WWE Gimmicks That Defied the Odds and Somehow Got Over
WWE has always presented over-the-top entertainment that is defined by the larger-than-life characters that tell their stories over years.
With the arrival of Danhausen in February, WWE may have found its newest outrageous character to get over with the fans.
From The Undertaker to Doink The Clown, many wild characters have come around in WWE that did not look like they would succeed but did.
This is a look back at the weirdest and wildest gimmicks in WWE that succeeded in spite of the odds.
Goldust
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Dustin Rhodes was not supposed to work in WWE.
Vince McMahon showed repeatedly that he held a grudge against Dusty Rhodes. Because of that grudge, he refused to book Dusty well throughout his time in WWE.
Dustin was never going to be allowed to run with the Rhodes last name in WWE, but he was not ready for the odd gimmick Vince had planned for him.
Goldust was a pansexual androgynous character covered in gold that pushed the boundaries of what WWE was willing to do in the Attitude Era and beyond.
At every turn though, Goldust delivered on the odd and often uncomfortable material he was given and managed to win gold while building unforgettable stories with multiple wrestling legends.
To this day, Dustin is still known best as Goldust and will likely go into the WWE Hall of Fame under that name when he has completed his run with All Elite Wrestling.
The Hurricane
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Gregory Helms has used many names throughout his wrestling career, but his most successful remains his time as the superhero The Hurricane.
This over-the-top caped crusader played well to the crowd and engaged fans with his committed performances.
His in-ring style has always shined through, but the heroic antics elevated him to the next level, leading to fun runs alongside Kane and Rosey.
While he was at his best early in his run in 2001 with WWE, he still found a place for himself no matter how much the roster landscape changed.
Even when he decided to come back to a more serious gimmick, fans still remembered him most fondly as The Hurricane, and he only appears in character these days as the superhero.
King Booker
3 of 8Booker T was at his absolute best in WCW where he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship four times.
His run though lost steam upon WWE's buyout of its competitor, leaving him in the position of WCW representative in a company that hated WCW.
After some initial growing pains though, Booker found a reliable role in WWE, even if he was seldom positioned as a top champion.
That changed with his victory in the King of the Ring. Booker leaned harder into the "king" persona than anyone else has, becoming King Booker.
He adopted an outrageous fake British accent and built a royal court to back him up. His old "T" stylings only came out when he was especially angry.
As annoying as he could be, the gimmick got Booker the heat he needed to get into the World Heavyweight Championship scene, finally becoming a top champion on SmackDown.
It is a shame Booker never got to be his more authentic self at the top of the card, but his commitment to this outrageous gimmick helped solidify his legacy.
Big Boss Man
4 of 8The Big Boss Man may not stand out as the most ridiculous gimmick on paper, but his character was that of an early time in WWE when so many failed to get over.
While "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Rowdy Roddy Piper were the standout threats to Hulk Hogan, the undercard in 1988 was loaded with failing gimmicks.
The Big Boss Man stepped in as a corrupt lawman and immediately found his role, and that was a standard he carried throughout his career.
Boss Man, real name Ray Washington Traylor Jr., was never the flashiest in-ring performer, but he was the reliable entertainer who worked with anyone. This allowed him to keep finding work between WWE and WCW until his death in 2004.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 when he was celebrated as the dependable big man everyone loved to work with.
Doink The Clown
5 of 8Many wrestlers played Doink The Clown over the years, but the gimmick was never better than under its originator, Matt Borne.
He found the sinister edge in this goofy gimmick, a technically sound man trapped under clown makeup who played cruel jokes on his opponents.
In 1992 to 1993, Doink was on the rise, but backstage issues with Borne led to his release and replacement behind the face paint.
The gimmick would live on in a few different forms but was best known as the character that could be played by anyone, even multiple wrestlers at the same time.
Whether he was face or heel, Doink was a problem for anyone who had to deal with him, and it is surprising WWE has not brought back the character more.
To this day, fans still know Doink and the kind of chaos he can bring to any situation.
The Undertaker
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The legend of The Undertaker stands as one of the single greatest character journeys in WWE history.
His name was once a definition of his role. He was a big man who prepared bodies for burial.
Over time, though, it was Taker himself who became The Deadman, becoming the only character in WWE to be buried and buried alive multiple times.
Each time, he has come back scarier, defining a career as the most intimidating performer in WWE history. He has even "summoned" lightning during matches and entrances.
It is a shame WWE has not tried to create characters like this since. The Deadman's evolution over the years is singular but shows a path others could follow.
There is no doubting Undertaker's impact in WWE. He is one of the greatest performers in WWE history, even called by some the absolute greatest due to his longevity.
Kane
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The Undertaker was such an important character to WWE lore that he directly influenced the creation of another supernatural gimmick that has defined WWE for years.
Kane was originally set up as Taker's silent destructive brother, coming for revenge against a brother that left him permanently burned.
While Kane and Taker have always been connected, The Big Red Machine found his own role in WWE as a big man that everyone feared.
While The Deadman occasionally summoned lightning, Kane's control of fire was a key part of his character, perhaps the most direct supernatural element given to any WWE character.
He and Taker defined multiple eras of WWE and evolved with the times no matter what was needed of them, creating careers that most wrestlers would envy.
"Firefly Fun House" Bray Wyatt
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While Bray Wyatt could fit on this list multiple times, it was Bray Wyatt's most radical evolution that stands out best.
After years of playing a spooky cult leader from the swamp that spoke in riddles about the power he sought, Wyatt disappeared for months.
When he returned, he came back as a children's show host with a sinister edge, echoing Blue's Clues and Barney and Friends.
Wyatt would appear mostly in a Firefly Fun House, but he did occasionally appear in the ring in a sweater, performing like a man that barely knew how to wrestle.
With multiple personalities behind Wyatt, he would also reveal a new monster gimmick, The Fiend, who would hurt those that had hurt Wyatt in the past.
It was a complicated character that Wyatt presented over multiple years, winning the Universal Championship twice.
While there were bumps in the road at times with Wyatt's creativity clashing with WWE's simpler storytelling style, this was a gimmick that worked because it was Wyatt's personal project, committing to the story completely.
If not for his far-too-early passing, Wyatt would likely still be haunting professional wrestling and the broader entertainment world with his constant creative ideas.
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