Five Worst Gimmicks in WWE History

The WWE is the most successful wrestling promotion in the world. However, they have created many gimmicks over the years that should have never been put into use. Most of the lame gimmicks did happen in the mid-1990s when the promotion was in the midst of a steroid scandal as well as losing revenue at an alarming rate. Here are my five worst gimmicks in WWE history starting at No. 5:

5. Duke "The Dumpster" Droese

In a time where the WWE was literally throwing any gimmick out there in hopes that it would work in the mid-1990s, Mike Droese took on this role. Though the gimmick did last nearly two years, the fact that Droese was a face made people scratch their heads. Think about a guy who after winning his match, throws a garbage can full of trash onto his opponent. The WWE actually thought fans would cheer that? Nonetheless, he did end his WWE stint by feuding with upcoming star Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who is now Triple H. He was released not long after his feud with Hunter ended.

4. Giant Gonzalez

After a failed career in the NBA, Jorge Gonzalez made his wrestling debut in WCW as El Gigante. His in-ring ability was very limited, if not non-existant. He then found his way to the WWE in the early 90s, and was named Giant Gonzalez. Giant Gonzalez was dressed in a Sasquatch costume and he feuded with the Undertaker. Gonzalez was so immobile, that fans grew very restless of the angle involving him and the Undertaker. The Undertaker won the match between them by disqualification at WrestleMania IX. Many fans have said that this was the worst match in WrestleMania history. However, the Undertaker recovered and has had a very impressive and productive career. Gonzalez was not so fortunate, and he was released by the WWE after the feud between them ended.

3. Fake or imposter gimmicks

I have to put this one here because there have been many immitation or imposter gimmicks that the WWE has thrown at fans for the last several years. The first one that stands out was the WWE creating Undertaker vs Undertaker angle. The fake Undertaker was played by Brian Lee, and he faced the real Undertaker at SummerSlam in 1994. The real Undertaker won. The fans grew so tired of that match that they cancelled the scheduled house show matches as a result.

The WWE apparently did not learn their lesson because some 12 years later, an imposter Kane in Kane's old ring attire with a mask, showed up to start a feud. The imposter Kane did win the match between them, but fans hated the match so much that the real Kane was forced to kill off the angle between them for good the next night on Monday Night Raw.

Kane also played the fake Diesel when Kevin Nash signed on with the WWE in 1996. The new Diesel and Razor Ramon gimmick was another bonehead move that the WWE threw against the wall in the mid-1990s in hopes it would work. Creating imposter wrestlers for angles is a bad idea because fans do not buy into them at all as you can see.

2. Aldo Mantoya, the Portuguese Man O' War

After his work as a jobber, and assisting his work behind the scenes in taking bumps for the fake Undertaker, Peter Polaco was given the gimmick of Aldo Mantoya as a reward. While Mantoya was a soccer player, the WWE saw it fit to give him the Portuguese Man O' War gimmick instead. The Man O' War was a face, but fans laughed at him when they saw that he was wearing a yellow mask that resembled a jock strap. He was one of the best in-ring workers at the time in the mid-1990s, but this gimmick would have crippled most anyone's career. His career did recover as he later took on the gimmick of Justin Credible in ECW, and became one the promotion's biggest stars ever.

1. Red Rooster

In my mind, there has been no worser gimmick in WWE history than that of the Red Rooster. Just imagine a guy going around the ring in red tights with a ring coat, and rooster-combed hair yelling like a rooster. After losing out on getting the "Mr. Perfect" gimmick to Curt Hennig, Terry Taylor was given the title of the Red Rooster, and was initially a heel managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in 1988. Taylor was actually a very talented in-ring wrestler that deserved much better than this gimmick. The gimmick became worse when he turned face and had the "Rooster Boosters" fans supporting him. The career of Terry Taylor never recovered from this embarrassment which was a shame considering he was one of the best workers in the industry at the time.

There have been many other gimmicks that the WWE has tried, and failed with. Doink the Clown is not listed here to the surprise of some. However, he was able to get over as a heel with fans after a period of time, but turning him face while adding more clowns to the mix called for fans to kill it off. This is why I didn't put him on the list.

I don't know what is worse. The fact the wrestlers performed these gimmicks? Or the ones who created them and actually thought it would sell tickets? I think the answer is obvious.

Source: wrestlecrap.com