WRESTLING NEWS
15 Gimmicks That Were Dead On Arrival
By BENJAMIN FALBO
Survivor Series 1990 is infamous for the embarrassing debut by Gobbledy Gooker aka Hector Guerrero, where he ‘hatched’ from the giant egg that had been the subject of speculation for weeks. Emerging in a giant turkey costume and talking only in turkey noises, Gooker’s cringeworthy dance with “Mean” Gene Okerlund was hated by the crowd.
The Gobbledy Gooker
During a WCW interview segment, Sting introduced Fred Ottman aka WWE’s Tugboat as the Shockmaster, who debuted in a glittery stormtrooper helmet as a pair of pyro explosions went off. However, Ottman crashed through the wall and fell over, which made his mask slip off — an event known as one of pro wrestling’s biggest botches.
The Shockmaster
WCW hyped a special performance from the rock band Kiss for the final segment of a “Nitro” episode where a wrestler with Kiss-themed persona would debut. However, The Kiss Demon’s debut flopped horribly with Pro Wrestling Torch writing, “Kiss bombed in the ratings despite their live appearance being pushed for a few weeks.”
The Kiss Demon
After a teaser of the Yeti shown erupting from a giant block of ice, on Halloween Havoc 1995, the Yeti debuted in a costume that resembled a mummy more than a yeti. The Yeti joined The Giant in an awkward double bear hug on Hulk Hogan and after this trainwreck of a debut, WCW quickly repackaged Yeti as the Super Giant Ninja.
The Yeti
In 1999, Dustin Rhodes pitched the creepy new persona of Seven to WCW, which included a series of vignettes where Seven floated outside children’s windows, asking them to “Come to me and live forever.” However, standards and practices pulled the controversial character from WCW programming in record speed.
Seven