WWE constantly has poor gimmicks simply due to the number of people on the roster. It is impossible for every single character that the creative department makes to work out perfectly, but sometimes that isn’t down to the gimmick itself. There are times when the company has created a character that hasn’t worked for someone but could easily have done it if another wrestler had it.
Even great gimmicks such as The Undertaker likely wouldn’t have connected if someone else had portrayed them. That is the case for many of the poor ones WWE made in the 2000s. While fans might look back negatively on them, the idea itself could have been a great one.
10 B2
B2 was a gimmick that didn’t get over on WWE television, but that was mainly because he was often taking pins and beatings to protect John Cena. However, the character itself was something that might’ve been interesting with a different wrestler portraying it.
A gangster-style thug that is from the streets is a character that has potential, especially if someone menacing took on the role. It’s the type of gimmick that would fit in perfectly with the current version of NXT, which is full of over-the-top characters.
9 Heidenreich
Heidenreich’s gimmick was an interesting one in the sense that it was supposed to be psychologically scary, with this huge monster happily whispering poems and creeping people out in different ways. The juxtaposition between those two different ideas was interesting and it’s something that could have worked.
The gimmick itself was a good idea, unfortunately, Heidenreich was perhaps the wrong person to play it. The character never got to the level it could’ve done in terms of creeping fans out and building to be used regularly.
8 Kerwin White
The idea of a pompous, rich, and arrogant character who believes he is better than everyone is something that will always work well in wrestling, which is why Kerwin White could’ve worked. Having golf be his thing was fine as well, and is something that could be tweaked and made less goofy.
The problem was that WWE was trying to push Chavo Guerrero into a box that he didn’t fit in. Guerrero is an amazing performer, which is something he has proven countless times, but this was the wrong gimmick for him. However, that doesn’t mean it was bad overall.
7 Kizarny
Kizarny was a character that barely had any time to prove whether it worked or didn’t on WWE television. However, the idea behind the concept was certainly intriguing and fans were genuinely interested in seeing it brought to life until it was pulled away.
Having a carnival-themed wrestler who had traveled around the world come into the wrestling bubble had a lot of potential both as a babyface and a heel. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, but that doesn’t mean this shouldn’t be revised one day.
6 Mordecai
Supernatural characters can often be hit-and-miss in professional wrestling and a lot of that is down to the person portraying them. The man behind Mordecai also took on the Kevin Thorn gimmick, which also never took off to the level it should’ve done, perhaps proving it wasn’t the character that was the problem.
Mordecai was an interesting gimmick and having a light version of a supernatural gimmick brought something different. Seeing that with a different wrestler in charge of it could’ve brought differing levels of success.
5 The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman is someone who still pops up occasionally to this day, which could create the argument that the gimmick worked. However, he was never taken seriously as an in-ring talent and that is ultimately why the character did fail because he wasn’t used in top storylines.
That is down to in-ring abilities, which is why a different wrestler portraying this would have been a better choice. It’s easy to see how someone else could’ve taken this to new heights because the character itself was brilliant.
4 Simon Dean
There are many ways of gaining heat, and talking about people’s physiques is a guaranteed way of achieving that. This is why Simon Dean’s character had so much potential, having a fitness guru that was over the top with his brand message is something that can easily grate on people.
Ultimately, Dean didn’t quite work out, but this is a gimmick that had potential. Just as Daniel Bryan annoyed people by talking about legitimate environmental issues, it’s easy to see how someone harping on about losing weight and working out would achieve similar results.
3 Vince McMahon’s Illegitimate Son
The idea of Vince McMahon having an illegitimate child was a great one, and with the right person portraying it, this could have been great. It would have worked out well in building a brand-new heel at the main event level, but instead, the gimmick was thrown away to Hornswoggle.
It instantly became too comedic and while they tried to push a more serious tone afterward it wasn’t something that benefited Hornswoggle, McMahon, or anyone else. However, had someone else taken the gimmick this could have been something memorable.
2 Vladimir Kozlov
Vladimir Kozlov’s character was a simple one, being a hard-hitting foreign wrestler who didn’t take any prisoners when it came to his opponents. He was pushed heavily as a main eventer in WWE and while he was able to get heat the problem was that inside the ring, Kozlov wasn’t good enough.
Seeing him compete against the likes of Triple H, Edge, and Jeff Hardy wasn’t something that audiences bought into. However, if this gimmick was given to somebody else then it could’ve gone much further.
1 Lord Tensai
The overall presentation and character of Lord Tensai were done brilliantly, and as a monster heel, this was a gimmick that could’ve been great. The problem was that WWE had Matt Bloom take it on, and while he is not a bad professional wrestler, fans already knew him and associated him with his previous characters.
Repackaging someone in such a drastic way is never an easy situation to take on, and had this gimmick just been given to someone completely fresh it would’ve had more success.