE’s resident health guru. Wearing a sweatsuit or sometimes a spandex outfit, Simon would come to the ring on a Segway. He would then take the time to promote his fitness products and teach the audience about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Simon’s fitness promos earned boos from the crowds, who couldn’t wait to see him get his butt kicked by another wrestler. In 2006, Simon Dean was released from WWE. He tried to keep his professional wrestling career going on the independent circuit, yet like many stars he couldn’t find success. These days Simon has traded wrestling for a regular nine to five job.

13 Ken Doane

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The Spirit Squad was one of the unique stables in WWE. The group of five male cheerleaders won the tag team championships from The Big Show and Kane. Then a few months later, they were involved in a big feud with DX. After their loss to DX, The Spirit Squard disbanded. One star of the squad, Nick Nemeth went on to find success as Dolph Ziggler. Yet, many members including Ken Doane couldn’t. He tried to make it as a singles competitor on Smackdown, yet the crowd couldn’t get behind him.

In 2008, he was fired from WWE and later made a few guest appearances at independent show. In 2016, Ken and former Spirit Squad member Mikey returned to WWE to become involved in Dolph Ziggler’s feud with The Miz. But their return was short-lived and the duo returned to the indie circuit. He also now competes in fitness competitions.

12 Paul Burchill

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Paul Burchill was a burly wrestler and with a unique strong name, who he could’ve had a successful career. He had gained attention wrestling for the promotion Frontier Wrestling Alliance. Then when he hit the big league in WWE, you’d figure his momentum would continue. But WWE decided to stick Paul Burchill with a pirate gimmick.

Burchill, dressed as a pirate would come to the ring by swinging on a rope. Despite the corny gimmick, it was a hit with fans. Yet, like all good things, WWE scraped the pirate character. Afterwards, Burchill struggled to find success in WWE and in 2010 was released from the company. Since his departure from WWE, Burchill occasionally makes guest appearances at indie shows, but these days he’s working as a firefighter in his home of Jeffersontown, Kentucky.

11 Mordecai

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Kevin Thorn will always be remembered by WWE and ECW fans for his vampire gimmick. His goth appearance along with his vampire mannerisms made him and his valet Ariel a standout in ECW. Yet, long before Thorn had his vampire persona, he had another gimmick that most fans tend to forget.

In 2004, Thorn made his main roster debut on Smackdown under the ring name Mordecai. The gimmick was reportedly Thorn’s idea and his character was a religious leader, who dressed in white. The promos were enough to draw attention to the character, yet storyline wise there wasn’t much for Mordecai. After less than two months, the character of Mordecai was scrapped. With Thorn’s bad luck for gimmicks, he choose to quietly step away from wrestling in 2009.

10 Rico

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Flamboyant wrestler Rico first became known to WWE fans as Billy and Chuck’s wedding planner. But after the failed wedding ceremony, Rico became a singles competitor with Jackie Gayda as his valet. He would soon team with a reluctant Charlie Haas, with whom he would win the tag team championships.

Even though the flamboyant gimmick was a dud with critics, fans seemed to love Rico. However, just as his career was heating up, Rico was released from WWE. After his departure from the company in 2004, Rico retired from wrestling. Since retiring from wrestling, Rico has become a police officer in Nevada. But in recent years, Rico has suffered a string of health problems, which has caused his former wrestling pals to step in to help.

9 Brodus Clay

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At close to 7 feet tall and weighing over 300 pounds, Brodus Clay had the physique of a wrestler. With his build, he could’ve been an unstoppable monster in the squared circle. After debuting on season four of NXT, the WWE Universe got a glimpse at how tough Brodus could be. Yet, WWE decided to soften up Clay’s image by rebranding him as The Funkasaurus. Each week, Brodus would come out dressed in a sweatsuit and dance his way to the ring as his valets The Funkadactyls accompanied him.

The gimmick was fun for a while, but soon started to lose its luster. Two years after debuting as The Funkasaurus, Brodus Clay was released by WWE. Afterwards, he went to work for TNA, where he wrestled under the new name Tyrus. This time he got to show his strong side as he briefly served at Matt Hardy’s bodyguard and demolished his competition.

8 BB

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Wrestler Kathy Dingman made her debut in 1999 as WWE’s newest Diva. Her debut came during a Thanksgiving episode of Smackdown where she appeared as a paramedic, who offered medical assistance to The Kat following a gravy bowl match. Ivory, who was upset over her lose beat up the blonde paramedic and embarrassed her by throwing her into the gravy pool.

A week later, the paramedic would return to television and reveal her name was Barbara Bush aka BB. She then entered into a feud with Ivory and challenged her to a series of matches. Unfortunately, BB lost the matches and couldn't garner any fan support. A few months after her debut she was released from the company. Two years later she wrestled for TNA under the ring name Taylor Vaughn. Her tenure at TNA was also short-lived, and since then she’s  stayed out of the wrestling spotlight.

7 The Kiss Demon

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KISS is one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Many of their fans love to put on paint and pretend to be their favourite member of the group. One wrestler took his passion for the group all the way to the ring.

Dale Torborg wrestled for a short period of time in WCW as The Kiss Demon. Torborg would dress up as KISS guitar player Gene Simmons. His biggest feud would come when he fought against Vampiro. Aside from that, nothing about The Kiss Demon was memorable to wrestling fans. In 2002, when WCW came to an end, Torborg decided to retire from wrestling. Since then he’s traded his Gene Simmons cosplay for baseball, where he works as trainer for major league teams. Yet, we're wondering if Torborg ever thinks of pulling out the Kiss Demon outfit again.

6 Linda Miles

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Linda Miles made history when she and Jackie Gayda became the winners of season two of Tough Enough. With her physique, Linda had the potential to become a star in the women’s division. A year after winning the reality competition show, Linda made her debut as Shaniqua, the valet for the Basham Brothers. Shaniqua was viewed as a dominatrix character due to her leather outfits and the whip she would use on the brothers whenever they lost a match. Aside from serving as a valet, she also showcased her skills as a wrestler by fighting Torrie Wilson.

However, just as soon as Miles’ career was taking off, she was released from WWE. Rumours say her backstage attitude along with the lack of interest in the Shaniqua character lead to her firing. After her time in WWE came to an end, Linda Miles  concentrated on a new career as a teacher.

5 Trevor Murdoch

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Trevor Murdoch made his debut in WWE in July 2005 when he and tag partner Lance Cade. The two had a cowboy gimmick, which is often seen with wrestlers, yet Murdoch and Cade made their gimmick work. They won tag team championships three times and fought against stars such as DX, Big Show and Kane, and The Hardy Boyz.

Yet, by 2008, WWE was ready to end the partnership between Cade and Murdoch. After their split, Murdoch kept his cowboy gimmick, yet this time it came with a twist. He was a singing cowboy. Following his matches, he would get on the mic to belt out a country tune. The new gimmick didn’t go over well with fans and a few months later, Murdoch was fired. After WWE, he would wrestle briefly for TNA and other independent promotions. Recently, Murdoch has traded wrestling for a career as a fibre optic cables installer.

4 The Kat

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Stacy Carter got her career in wrestling thanks to her ex-husband Jerry “The King” Lawler. The petite blonde started out as a valet for Jeff Jarrett before dying her hair black and acting as Chyna’s minion. The Kat helped Chyna retain the Intercontinental Championship during her feud with Chris Jericho. Chyna thanked her assistant by signing The Kat up for a Women’s Championship match, which the petite beauty won.

Yet, The Kat’s alliance with Chyna came to an end and so did her championship reign. Not too long afterwards, Carter was fired from WWE. Like many wrestlers, Carter tried to make it on the indie scene, but had trouble booking gigs. She has since gone on to have careers in a number of fields including cosmetology and real estate. She also occasionally appears at wrestling conventions, where fans remember her from her WWE days.

3 Kizarny

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You know a gimmick is going to be bad when the writers scrap the idea after the wrestler debuts on the main roster. That’s exactly what happened to Kizarny. Sinn Bodhi portrayed Kizarny, a carnival worker wrestler. Vignettes of Kizarny began popping up on Smackdown in the fall of 2008. The segments showed the tattooed wrestler at a carnival, the place he called home. Prior to making his television debut, Kizarny wrestled a few dark matches, and the crowd reaction wasn’t great. He also didn’t get much of a reaction when he made his televised debut in January 2009.

Two months after his debut, Kizarny was released from the company. Since then Bodhi has returned to wrestling on the independent circuit, where he’s found some success. Aside from wrestling, he’s also working as a tattoo artist in Florida.

2 Boogeyman

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WWE loves to create scary gimmicks for their wrestlers. In 2005, they introduced audiences to The Boogeyman. When his music would hit, he’d crawl to the ring dressed in his demonic makeup. He would then smash an oversized clock in his face, then scare his opponents by spitting worms. The Boogeyman became a long-running, popular gimmick. But within time, it lost its touch.

In March 2009, The Boogeyman was let go from the company and soon went on to wrestle for other promotions. He still kept the boogeyman gimmick, which is still a hit with a few fans. He’s also returned to WWE by making a few guest appearances on RAW. But in real life, Martin Wright, the man who portrays The Boogeyman, works as a fitness instructor in Denver, Colorado. Yet, all wrestling fans will remember him best as The Boogeyman and wonder when he’ll make another appearance.

1 Emma

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Emma is a tremendous wrestler, yet like many stars before her, WWE wasted her talents. While Emma was out dealing with a back injury, the WWE decided to rebrand her with a modeling gimmick called Emmalina. Four months of vignettes, showed Emma modeling in bikinis on the beach and promising the wait would be worth it.

On February 13, 2017, Emmalina finally debuted. Yet, it wasn’t exactly what viewers were expecting. Emma came out in an evening gown, explaining that Emmalina was gone and Emma was back. Months of hype lead to a gimmick ending in less than two minutes. It was reported that the modelling gimmick was dropped because producers felt Emma wasn’t right for the part. Even Emma has gone on record to say she wasn’t a fan of the Emmalina gimmick.