Would Yesteryears Gimmicks Work Today?

[Dale]

Just something i've been thinking about recently because with all these new Indy signings that are being made you often get the criticism that these guys are just vanilla with essentially the same look and same lack of personality.

Now i'm sure there's a pretty sizeable bunch of us who were born in the mid to late 80's like myself who was born in 87 and have memories of the wrestlers from a young age. Now the names i'm about to ring off are purely for arguments sake and i'm not saying I personally enjoyed these gimmicks or they were successful but the fact of the matter is they were distinguishable.

Jake Roberts, Kamala, Papa Shango, Ultimate Warrior, Legion of Doom, Big Boss Man, Mountie, Ted DiBiase, IRS, Koko B Ware, Repo Man, Demolition, Brutus Beefcake.

You could probably name your own different guys but the fact of the matter is they were different from one another whether that be their actual gimmick, the nickname, the prop they brought to the ring or the face paint.

If you lined all these guys up on the stage and told someone to point out Jake The Snake Roberts or The Ugandan Warrior, Kamala etc there's a real high chance that people would be able to point them out. You look at the guys today and they're all essentially one in the same. Don't get me wrong I like Ziggler, but him, The Miz and someone like Cody Rhodes for example are one in the same. Even their nicknames like 'The Showoff' doesn't set them apart, it's still so fucking generic. You could get Cody Rhodes and rename him to The Showoff, Dolph Ziggler and it wouldn't make an ounce of difference because of how bland and empty the character.

Give we're still in the PG Era much like when we were growing up, would this old formula of real bold gimmicks actually work or is it just the way it is today where outrageous gimmicks just aren't believable so we're instead left with these guys who look like you're average Joe off the street.

This has pretty much turned into a ramblings of sort, but you get the jist I hope.

 

[Chris]

I've thought about this myself as well, and I honestly don't know if they would or not. Obviously, I think they are going for a more real, soap opera-esque aproach, and we don't really have any unrealistic gimmicks at this point, other than maybe Kane, who's more human that he's ever been. I don't think we'll ever get as gimmicky as the early-mid 90s more again, but I definitely wouldn't mind having some more distinct characters.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

The Repoman could work, they might have to tweak the gimmick slightly, but with the popularity of Repo Games, Lizard Lick Towing, and other reality shows I could see it getting some interest.

Million Dollar Man will work, play him off as a 1%er. Utilize the whole "occupy" movement. Same with IRS.

The Ascention is ripping off The Matrix for their look, so LoD & Demolition ripping off Mad Max for their look would be about the same difference.

Basically only a few would even have a chance of lasting more than a month, I honestly dont even think Taker & Kane work today.

 

[chefboyardee]

some gimmicks would work in any era(dibiasi,jake the snake) some wouldnt(ultimate warrior,mountie)but im not into the over the top 80s gimmicks.to me real believable gimmicks like cm punk and dolph ziggler are the way to go.but every now and again wwe has a great gimmick which put on a better performer would draw huge money.just imagine dolph ziggler was given sean o haires creepy im not telling you anything you didnt already know gimmick hed be maineventing ppvs for 20 years.or if matt morgan woulda been given the boogeyman gimmick.he woulda ruled.

 

[Andrew]

Nice thread Dale. Come to think about it you are quite spot on.

The days of gimmicks are pretty much long gone even though a few are still around but it's all mainly generic now. I like gimmicks but to an extent, to see someone portray it now? It'd be hard.

Only good gimmick I like is Joey Ryan who's in the indies right now (Didn't get into TNA ffs).

 

[Keith]

Just something i've been thinking about recently because with all these new Indy signings that are being made you often get the criticism that these guys are just vanilla with essentially the same look and same lack of personality.

Now i'm sure there's a pretty sizeable bunch of us who were born in the mid to late 80's like myself who was born in 87 and have memories of the wrestlers from a young age. Now the names i'm about to ring off are purely for arguments sake and i'm not saying I personally enjoyed these gimmicks or they were successful but the fact of the matter is they were distinguishable.

Jake Roberts, Kamala, Papa Shango, Ultimate Warrior, Legion of Doom, Big Boss Man, Mountie, Ted DiBiase, IRS, Koko B Ware, Repo Man, Demolition, Brutus Beefcake.

You could probably name your own different guys but the fact of the matter is they were different from one another whether that be their actual gimmick, the nickname, the prop they brought to the ring or the face paint.

If you lined all these guys up on the stage and told someone to point out Jake The Snake Roberts or The Ugandan Warrior, Kamala etc there's a real high chance that people would be able to point them out. You look at the guys today and they're all essentially one in the same. Don't get me wrong I like Ziggler, but him, The Miz and someone like Cody Rhodes for example are one in the same. Even their nicknames like 'The Showoff' doesn't set them apart, it's still so fucking generic. You could get Cody Rhodes and rename him to The Showoff, Dolph Ziggler and it wouldn't make an ounce of difference because of how bland and empty the character.

Give we're still in the PG Era much like when we were growing up, would this old formula of real bold gimmicks actually work or is it just the way it is today where outrageous gimmicks just aren't believable so we're instead left with these guys who look like you're average Joe off the street.

This has pretty much turned into a ramblings of sort, but you get the jist I hope.

Jake Roberts - yes as long as you got the right person to play it. It was just one of those which was so much about how perfect Jake was for the character. It was also a great gimmick as it could work as a face or heel without having to really change the character much.

Kamala - No and it never got over the first time around so this is a bad example.

Papa Shango - no this was an awful gimmick which would have even less chance in todays market.

Ultimate Warrior - I agree this is a very dated gimmick which made sense in the body building obsersed 80s/90s but not now, plus with a more critical audience his matches would be pulled apart like Cena's.

Legion of Doom - No there are only one LOD.

Big Boss Man - Yes think this could work as long it was kept to a more heel enforcer type role. Don't forget also outside of pretending to be a former prision officer the Bossman character just came off as being an regular guy who just wanted justice.

Mountie - No just too cheesy, maybe as a short term comedy deal at best.

Ted Dibiase - Yes! Do you really see that much difference between this character and the one the likes of Ziggler and Rhodes play? Also the idea for the Million Dollar character was supposedly based on Vince Mcmahon. You could argue that a character like this is even more relevent today than ever.

IRS - Maybe. RTC worked pretty well not too long ago and this was along the same lines.

Koko B. Ware - Yes on a short term lower card basis.

Repo Man - No

Demolition - See Warrior and LOD althrough I would love to hear that cracking entrence theme again!

Brutus Beefcake - No very much a retro 80s character which would date very badly.

The point is a fair one that more often than not the most sucessful characters are the ones which are not that far from the person themselves just twick a bit, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Jim Cornette, Bobby Heenan, The Rock, Stone Cold, Dibiase, Roberts etc.

 

[The Cork]

Personally I loved the OTT characters from the 80's.

WWE seem to think "being yourself with the volume turned up" (lost count how many times I've heard that now) is a surefire recipe for success each time. Problem is, I can count on one hand how many people that's worked for post-Attitude Era. Not everybody has the swagger of Steve Austin, gimmicks are very valuable.

Saying all this, I can see a lot of similarities between now and then, just very watered down versions. Cena is a wigger Hogan, Big Show is a less scary (but more agile) Andre, Ziggler/Cody are like Curt Hennig & Rick Martel, and so on.

 

[Keith]

But history says that the most sucessful guys are the ones with believeable every day characters. You can even include a guy like Kevin Nash in that he spent years of flopping in cartoonish characters but then became a maga star through just being himself just a bit more colourful.

 

[The Cork]

History also says Hulk Hogan is the biggest star of all time, and he was basically a yellow Superman.

 

[Dale]

Keith, i'm not sure how you can't really see much difference between Ted DiBiase's gimmick and Dolph Ziggler or Cody Rhodes? I'm kinda shocked at that to be honest because I don't need to tell you about the ins and outs of the Million Dollar Man whereas Cody and Dolph's gimmicks are virtually non-existent and generic at best.

Now I only remember Kamala as a character because as a kid I never really looked into the match quality like we all do now for obvious reasons and i've never gone back to watch that era of wrestling so I wasn't saying he was a great worker or his gimmick was a success. Let me try and reword my original post for clarifications. Just imagine that you know the ins and outs of the gimmick and how it looks, but you've never seen it actually in action.

I honestly reckon the Kamala gimmick would work today on the right guy as I see similarities between it and the Umaga gimmick. Likewise the Papa Shango and Boogeyman gimmicks.

 

[Slim]

Kamala just didn't seem to have that extra oomph that Umaga brought. Umaga was just a beast whereas Kamala seemed more tamed. That's why Umaga would work out better as that sorta character than Kamala. Its like the people today wants something extra.

But as far as characters from the past working today... far and few. Jake Roberts could cause his sort of character could transcend time, remain virtually the same with tweaks along the way and still be relevant as long as he had mic time. Cause it was on the mic that he really was pure gold. His delivery is still utilized by just about every heel today. So the originator of it all definitely could.

Million Dollar Man could work but it'd need the right charismatic guy behind the wheel and most of the guys today just don't seem to have that right charisma/swag to pull it off.

Repoman would more than likely be the Santino of today except he'd actually be funny. I seriously don't understand how Santino is a comedic character he is just annoying. But yeah Repoman could work just based on the popularity of the repo games and all those other shows. Sticking to mainstream and what is popular can help... just as long as it stays with the times.

IRS would be one of the bigger heels too just cause so many people would dislike him... but you could partner him up with Food Stamp man or something. Just go all out and pair all of those government brands together. Heh that'd be pretty funny actually.

So some could work with minor tweaks but most would flop.

 

[The Cork]

When Orton was a heel he borrowed heavily from Jake Snake's character.

It'd work in any era because 'creepy guy' is easy to relate to and always gets people uneasy.

 

[Keith]

1. The point I was making about Dibiase Dale is that he was just basically a very cocky character with lots of money and the extra lifestyle so in many ways it is simler those guys. Also I am not sure Dibiase belongs on this sort of list because the character itself is not over the top or cartoonish, it is Dibiase's charasma which put him over the top.

2. Disagree with you on Hogan Cork I think you could make the case for him not being too far removed from the real life version. Also again is it much of a gimmick, the guys big selling point was that he rode matorbikes, had big muscles and believed in the american way?

 

[Deezy]

Kamala was a succesful gimmick, it only lasted more than 20 years so far. Wouldn't work in todays PC society, too racist by todays standards, I would even think todays sensibilities would make Goldusts old character a flop as well.

Repoman would work in a recession, so would IRS. Million Dollar Man still works as Alberto. Now get a Wallstreet guy gimmick, have him scream about not booing him, because he is a job creator.

Also, if the person is talented enough, they could make any gimmick work.