Wrestling Moments No One Was Buying

Wrestling as a form of entertainment requires a level of buy-in from fans. Every kid who grows up watching it will eventually have that moment where they learn that it is predetermined. It is kind of like finding out (spoilers) Santa Claus isn't real. Fans either accept that it is a performance and roll with it or move on to other things. If a fan can suspend their disbelief and enjoy it for what it is, wrestling can provide incredible entertainment. The athleticism, passion, and pageantry are like nothing else in the world. Simply put, wrestling is wonderful.

This can be a difficult idea to defend (especially with a photo of a man in a turkey costume as that found above the text), however, it's true. Ask any fan why they love wrestling. They will get misty-eyed talking about Bret Hart, The Rock, Antonio Inoki, Mick Foley, or whichever performer made them fall in love with the art form. There is something magical about wrestling when it's done right.

As a spectacle, it can also, at times, be a disaster. In the history of the business, there are storylines, gimmicks, and moments that are impossible to defend. They can be comical, offensive, or just plain stupid. Some of these moments are infamous. Some of them get a tongue-in-cheek wink from the company responsible. Some of them are glossed over. This piece will examine the moments that fans just couldn't buy. 

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had some amazing moments in the '90s: the Hulk Hogan heel turn, the New World Order (NWO), Goldberg (at times), and great cruiserweight matches are all prime examples. WCW boasted a very talented roster with names like Flair, Sting, Pillman, Hall, etc. They could just put the performers in the ring and let them cook. Sadly, that wasn't always the creative direction. WCW also had a history of comically overbooking. One of the more ridiculous examples of this happened on May 19, 1990 at Capital Combat.

RoboCop was a series of middling, but awesome films about a half-man, half-robot police officer. For whatever reason, WCW decided to help promote "RoboCop 2" by having the lead character take part in a pay-per-view event. It was absurd from the get-go. Robocop arrived at the arena flanked by what appeared to be Secret Service officers, some security, and Sting. The Stinger made his way down to the ring and was then jumped by the Horsemen. The Horsemen then proceeded to force Stinger into a cage (which was conveniently at ringside from earlier). From there, Robocop appeared on the walkway. At a very gentlemanly pace, Robocop made his way to the cage where Sting was trapped. The robot proceeded to bend the clearly rubber cage bars and free Sting. Jim Ross on commentary said, "what strength by Robocop!" Then, the Horsemen quickly left. That's it. That was the segment. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, this was terrible. It now lives in the humorous eye-roll section of wrestling history. Sting said in an interview with Bleacher Report that, "at the time, it was one of the most embarrassing things to endure." It was pretty embarrassing for the fans as well. 

The biggest day in professional wrestling every year is without question WrestleMania. It's an annual event that sells out massive arenas, creates memorable occurrences, and gives WWE Superstars their moment. Since WrestleMania began, the event has brought celebrity and non-wrestling athletes into the wrestling world in an effort to generate buzz. The WWE also has a long history of using their flagship event as a platform to create attraction matches. Floyd Mayweather, Lawrence Taylor, and Johnny Knoxville have all competed on The Grandest Stage of them All.

At WrestleMania 21 (an excellent show), Big Show competed against a legitimate sumo wrestling champion named Akebono. WWE did an official weigh in on "SmackDown" the week of WrestleMania. They also had Akebono squash some poor dude. The WrestleMania match was about as flat as possible. It certainly didn't help that the contest took place right after the Kurt Angle versus Shawn Michaels bout (an all-time great match). After going through the traditional sumo rituals, the two men came together. The crowd was quiet or, at best, being polite. If you watch the match you can see some of them coming back from getting food. Tazz and Michael Cole did their level best to commentate, but it was a lost cause. Paul Wight was eventually tossed out of the ring, a loss according to sumo rules. Big Show described it as his most embarrassing moment in wrestling.

Akebono went on to have a respectable wrestling career in Japan. He competed in All Japan, New Japan, Dragon Gate, and Zero1 before retiring. Big Show hadn't seen the end of the Mania gimmick matches. He faced (and lost to) Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania XXIV. 

The Attitude Era in the WWF was a wild time. It produced some of the biggest Superstars and moments in the history of professional wrestling. D-Generation X, The Rock, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin were all staples of that era in sports entertainment. It is also more than fair to say that it produced some pretty ugly-minded stuff. There is, however, one angle that was the most tasteless, disgusting, and stomach-churning of all. It is perhaps the ugliest moment in the history of professional wrestling, which, oddly enough, occurred only months after the Attitude Era ended. That honor belongs to the Katie Vick storyline.

In October 2002, Kane was feuding with Triple H. On the October 14 episode of "Raw," Hunter alleged that Kane had killed his friend Katie Vick. He took it a million steps too far when he accused the Big Red Machine of having sex with her lifeless body. One week later on "Raw," Triple H screened a videotape for the WWE universe. On this tape, Hunter, dressed as Kane, violated Katie Vick's body at a funeral home. There really isn't another way to describe it. He referenced her panties and his own stiffness before removing her clothes and, well, you get the idea. The big finish to this segment was when Triple H proclaimed gleefully, "I screwed your brains out!" 

Even if this segment is given the benefit of being over 20 years old, it's reprehensible. There isn't really anything else one can say about it. 

Andrew Hankinson has had an interesting ride in professional wrestling. As Doc Gallows he is a legit star and Bullet Club staple in Japan. He and teammate Karl Anderson won the 2013 World Tag League tournament. At Wrestle Kingdom 8, they won the IWGP Tag Team Championships. He has also wrestled in TNA Impact (and won titles), AEW, and WWE. His first run with WWE in 2006 was gimmicky and lame for reasons that are no fault of Hankinson. He just wasn't given good material to work with (he was Imposter Kane).

After Imposter Kane, Hankinson was brought back to the main roster as Festus. His gimmick centered on being developmentally disabled. Apparently, Vince McMahon asked Hankinson if he could make a face and Festus was born. As gimmicks go, it's about as ridiculous as you can get. Festus didn't exactly take off. On the December 21, 2007 episode of "SmackDown," he was in a Santa match against Deuce. Michael Cole and JBL couldn't stop laughing during commentary. Strictly speaking, that isn't great for a wrestler career-wise. The character eventually disappeared.

Hankinson moved on to other promotions and better opportunities. His time in New Japan and other promotions proved he could work. It also proved that he didn't need an absurd gimmick. If you watch any of his matches, he is pretty great for a big guy. On October 10, 2022, Gallows and Anderson returned to WWE, and, judging by the reaction of the crowd, the team is pretty over.  

The early to mid-'90s WWF was awash with absurd gimmicks. Prior to the Attitude Era, a WWF wrestler always seemed to need to be something. Dr. Isaac Yankem (Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane) was an evil dentist. Nailz was a convict. Bastion Booger was gross. The Repo Man was well, a repo man. You get the idea. There is one gimmick, however, that towers above all in terms of stupidity. It's one that was so cosmically stupid and ill-thought-out, that it defies explanation. That gimmick was born or, to be accurate, hatched at Survivor Series 1990.

Prior to the 1990 Survivor Series, a large egg began appearing at WWF events. In theory, this was to build suspense, although it's hard to picture fans getting fired up about an egg being ringside. In Hartford, Connecticut at Survivor Series, the mystery was revealed. Mean Gene Okerlund (bless his heart) was beside the egg and really tried to sell it. The egg hatched and a man in a turkey costume popped out. The fan response was tepid because it was a man in a turkey costume. "Don't tell me you're the Gobbledy Gooker," said Mean Gene, which on rewatch could make someone want to cry. The Gooker went to the ring and tried to get the fans fired up. It didn't work.

The Gobbledy Gooker disappeared quickly thereafter, probably because it was terrible. WWE brings ole Gooker back every once in awhile to poke fun at themselves. At Survivor Series 2020, The Gobbledy Gooker won the 24/7 Championship on the Kickoff show. That means a man in a turkey costume has won more titles in WWE than Jake Roberts. Sometimes, you just have to laugh.