10 FAILED Wrestling Gimmicks That WOULD Work Today

From Mordecai and Devil's Advocate Sean O'Haire to Nailz and The Jackyl, these are 10 FAILED Wrestling Gimmicks That Would Work Well Today.
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@sonicplys64]

The Devil's Advocate Sean O'Haire was a great gimmick. I still remember segments well.

[@strifenineteen]

Hoping Kross beings that back

[@frankbonini9128]

Maybe They Turn Austin Theory Face, & He Resorts to This as a Way to Avenge Being Abandoned by Seth Last Year &/or Betrayed by Zelina ... Considering They're All on RAW Now

[@benthekingofking]

@@frankbonini9128 And the segments could be called Austin Theories on Life

[@KanishQQuotes]

I get upset every time I see him. Such a talented man, wasted

[@christianpalmer7234]

“I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know”

[@demetriusb.7885]

The Mordecai gimmick was sooo unique to me as a kid back then lol.

[@FadedPriest]

Same. Barely watched and then that came on and I was sold

[@XGhost937X]

I was a teen at the time. And I thought they were going for like an anti-taker. Taker was darkness and black, Mordecai was savior and white. But just as it was he’s pretty cool he was gone lol.

[@losnamerales3403]

I was in my late teens and I thought it was kinda cool but my friend in his early 20s used to grown at the idea of him lol

[@Look_Dad_Old_Tunes]

Mordecai has the bonus that it would be easy to flip him from holy avenger face to holier-than-thou heel. Just ask anyone who's played a Paladin in D&D.

[@joshschneider9766]

Or read the history of actual paladins. Bunch of duplicitous bastards lol

[@RobertJW]

Me; "... Uh. Which God was that guy I just killed praying to, exactly?" DM: "Yours."

[@LokiJDeWitt]

I endorse this statement one thousand percent!

[@mattxiong1618]

Tttttattttyy

[@mattxiong1618]

It

[@nick-playercharacter8583]

Mordecai's second gimmick in WWECW, Kevin Thorn, also could have printed money if he just came out a few years later. In his time, the sexy vampire boy-toy was barely a blip on the wrestling radar in the wake of the Brood. Fast-forward to the start of the Twilight phenomenon and Thorn would have been the talk of the industry. He could have either been a heel playing up the split reactions to Twilight's popularity, especially with the average wrestling fan holding it in about as high regard as the Spirit Squad, or he could have been an experiment in expanding WWE's audience to a larger female demographic.

[@lanagievski1540]

That whole industrial sexy vampire was lowkey a good idea, just wasn’t the right time

[@Mr_Leo_DS]

Never thought about that in that way

[@joshhale9355]

For the Billy and Chuck entry, just do something like the Golden Lovers. There’s a fantastic template from the formation, breakup, and reuniting that’s just a chef kiss kind of good.

[@punklover99]

I was gonna say the same thing

[@zanethind]

Yeah

[@jaredmelamed6840]

They are just a 100000x better Billy and Chuck type gimmixk

[@joshpeacock2951]

You had me dying of laughter when you were listing off MK characters, got to Goro and put up a picture of Brock Lesnar.

[@rogregg29445]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s thought that lmao

[@capclip9]

Adam pitching a ufc style fighter Me: Ken Shamrock

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Accurate.

[@robertclark2253]

What about Dan Severn ?

[@capclip9]

@@robertclark2253 true

[@ShinRyojin]

I’ve always thought that Mordecai would’ve worked pretty well in the attitude era. They could’ve had it where Vince enlists the help of Mordecai as a counter balance to the Ministry of Darkness.

[@anijeepa]

Or maybe he could've been the higher power instead of Vince.

[@marknadratowski5728]

AEW could do the Mordecai gimmick with Miro the Redeemer

[@shisir1791]

I have no doubt that Undertaker would be buried if he debuted now.

[@alanheyes694]

Possibly. But there was something so unnerving and genuine about his earlier performances. He just sold the character.

[@zanethind]

@@alanheyes694 yeah

[@tyrone5969]

I'm pretty sure they didn't get your joke, even 7 months later.

[@tyrone5969]

Either that, or your comment is the greatest accidental wrestling pun ever.

[@Seth_-lq1rr]

Karrion Kross could be a dominant devils advocate

[@scottmccready8529]

Sean O’Haire would have been amazing!! But they destroyed it

[@126rollins23]

For real, he was good the first time he was in wwe

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

I was so marking out for that gimmick. My friends & I were hyped

[@Suleiman2000]

I didn't understand why mordicai gimmick failed He was the complete opposite of the undertaker he could have a feud with him a make a great career

[@kevindouglas5333]

Partly because the guy playing it...sucked

[@zanethind]

Exactly

[@JJJJ00J]

Sean o'haire was way too underused

[@jvstice56]

Of all the gimmicks on this list, Mordecai has the best likelihood of succeeding IF done right and the wrestler had full creative control a la Bray Wyatt or anyone outside WWE. While I don't see Kevin Thorn ever returning to the gimmick, it can be done by someone who can play both sides well similar to how CM Punk would take the aspects of Straight Edge. Sean O'Haire's gimmick could work, but NOT in WWE. Given they're a publicly traded company and doesn't want to be associated with telling people to give into their sins, I don't see them pulling something like that off. If Sean was alive today and on the indy scene, I could easily see him playing that gimmick well as he was charismatic and very athletic for someone of his height, god rest his soul. As for the rest, it'd heavily depend on the company and performer behind it.

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

It would work in AEW or in ECW. Maybe even WCW. It was just right guy wrong place wrong time.

[@PunjabHP]

Muhammad Hassan too

[@christopherarancibia3333]

@@ModernDayRenaissanceMan Actually the gimmick was working, it urns out that Kevin Thorn got into an altercation at a bar and WWE punished him by ending his push. Supposedly a storyline with Undertaker was going to happen.

[@TheThird1977]

Great idea ago for a video... and thank you for including Mordecai, who I fucking loved back in t'day.

[@joshhale9355]

I thought he was so cool when I was kid

[@Astrithor]

As an 11 year old kid from a pretty fundamental Christian home, Devil's Advocate Sean had me TERRIFIED. I thought he was, like, the REAL devil! Lol, shame what happened in the end.

[@rachelredhead9217]

Goro!! I nearly spat my pepsi everywhere!

[@alanheyes694]

Isn’t he though? 😂

[@grimmwicked313]

What saddens me about the Fatu is they just lost a female cousin due to gang violence.

[@whit9957]

The description of Nailz in modern day is just straight up Nick Gage.

[@spookerredmenace3950]

if the wrestler did use their sexual ways as the SOLE key to the gimmik , it would get old and stupid fast and we fans would turn on them and quickly

[@fattiger6957]

Agreed. It would come off as pretty insulting to define someone solely based on their sexuality. I think we as a society should be at a place where sexuality just plain doesn't matter. As long as it's another consenting adult, people can be attracted to whoever they want and we shouldn't praise or demonize them for it.

[@donkey7577]

5:47 u forgot Teagan Nox, Adam... 6:38 they had him Adam Rose before his gimmick down in FCW ....10:56 wait, Adam they have that gimmick in the Usos 3rd brother in NXT 2.0......

[@comradecrawdaddy3343]

Glacier was one of my faves in WCW. Glacier was epic in my opinion.

[@adamkrasneski3679]

Yeah i actually dug his feud w mortis and wrath when i was younger. Not sure id like it as an adult tho.

[@llydrsn]

Agree on almost all gimmicks on this list, but I've always had a soft spot for the Muhammad Hassan gimmick. It was an embodiment of what Mick Foley describes as an effective heel: someone who believes what he is doing is right and justified. From his early promos, it is difficult to not agree with what he was saying. It is just a very, very difficult balance they have to do to sustain the integrity of the character. Unfortunately, the WWE tried to push the gimmick over the top to suddenly have Hassan some henchmen to do things for himself. Suddenly, he fell down the typical trope for a heel instead of a compelling character that would blur the lines and the moral compass of the people watching.

[@GAZAMAN93X]

That Mortal Kombat bit got me rolling 🤣

[@logansheffield8641]

Lmao Lesnar as Goro. Nice.

[@TailsPrower07]

5:55 While both are straight (but allies to the LGBTQ+ community) I wouldn't mind WWE doing this with Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H, their gimmicks are polar opposites which would make it even more compelling in my opinion with the whole "opposites attract" thing. And could be inspirational as they also have completely different looks

[@randydking1735]

Billy and chuck=The Golden Lovers

[@Chigen_Atomic]

That Savage joke had me laughing. I love the combo of Rikishi in the MAD jacket and BSK beanie. We need some Paladins in wrestling. Holy warriors for a higher power and some cause. Maybe even have them willing to use chairs and other hardcore weaponry to make their point, as they're largely more strongarm and violent than clerics. Keira and Diamante are together and in AEW, you could create a tag team with them. There's also trans wrestlers in Nyla Rose and VENY. We've had Kruger aka Adam Rose as the hunter character. But I feel like that type of character could really only be an enemy of Jurassic Express. Callis could make a return to the Jackyl as a means to turn The Elite face. He starts preaching, slowly prodding the known devout Young Bucks. There's plenty of wrestlers who could shift their leadership roles into a quasi-religious cultist.

[@JagerLange]

tbf BattleCat might get over in 2021.

[@FFA441]

I honestly agree the darby allin make a difference straight edge character could be cool if done right

[@joshhale9355]

The biggest drawback was Rikishi wasn’t cool at that point. Allin is so cool and everyone loves him, if he started doing that gimmick, it’d probably get over. Have him turn into a “messiah” by still doing all the insane stuff and say he’s doing it for us, taking our vices onto himself. It’d be amazing.

[@GrownUpKid94]

He’d be CM Punk Jr. I’ll pass.

[@shrikrishna19993]

Darby Allin is very likable guy but his mic skills will require major improvement if make the difference type of character to work. This character needs an efficient orator.

[@nicholashurst780]

Fun fact, the actor who played Sub-Zero and Scorpion and all of the ninja type characters in the first two Mortal Kombat arcade games was also White. And yes it was the same actor for all of them and yes that was video capture in those games

[@geminiseason6901]

Repackage Joe Gacy as Mordecai

[@rleonardgreen78]

That would be great and give him a stable of followers.

[@lordtrigon1733]

Wasn’t Sarah Rowe/Logan basically Skinner before she found Odin?

[@Lusitano1143]

Muhammad Hassan was one of the greatest villains of all time and it worked very good in is time, if it wasn't for the tv executives racism against him.

[@pauliewalnuts829]

Now we need the gimmicks that wouldn't fly today. They would probably all be great to me. Wrestling needs to piss people off again.

[@cousinchris802]

You seem to forget that when Mustafa Ali first debuted in WWE, he was doing the same gimmick as early Muhammad Hassan, saying he wouldn't get a fair shot because of his name and how he looked. Instead, he was cheered by the crowd and forced to turn babyface and drop the whole thing.

[@benespinosa6725]

The Billy And Chuck Storyline was awesome the pose down with Torrie Wilson And Stacy Keibler was awesome and Eric Bischoff as the minister during the Ceremony was great and the Jackyl was awesome he should have been the Higher Power since he formed the acolytes made perfect sense.

[@TrillBill]

A Mercenary-type gimmick like Leo Kruger would DEFEINELTY work today.

[@GrooviestQ]

I’m kinda here for make a difference Darby tbh

[@VERDICTInsanity]

I don’t agree with the LGBTQ+ angles, mainly because I don’t think it matters what sexuality u are in life, shining a spotlight on someone’s sexuality is saying that’s it’s different and a factor when it really isn’t and shouldn’t be a factor in life. Example: I don’t start a conversation with “hi I’m straight” Edit: I think wrestlers these days are presenting their sexuality perfectly, as an example, I didn’t know Sonya Devill was gay for a long time because it really doesn’t matter when we’re watching her wrestle, her wrestling is what she makes us concentrate on. As a parent I think these terms are thrown into kids faces without a proper explanation, I honestly think that children don’t have the capacity to completely understand sexuality until they grow in their mind.

[@kassiesawicki2091]

As a parent, I don't see what's wrong with kids seeing LGBTQ+ people on tv. There's always a chance your child could like the same gender or be uncomfortable with the sex theyre physically born with, so they should be able to see it and say "Oh, this is okay. There's nothing wrong with who I am." And that's important, especially when they don't have parents who support them.

[@rongiefaustino8867]

This might be the most ridiculous video from Cultaholic, script-wise. I love it.

[@manmythmothman]

It's a shame that Mordecai didn't work. In an interview I think he said it was his behaviour that cocked it all up. Should've been more.

[@tyrone5969]

"Paranoid cocaine addict." Damn, that's... savage

[@Charlie_Xmas]

the paranoid cocain addict is a legendary top gimmick

[@JagerLange]

8:50 who's that in green gear? I only remember Luna and Sable as being tied with The Oddities.

[@wesleysteeleiv]

Whoever it is she wasn't with them long. I don't think she ever made it to tv with them. Even Jackyl wasn't with them that long.

[@elvinmartes2287]

WWE never pushed anyone other than Ronda Rousey as a shoot fighter? Uhhhh you forgot about Ken Shamrock. Dude was portrayed as a legit shoot fighter. Dan Severn and Sylvester Terkay also. As far as old gimmicks that could work today, I would say the ECW version of the Dudley Boyz could work today, especially in AEW.

[@robertclark2253]

Skinners crown moment was a sub 2 minutes loss to Owen Hart at Wrestlemania 8 ? Obviously you don't remember Skinner losing by submission to Bret Hart at Tuesday Night In Texas during their intercontinental title match or being the last of his team eliminated from Survivor Series 1991 or getting a shot at the WWF/WWE title during Bret Harts first reign .

[@robertclark2253]

@@JacksonOwex Maybe I'm getting old but I remember Skinner when he first came to WWF, and was suppsed to feud with Ricky Steamboat who was going by The Dragon gimmick complete with a special costume and a firebreathing routine during his entrance . Might-have-been interesting hadn't Steamboat gone to WCW . Despite having the few moments I mentioned Skinner was quickly lost in the shuffle and left shortly after Wrestlemania 9 .

[@6Wheelz]

10:50 The Lashley disrespect!

[@curtisshaw7903]

What about Mantaur and the bull dude from Decay from impact

[@paulellington1505]

I almost cried when I found out that they turned poor Shane Thorn in Paul Hogan just because they are both Australian. And I thought they couldn't any more subtle than what they did for Apollo Crews was tasteless.

[@SleepyDullahan]

How am I only finding out now that the Jackal is Don Callas.

[@jonerikson5925]

They could've done so much with the devil's advocate, especially since Sean could literally do anything in the ring.

[@skizzyskiz7232]

Seth Rollins as the Jackyl would be AMAZING !!!!!!!!

[@geminiseason6901]

What if this is what they wanted to do to Adam Cole. 😂

[@skizzyskiz7232]

@@geminiseason6901 smh the world will never know bro , that would’ve been cool AF

[@RingsideCinema]

Should have mentioned how WWE gave a storyline idea that Sonya & Mandy pitched to Lana and Liv and ultimately that went nowhere. In fact for a bit, they were teasing that there was something between Mandy & Sonya but it never went anywhere. They could have had something with Torrie & Dawn Marie too, but as we saw with Lana & Liv, WWE is too afraid to go all the way with a LGBQT angle. If they ever do that, they have to go all the way with it, not half ass it which is what we all know WWE would end up doing.

[@mitchcolburn1216]

Nah, what they did with Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson was fine. The whole idea was that Dawn was playing mind games with Torrie.

[@karisumataichou]

10:54 You're really forgetting the original "Beast" Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock? Should write a will just in case they find out.

[@savagetabby4931]

8:26 ..So pretty much WMAC masters' v2.0. That would be dope as hell

[@tyrone5969]

Couldn't agree more. Plus he has the EXACT look that WWE loves, with the added bonus of actually being able to go in the ring. He had the look, he had the growing chemistry and mic work, he had the gimmick, and he had the athleticism that would be PERFECT for a modern big guy. It's stunning how much of a missed opportunity that he was. Not to mention being tragic how his life ended.

[@justinstoner4464]

I actually liked Glacier and Mortis.

[@martinrubio9412]

Billy and chuck angle was unique but good storytelling

[@curtisshaw7903]

Basically most of these gimmicks were before its time ⏲️

[@crashunderride]

I cracked up at the llama. Lmao

[@KanishQQuotes]

I get upset every time I see Sean Ohaire. Such a talented man wasted. He is one of the most good looking man I have ever seen

[@darkstar1360]

"Caucasian Sub-Zero" so subzero until Mortal Kombat X?

[@isqz2592]

Mordecai had the perfect debut at Judgment Day with the graveyard stage set up until wwe had rey mysterio pinned him on normal weekly smackdown show and that's it.

[@thejuhlerofdk]

... Why do we need a lettuce, gravy, bacon, turkey and quinoa angle in modern wrestling?

[@kokotheclown2588]

If I ever wrestle I want to do the o haire gimmick or something similar to it considering how easily triggered some people get imma get some serious heal heat

[@zanethind]

Don Callis Jackyl gimmick reminds me of the villains in FC4 and FC5 but in 1980s Miami style

[@RollerCodsterWFEW]

Beaver 🦫 was my favorite wrestler ever damnit! 🙃

[@nicholasiannaccone6423]

“Paranoid cocaine addict” 😭😂

[@pablodelgado7919]

Mohammed Hassan was a brilliant gimmick for it's time, not to mention the promos and most of all the nuclear heat it brought everytime his theme music played. Made me laugh as a kid but man Mark Copani did one hell of a amazing job portraying the character.

[@lostapostle76]

Somewhere Ken Shamrock is screaming in a room by himself about being forgotten.

[@SheriffOutlaw]

This might be a stretch but Val Venis. I mean if you remove the adult film star part to his character or tune it back a bit and it could work for the upper midcard

[@SheriffOutlaw]

@Shaun Jay not entirely. What I mean is,don't outright say what his "profession " is but make allusions towards it but be more clever about it .

[@chrisakane9840]

In NXT 2.0 the other day, they showed a vignette. That showed either a male or female under a cloak. That said i have to "bury the past to move foward". Ppl think its either dakota kai or even Scarlett. For the male they think it's elias coming back to NXT.

[@geminiseason6901]

Based on the accent, most think is Dakota Kai.

[@zanethind]

Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship run carried the original Muhammad Hassan angle

[@nicholasscratch9781]

Basically Sami Zayn can do any gimmick is what your saying?

[@KanishQQuotes]

I love Rhonda Rousy

[@FroggyGONEWRONGALMOSTDIED]

There's so much creative stuff you can do with a Devil's Advocate gimmick. It's such a missed opportunity to just throw it away after a bit when it has such a great foundation.

[@GoRicky15]

A Billy & Chuck style tag team will only work today if both men/women/others are actually LGBTQ+ and the gimmick is done sensatively and isn't all "who is the bottom" jokes

[@jb888888888]

9:48 Those aren't nails (or nailz), they're screws. And "screw" is or was a common pejorative nickname for prison guards -- like Big Bossman.

[@darnfidler6372]

The original Doink the clown would be incredible.

[@jrmichaels4648]

papa shango could work today

[@spartanseventyeight8673]

"AKA Caucasian subzero." ...Subzero is. Look at MK3, Deadly Alliance, etc.

[@isabella16939]

Ah, Mordecai...

[@Untilitsleepz]

Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn were promoted as genuine fighters in their WWF runs.

[@chrisakane9840]

Mohammed hassan vs. Jinder mahal or mansoor.

[@Mr_Leo_DS]

The Devil's Advocate character would be perfect for Sonya Deville in my opinion, I mean, her name is right there Also let's not forget that brief period where Karrion Kross flirted with the gimmick on RAW

[@msp720]

Skinner would've worked as a Wyatt Family member, back when Bray was just a swamp cult leader and didn't have all the spooky ghost crap. O'Haire SHOULD have worked back when they debuted him, but WWE had no idea what to do with a heavyweight who moved like a cruiserweight.

[@LabRat1210]

How you gonna do Randy like that? 🤣

[@martinrubio9412]

The fatu gimmick was a good inspiration

[@KanishQQuotes]

6:40 I can picture brown strowman

[@Tormund_Giantsbrain]

Dark Order didn't have a "spooky" gimmick since 2019. Pacitci totally watches AEW.

[@Hashtonkusher1]

Anyone else think Sean o haire looks like batista if he were to shave his head

[@ishhanda12]

Not really really but yeah, i can see similarity

[@lilpoetat]

thanks!

[@Tormund_Giantsbrain]

The "anti gang violence" Rikishi character is the most 90s thing ever. That shit would never work today. Sounds like a "wa4 on drugs" snitch lmao.

[@JoanRudith]

After school special Fatu would only work if done ironically. 1995 was full of after school specials with people wearing cross colors! If it didn't work right after Sister Act 2 came out, it's not working today!

[@mosquieto1]

I could see James storm pulling off the Skinner gimmick.

[@wolfhurricane897]

I think if someone as athletic as Prime RVD or Ricochet was Battle Kat and with a better looking costume and mask it might work.

[@abelardions7600]

About The Jackyl thing that you've said, isn't the same (or kinda the same) that he's doing with Kenny Omega and The Elite in AEW?

[@garyhen1707]

Its that mordicai looking like Brock? Lol