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Sometimes in wrestling, all it takes is an eye-catching presentation to get over (initially, at least). WWE stars like The Ultimate Warrior were often accused of focusing all their attention on their physical appearance to the detriment of their other skills, whether cutting promos or wrestling.
While some of the performers on our list certainly had - or eventually developed - more to offer beyond a cool entrance or unique attire, others were left exposed as soon as the bell rang. Either way, these ten WWE gimmicks might have looked cool, but like many that rely on style over substance, actually mostly sucked.
10 The Brood
There are reasons why Edge - and to a lesser extent, his kayfabe 'brother' Christian - eventually became big stars in the industry, while their Brood leader Gangrel didn't. David Heath had been performing on the indies as the 'Vampire Warrior' for several years, and although the gimmick was fairly unique for the time, it was not the type of character usually envisioned one day main-eventing Wrestlemania, for instance.
Edge and Christian eventually had to break away from the bloodsucking ghoul to take the next step in their careers. For as impressive as the gimmick looked - especially its ring entrance, which Edge would revisit over two decades later for his SummerSlam 2021 match against Seth Rollins - fans knew it was silly. Unsurprisingly, the subsequent version - the New Brood - featuring a young Matt and Jeff Hardy as their replacements fared no better.
9 Stardust
When Cody Rhodes requested - and was subsequently granted - his release from WWE in May 2016, he cited frustrations with the company's creative staff and the Stardust gimmick which was developed roughly two years prior in a storyline involving his brother, Dustin (a.k.a. Goldust... in case the reader didn't 'remember the name').
After a high-profile feud with Arrow star Stephen Amell in 2015, the future AEW founder suggested that the character had run its course, as the gimmick was one-dimensional outside of any involvement with Dustin. Despite Cody and the WWE wardrobe department's unique and creative designs - many of which took cues from cartoon supervillains during the Amell feud - the gimmick was never going to be able to overcome its inherent limitations.
8 Mordecai
Kevin Fertig began his career in Memphis in the early 2000s, and upon signing with WWE in 2002, kept his 'Seven' gimmick through his time in OVW developmental. When the time came for Fertig to debut on Smackdown in 2004, his character evolved somewhat into Mordecai, an all-white clad religious zealot whose stated goal was to :rid the world of sin."
His main roster in-ring debut occurred with much fanfare, as weeks of vignettes aired before his first match at Judgment Day against Scotty 2 Hotty. After only a few more appearances, including a Great American Bash victory over Hardcore Holly, Mordecai was abruptly pulled from television and sent back down to OVW. Speculation at the time was that his demotion was due to a bar fight and subsequent lawsuits Fertig was facing, but his in-ring performance alone should have been enough to see that he wasn't ready. After being released for a year, Fertig again flopped in his return with WWE's relaunched ECW as vampire Kevin Thorn.
7 'American Bad Ass' Undertaker
When the Undertaker emerged at the end of the Judgment Day 2002 Iron Man match between Triple H and the Rock, it wasn't so much that he wore a leather jacket, sunglasses and a black du-rag that struck some fans as odd - it was how natural it looked. After having spent the prior decade-plus as everything from an undead zombie to a Satanic cult leader, it seemed like for the first time, Mark Callaway was going to adopt the Attitude Era trope of playing a character based on his real-life persona.
The problem with 'Bikertaker,' as this iteration came to be known, was two-fold: first, WWE already had a no-nonsense Texan ass-kicker in Steve Austin, and second, fans loved the Undertaker's supernatural character. It didn't matter that the rest of the industry was leaning into the 'realism' trend across pop culture - the 'Phenom's supernatural entrance and special effects were an indispensable part of who the Undertaker was. Without all the ballyhoo, Callaway was just another big, tough dude in an industry filled with them.
6 Max Moon
The Max Moon gimmick was all look. When the first performer intended to portray the futuristic character, Konnan (who takes credit for the idea), left WWE after only three televised matches, all it meant was that somebody else had to step up to wear the suit. 'K-Dogg' has said that he based the idea, on whose outfit Vince McMahon reportedly invested $13,000, on a Japanese anime which featured a robot character whose arms shot confetti and fire.
The expensive body armor never caught on, but former AWA mid-carder and tag team specialist Paul Diamond just so happened to fit the Max Moon wrestling outfit. The jetpacks attached to his arms which propelled Moon over the ring steps onto the apron were cool, and Diamond was a talented wrestler, but the package was a little too convoluted for WWE fans at the time. When Diamond's contract expired in early 1993, the gimmick was grounded for good.
5 The Boogeyman
Marty Wright was a promising Tough Enough contestant in 2004, so when he was eliminated due to a technicality - he lied about his age on his application - it didn't take long for WWE officials to invite him to an official tryout in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Wright, who was already 40 years old, quickly developed the Boogeyman character. Before long, vignettes signaling his arrival began appearing on Raw.
Wright spent four years appearing on WWE programming and, despite seeming affable enough and his gimmick making its mark, for whatever reason, his booking was inconsistent. Maybe it was due to WWE being afraid to invest much into a 40-year-old rookie, or Wright being an exceptional athlete but not much of a wrestler. However, in an industry that struggles to invent interesting, original gimmicks, the Boogeyman character could have been much more than it was.
4 Lord Tensai
Matt Bloom is one of those mid-card veterans who, despite being so well-respected that he's served as a trainer and coach in WWE developmental for seven years, never caught on as an active competitor in North America. Despite several attempts at repackaging the former '(Prince) Albert,' Bloom was never really more than a right-hand man to more popular acts like Scotty 2 Hotty and the Big Show.
After several underwhelming years, Bloom went to Japan, where he wrestled as Giant Bernard to great success. It made sense that upon his 2012 return to WWE, Bloom adopted a new gimmick based on his Japanese experience. After several weeks of vignettes hyping the mysterious 'Lord Tensai,' Bloom wore traditional Japanese garb upon his elaborate ring entrance. The whole presentation looked tremendous, but when Tensai removed his hood and robe, all fans could see was Bloom's previous failed characters. It wouldn't be long until "Albert! Albert!" chants filled arenas during Bloom's matches and within two months, Tensai lost his hood, robe, first name, and lots of televised matches.
3 Zeus
Tiny 'Zeus' Lister never became a major Hollywood star, but the recognizable character actor eventually became well-known for his roles in popular movie franchises such as Friday. Vince McMahon was perhaps one of the first executives to recognize Lister's potential when, in the wake of his part opposite Hulk Hogan in the Hulkster's first solo starring role in a major movie, No Holds Barred, McMahon decided to bring Lister in as a wrestler.
The imposing monster checked every box McMahon wanted in Hogan's rivals at the time: he was huge and scary. Even though in-ring ability was, at best, negotiable to WWE in the 1980s (see: Tom Magee), Lister - who was resuming his Zeus character - was especially putrid. It wasn't necessarily his fault, as he wasn't a trained wrestler outside of a handful of basics he learned for the film, but despite multiple high profile matches - including a SummerSlam '90 main event teaming with 'Macho Man' Randy Savage against Hogan and Brutus Beefcake - the future Deebo was better off staying in Hollywood and out of wrestling rings for good.
2 Papa Shango
Charles 'The Godfather' Wright struck gold with the 'jolly pimp' gimmick at perhaps the only time in history when it would be considered acceptable: the Attitude Era. To this day, the cigar-chomping marijuana entrepreneur is known to frequent Las Vegas, where he ran a Cheetah's strip club after retiring from in-ring competition. However, less knowledgable fans from the '90s might be shocked to find out that before Wright was the Godfather (or even Kama), he spent a year in what's widely considered one of the silliest WWE gimmicks ever: Papa Shango.
Shango was a heel voodoo doctor whose exploits included setting felled opponents' feet on fire and, in one of the era's most infamous feuds, causing the Ultimate Warrior to ooze black liquid from his forehead and eventually vomit explosively backstage. Despite all of the questionable creative decisions surrounding the character, however, even Bret Hart has admitted that the original idea - and Wright's in-ring work - were no worse than any of the rest of the cartoonish ideas being presented at the time.
1 The Fiend
Where do we begin to talk about Bray Wyatt's run in WWE? As recently as a few years ago, the former Husky Harris looked to be on the precipice of being the company's heir apparent to the Undertaker - a menacing big man whose spooky character would seem ridiculous in the hands of anybody else, but in execution was awesome.
Instead, Wyatt's career - especially his reemergence as the Fiend in April 2019 - seemed to play out exactly opposite from how fans expected at the time. While the Fiend's presentation (particularly his Slipknot-like mask) seemed to exude dollar signs in merch sales and other cross-promotional ventures, creative kept taking things too far. Eventually, through no fault of Windham Rotunda's, fans turned on the character and its silliness, and when Rotunda - on the heels of an underwhelming storyline involving Alexa Bliss - was released in July 2021, it marked the end (for now) of one of WWE's most disappointing long-term characters.