WWE: Sin Cara and 5 Other Pro Wrestling Gimmicks Repeated

Spoiler Alert—The last line of this page contains an event that happens on the Sept. 16 edition of SmackDown

Sin Cara has been somewhat of an oddity since arriving in WWE.  The concept of a new masked luchador who was younger, and perhaps more dynamic than Rey Mysterio, was intriguing. For most fans, the arrival of Sin Cara signaled the end was near for Mysterio, as WWE was likely looking to replace him.

But then we all saw Sin Cara work. Watching him in a WWE ring is like watching a rookie NFL quarterback. 

We watch with cautious optimism, realizing that his style may not adapt to the league. Every time he touches the ball, we wait, holding our breaths, hoping he does not throw an interception.

Sin Cara has not only been intercepted, he's had quite a few run back for touchdowns. WWE, rather than pulling Sin Cara off television and working with him more, decided to put the gear on another wrestler and behave as though nothing had changed.

On the Sept. 16 edition of Friday Night Smackdown, both versions of Sin Cara will be in the same ring at the same time.

As different as this storyline is, it actually is not unique. Gimmicks like this have been done before in the WWE, and Sin Cara is just the latest example.

Following are five noteworthy storylines that preceded the current Sin Cara one.

The nWo Sting

When the nWo failed to recruit Sting into their ranks, they took the illogical step of hiring a guy to wear black and paint his face just like him.

At first, it seemed as though Sting had indeed jumped ship, betraying WCW and all of the fans who had supported him from the first days of his career in Atlanta.

Then, of course, we got a close-up look at Jeff Farmer, the man in the Sting disguise, and the jig was up.

The phony Sting became a mainstay in the nWo, though every time he crossed paths with the real deal, he always ended up flat on his back.

The idea of an impostor made perfect sense for the faction, as they were infamous for thumbing their nose at their opponents, and who was really going to stop them from doing what they wanted to do?

The nWo was all about disrespecting tradition, and laughing at the establishment.  Having their own personal mindless Sting drone was just another example of this attitude.

The Second Kane

When Kane's old music suddenly began to erupt during and after his matches, The Big Red Machine stood dumbfounded in the ring, as did the fans.

What was this about?  Where was this going?

The answer came in the form of a second, masked Kane.  To this day, I cannot fathom why.

The man under the hood was the wrestler who would become Festus, and later Luke Gallows.  To his credit, Gallows had Kane's mannerisms, and move set down. 

Physically, he was close to the real thing, and with each passing week of confrontations, it seemed like this fairly outdated concept could do some real business.

But, then, as is often the case in the business, it all ended when they lost the crowd.

I was at Vengeance in Charlotte, N.C., when Kane and Gallows faced off.  The match was, well, not exactly what you might call epic.

Gallows went over, and while that wasn't much of a surprise to some, the fact that he did it so easily, with one of Kane's own moves, was.

Most of us just stood there.  What was that all about?

Not surprisingly, Kane threw the impostor out the next night on RAW, and that second gimmick has not been seen since.

The Renegade

What do you get when you make a cheap copy of an overhyped technically deficient wrestler?

Well, you get basically the same guy, only with second-rate gear.

Renegade was the brainchild of Hulk Hogan, who told WCW fans that he was bringing in a new wrestler, and even used the word "Ultimate" when describing him.

When Renegade finally showed up, with the long hair, face paint, tassels on his arms, and similar entrance music, fans collectively groaned in disgust.

The bad blood between Hogan and Ultimate Warrior is well documented, and even though Warrior did come to WCW eventually, the Renegade character no doubt was one of the initial problems between the two men.

The unfortunate part of this story is the fact that Rick Williams, the man who was the Renegade, essentially ended up with nothing after WCW was forced to tone down his character.

The tragic part of this story is that Williams later committed suicide. 

The Fake Diesel and Razor Ramon

I remember watching Jim Ross in the ring on RAW that night, cutting a promo against the WWF, and more specifically, Vince McMahon.  It was a cool moment, and defined Ross as a frustrated man, and added a new layer to his character.

Then, he made the introduction that we had all been waiting for.  He introduced Razor Ramon.

The only problem?  Scott Hall was an employee of WCW.

Canadian-born Rick Bognar came down to the ring in Hall's old gear, and the crowd, who had just popped, immediately went silent.

Later, when Glen Jacobs, the man who would become Kane and ironically deal with his own impostor, entered the WWF as Diesel, the fans really had enough.

It was seen by many as a weak attempt at getting ratings, as McMahon's company was truly struggling to stay afloat at that time.  The fake Diesel and Razor never got over in any substantial way, and the idea was nixed not long after.

The Dark Undertaker

This is the big one, the one that fans still talk about.

When Brian Lee, obviously shorter and lighter than Undertaker, showed up dressed just like him, fans responded in much the same way they did with everyone else on this list.

At first, the reaction was pretty good, and the build up to the match of the two Undertakers was entertaining.  But, as evidenced during their showdown at SummerSlam 94, the crowd just wasn't having it.

Vince McMahon, who was doing commentary at ringside, must have been frustrated at the lack of crowd reaction. 

As fans having to watch this match, we completely understood what being frustrated was all about.

Much like Gallows portraying Kane, Lee did an admirable job as Taker.  But, for me, while it was intriguing, it wasn't enough to keep my attention. 

However, it does remain the most infamous of all the repeated gimmicks in WWE history, and really started a trend that seems to always be a plan B when the company needs it.

And, apparently, they feel the need to go back to it now with Sin Cara.

Here we go again.