The difference between a good and bad wrestling gimmick can make a huge impact on the success of a wrestler, and while they have plenty of say on things, ultimately it is down to the booker in how they are presented. This is particularly true for WWE, especially during Vince McMahon's time in charge of the company.
Of course, it is in WWE's best interest to create compelling gimmicks that wrestlers can dive into, but there are times when the company has used different characters as a means of punishing someone. While some have been able to take these punishments and make them work, others have failed to do so, flopping because of their character.
10 Perry Saturn (Moppy)
The safety of wrestlers inside the ring is paramount for any company, and it is something that Vince McMahon has always taken seriously, no matter where the person is on the card. So, when Perry Saturn ended up taking shots against a jobber during a Raw match, he was punished.
That led to him having the infamous Moppy gimmick, which saw him have to be in love with an actual mop. It was a ridiculous character, and one that he was never going to be taken seriously with, but that was the price he had to pay.
9 Ricky Steamboat (Dragon Gimmick)
Asking for time off is not something that happens in wrestling, as the talent are just expected to be available at all times. Therefore, when Ricky Steamboat wanted a break after WrestleMania 3 it did not go down well, and instead, Vince McMahon looked to punish him.
He did that by giving him a dragon, making that the entire focal point of his character. The idea was that it would be impossible to get over, and would cement Steamboat to the mid-card, but he was far too talented for that, and he got the character over massively.
8 Dusty Rhodes (Polka Dot)
Another wrestling legend who turned a punishment into an iconic gimmick was Dusty Rhodes, who was given the yellow and black polka dots as a rib. It is believed that Vince McMahon wanted to punish Rhodes a little after he had been the competition for so many years.
However, because Rhodes is incredibly talented and has so much charisma, he was able to make this character one of the most popular of all time. He embraced all of it and danced his way around the ring to win over the hearts of the masses.
7 Brodus Clay (Funkasaurus)
Brodus Clay appearing as the Funkasaurus is something that took everyone by surprise at the time because WWE had been building him up as a monster heel, and that is what people expected to see. However, the company switched gears as a punishment to Clay once a clip of him being funny was shown to Vince McMahon.
He wanted to turn Clay face, but he initially said no, and then he felt the decision to make him an all-singing, all-dancing wrestler was a rib. While he could have done more as a heel, Clay managed to make the gimmick work enough to get over in the long run.
6 One Man Gang (Akeem The African Dream)
One Man Gang was a hard-hitting wrestler that was easy to take seriously due to his size and strength, but when the company switched his gimmick to Akeem The African Dream, there were question marks from fans. The gimmick was a poor one, and it made little sense from what he had been doing previously.
This was given to him as a punishment because he had missed some dates, which is something that WWE does take seriously. As they were unimpressed with him at that point, he got saddled with a character that was tough to make work.
5 Adrian Adonis (Adorable)
Adrian Adonis was a talented performer, and someone who should have had proven himself as a hard-hitting, tough wrestler before joining WWE. That is what most people expected to see from him all of the time, but Vince McMahon had other ideas, and a punishment in mind.
This was because Adonis had gained some weight, and his boss wasn't happy about it so he labeled him as Adorable, forcing him to undergo a major shift in character to play up that fact.
4 Mark Henry (Sexual Chocolate)
Mark Henry was signed to a huge contract when he first joined WWE, and it was clear that Vince McMahon had big plans for him as a performer. However, the start of his run didn't quite go to plan, and when that was the case he ended up being punished.
Instead of being booked as a serious name, Henry became Sexual Chocolate, which was a comedic character that saw him impregnate Mae Young. To Henry's credit, he got this character to work perfectly for him, with fans still talking about it to this day.
3 Mickie James (Piggy James)
The Piggy James storyline that Mickie James was subjected to is one of the most insulting in WWE history, and that all came down to backstage issues. Rumors of her and John Cena being romantically involved reportedly had something to play in this, as did WWE asking her to lose weight.
James refused that, and instead the company took it into one of the worst storylines that has ever been created, which is not how one of the greatest women's wrestlers of all time should have been treated.
2 R-Truth (Little Jimmy)
A gimmick that sees a wrestler pretend to have an imaginary friend is always going to be tough to get over, and it is easy to see how that would be a punishment. The simple reason for that is that it was. Vince McMahon gave R-Truth the character on purpose because he had smoked on live television.
He did that in character, but it was heavily frowned upon due to the PG restrictions that the company has. Because of that, the former WWE Chairman opted to punish Truth by giving him an imaginary friend, but to his credit, he managed to get that over as well.
1 Owen Hart (Blue Blazer)
Owen Hart is one of the greatest in-ring technicians of all time, so making him the comedic Blue Blazer was a poor decision from Vince McMahon, especially since it was one that he did as a punishment. This was a petty situation as well because it had little to do with Hart himself.
Instead, this was mainly done because of Bret Hart, and everything that was going on with him departing the company. However, Owen also refused a storyline that involved him having an on-screen affair. He stayed loyal to his wife and didn't want to be presented in that manner, so instead, he went under the mask.