10 WORST WCW Gimmick Changes

[@paulmoore5392]

Rey taking off his mask was one of the worst things WCW ever did. The amount of merchandise sales WWE has made selling Rey's different masks proves that alone

[@PJErvin]

Even if no one ever wanted to buy a Mysterio mask, I would still agree with your first statement.

[@cob2076]

I wouldnt let my kids anywhere near rey.....iykwim

[@davidbenjamin9400]

@@cob2076 sorry. I don't kwym

[@jeremyrhansen6637]

I stopped watching due to that type of shit! the over commercialization of it all drove me and MANY others away!!! the same people that bought those NWO and 316 shirts!

[@YogiWonKenobi78]

idk,it helped elevate him to superstar status,he even beat Big Kevin Nash..So,even though I do understand why you would feel that way,it's not necessarily correct 💯

[@WWChampion16]

Actually, Ray Traylor arrived in December 1993. Months before Hogan signed with WCW.

[@user-jq2iz9zn4p]

My wife used to say that pro rassling was ruined when Rey Mysterio lost his mask. For an honorable masked rassler his mask is everything. It goes back to colonial days when men like Zorro protected the peasants from bandits and evil-doers. Mexico needs heroes like that today.

[@joshthorne3721]

Moon dogs plz and make sure to talk about moondog king

[@chrisblaney5365]

yea this is how i remember wcw before the nwo. awful gimmicks

[@kimble90126]

Lol

[@andywyrobek902]

I remember many years ago whilst in school Rey Mysterio did an interview with the UK Sun and you could submit questions. I asked him about being unmasked and he said he hated it and WCW just didn't understand the heritage and meaning behind his mask

[@paranoidewok6772]

As soon as Eddie dies they dropped the gimmick like a bag of shit.

[@EssexAggiegrad2011]

Rey begged them not to do it

[@danieldrayet2364]

It was ridiculous they did it to literally every masked luchador

[@MovieEggman]

Blame Vince Russo, he has not respect for wrestling traditions especially Lucha Libre tradition with respecting the mask.

[@danieldrayet2364]

@@MovieEggman sadly this 1 we cant blame russo because he wasn't there yet Its allon bischoff Juventud unmasked march 98 Rey unmasked february 99 Psychosis unmasked march ish 99

[@ifandafydd7432]

"...less famously Repo Man" Simon Miller begs to differ

[@TheForeverRanger]

What really didn't help in Rey's case is that he looked like a 12-year-old with tattoos without his mask. That hasn't changed in the 20 years since, just bald now.

[@aaroncollins6411]

And...you know...some Grey in the beard

[@jvstice56]

Given Rey's mask sales in WWE are among the highest, I don't see Triple H's new creative team unmasking him. It was a shameful thing for WCW to do as it took away from what makes a luchador a luchador.

[@undertakernumberone1]

Eh, I COULD see it, if Rey would retire after. Giving some "up and comer", maybe a heel Dominic, the rub of having demasked him. The masks would still sell well, I'd say.

[@rizkyanandita8227]

​@@undertakernumberone1 but that 3 years from now.

[@namikstudios]

WCW gave the luchadors a platform. While WWF was sticking with their tired old way of thinking that a wrestler had to be huge to draw, WCW was developing and showcasing countless smaller wrestlers like Ray. But of course all of McMahon's marks have been conditioned to believe that WCW was somehow the worst thing that ever happened to the industry.

[@namikstudios]

And lets not pretend that putting him back in a mask to cash in on merch sales (what WWE did) is somehow showing respect to luchadors. WWE put him back in a mask because $$$. That's the really shameful part.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Taking Rey’s mask off was such a monumentally stupid idea. WWE were 100% correct in having him put the mask back on.

[@timbartschwolfman]

Rey Mysterio unmasked was a Bad Idea

[@greatnezz10]

It really was a bad idea, but he had a lot of charisma and fun as part of the filthy animals as well

[@bengregson8125]

They could’ve just kept the mask on and added those horns

[@MrEritreanman]

@@greatnezz10 I agree, Filthy Animal Rey was pretty solid, it just paled in comparison to Luchador Rey Mysterio which is straight iconic.

[@vegasviking86]

Thankfully the lucha higher ups allowed him to put it back on

[@ItsAVolcano]

I remember Rey mentioning in an interview how his first "action figure" in WCW was as a long necked accessory for The Giant (the long neck being so he could be properly choke slammed).😒😔

[@justinpalochak6404]

I used to have it lol

[@ridanann]

I remember that pretty f****** disrespectful I was a Paul Wight fan still didn't buy it

[@thesprock5270]

He was also in Goldberg and Kevin Nash packs. Had em.

[@ZekeThePlumber86]

He is he still wrestling?

[@thesprock5270]

@@ZekeThePlumber86 Si

[@benespinosa6725]

Stacy Keibler was the best part of Standards and practices in WCW and Rey Mysterio Unmasking in 1999 sucked.

[@TheThird1977]

"Right lads, do we call it "10 Worst WCW Gimmick Changes" or "The WCW Career of Ed Leslie""?

[@gregsky01]

It still cracks me up that they had a PPV called uncensored then fired two guys for breaking censorship rules on said PPV.

[@terridactyl5152]

Demolition and Repo Man were def faves of mine growing up.

[@Urineil]

I'm 43 yrs old...watched that ear of wrestling through attitude Era without missing many episodes....I was today years old when I learned the repo man was in demolition

[@99somerville]

Demolition were great! No idea why Vince thought replacing them with the LOD made sense. Demolition was still way over with the fans.

[@tyrone5969]

Forcing Rey to lose his mask was so incredibly disrespectful. Doing that to one of the single greatest wrestlers ever shows how much WCW had absolutely no respect or appreciation for anyone beyond the ego maniacs who were booking their own matches.

[@actionsub]

Plus those STUPID stick-on horns they had him wear!

[@amcx32]

Wcw did it to everyone

[@namikstudios]

Pretty funny comment considering that it was WCW who gave Ray and countless other luchadors and cruiserweights a huge spotlight, all while the backwards WWE still believed wrestlers needed to be massive to get over. The luchadors and cruiserweights have never been given anywhere near the kind of exposure that they got on Nitro ever again.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

Loved that Kerwin White reference, another terrible gimmick change.

[@jeremywilliams5141]

Honorable mentions: 1. Brad Armstrong to Buzzkill 2. Glacier to Coach Buzz

[@chrisbreezy3048]

I'm glad someone else remembers these two since WCW tried to unsuccessfully capitalize on the fact that Brad was Road Dogg's older brother. As for Coach Buzz Stern, I only remember that gimmick going seemingly nowhere before Glacier was reverted back to his original character.

[@stosh5082]

You could also throw in Arachnaman in Armstrong's case.

[@haggus71]

The story of Prince changing his name isn't that long. He did it because he hated working for Warner Records, and started doing everything he could to try to piss them off. It's also why his last albums with Warner got more and more bizarre.

[@Hellwyck]

It was because Warner refused to release Prince's back catalogue so he changed his name and did it himself.

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

I was a teenager and when Brutus Beefcake was the Disciple I couldn't tell it was the same person

[@ivenstorm]

Did we forget about Seven? Dustin Rhodes gimmick where in his own words he was a "creepy uncle fester".

[@strangeimpulse2003]

That wasn't made to be taken serious.

[@jaybeedub]

That one is a glaring omission. And also a transparent attempt to emulate Goldust

[@YaowBucketHEAD]

Wasn't Dustin Rhodes in a really bad spot then life wise as well? Dude had some sort or addiction (I don't remember if it was drugs or booze) and was seriously overweight as well. Glad he back to Goldust and the rest is history.

[@ZanderEzekial77]

This is the first time I've understood why WCW had a wrestler called The Wall. Thank you for explaining that.

[@jesterskully563]

I detested the way Bischoff had no respect for Lucha libre. Unmasking Rey, Juvi, and psychosis was a slap in the face. The cruiser weights were working their butts off giving us great matches and he totally emasculated those guys.

[@namikstudios]

"The cruiser weights were working their butts off..." Damn that evil SOB Bichoff for hiring them and giving them such a huge spotlight! No respect whatsoever. Shame they weren't huge massive hulking brutes so they could've found employment at the WWF at the time, then they would have gotten the respect they deserved. Oh... and while we're at it, marking out for Vinnie Mac and all... Bret screwed Bret, damnnit!

[@99somerville]

Was it Bischoff or Russo who decided to do it?

[@iamnoone4918]

The Guardian Angel and Shark are bad gimmicks for legendary wrestlers

[@Azeeeer]

Hello there

[@jordanellison4861]

General Kenobi

[@jerryjanik480]

Alex Wright is one of the the most underrated wrestlers of all time who came out of Europe like you're William Regal Finley Dynamite kid British Bulldog who never got there you never got a world championship run you should have got a world championship run in my opinion I was a huge those Wonder kid fan

[@apri1979]

As a german i liked Alex Wright back then. His Berlyn persona looked very cool, but WCW made nothing with it.

[@AndreWakefield]

As a young kid I didn't mind that Rey took his mask off. I thought he was cool with or without it because he was still doing amazing stuff in the ring. But now as an adult I definitely understand that it was an awful move in many ways, especially marketing.

[@TravisLoneWolfWalsh]

I thought Berlin was a Rammstein rip off

[@jamesball9608]

Filthy animals had potential. They just didn’t have any direction.

[@EternallyEve]

Much like practically everything in WCW

[@mitchcolburn1216]

Filthy Animals Rey was cool too.

[@jb888888888]

Juventud Guerrera being repackaged as a Rock wannabe The Juice. "Finally, the Juice is back in the Juice-town!"

[@ScapeGoat2099]

Berlyn had potential same with the artist they both we’re different and stood out berlyn and the artist could have been world champions same go for superstars such as wrath, mortis, glacier & etc

[@nestorgonzalez8021]

Mike Awesome is WCW hurts to remember… Russo WCW was worst thing that happen to wrestling

[@mitchcolburn1216]

I can think of worse things. The women's revolution, the yes movement, indie stars being pushed, etc.

[@davidcoates7615]

Mike Awsome was a big name in ECW. Then WCW did not do anything much with him. Bad choice. He died not much longer after that.

[@byronkennedy7203]

Seeing Prince Iaukea makes me wonder what the Velveteen Dream is up to now.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

The only reason Mike Awesome was punished by Vince Russo was because Russo couldn't get his hands on Hulk and Horace Hogan to punish them as they already left WCW following the incident. Many think that loser gimmicks were just the ways Russo and Ed Ferrara were trying to get Awesome out of WCW. Many years later, Russo claimed that this was not the case and that he never had nothing personal against Awesome, but simply didn't see much potential in him, but couldn't get rid of him due to his rock solid contract. This, however, came after Russo made peace with Hogan and Eric Bischoff when they were reunited in TNA in January 2010.

[@silvereloking6149]

Berlin was great gimmick and The Wall with him was cool

[@nicholasvertucci165]

Bossman showed up in WCW in 1993. Hogan had nothing to do with him getting signed.

[@mitchcolburn1216]

Misfits In Action were cool.

[@johnunderkoffler2913]

It's nice to see Rey with his mask back on in WWE. However, I think lucha libre tradition states that luchador can never put the mask back on once he/she unceremoniously loses their mask. Therefore, the WWE kind of messed up by having Rey put the mask back on.

[@cqmorrell]

He used a loophole, he claimed to be continuing his retired uncle's character - said uncle being the original Rey Mysterio. If it works, it works.

[@CMWaters]

@@cqmorrell That and the slight letter difference in the last name: pre WWE it was Misterio with an I, WWE Mysterio with a Y.

[@cqmorrell]

@@CMWaters Nope, was Mysterio with a Y in WCW.

[@CMWaters]

@@cqmorrell Huh...could have sworn that it was the case, but looking up you're right.

[@tafua_a]

@@cqmorrell Also, he changed his mask. Very little, but he changed the design and never went back to the original.

[@Justin_North]

I watched WCW back in the day. I even remember staying up late and to watch reruns of nitro and thunder during the summer months. BUT, even I do not remember WCW Saturday Night.

[@victorstewartjr.106]

I understand the hate that removing Rey's mask gets, but that being said, I LOVE The Filthy Animals as a stable.

[@119Agent]

The Yellow Dog gimmick was pretty clever even if it was a Midnight Rider ripoff. I don't really see what the problem was, it was a pretty good angle.

[@brettkihlmire573]

Alex Wright became the singer of Sabaton?! The similarity is uncanny

[@jayduffy5532]

What about the entirety of team Canada in wcw skipper duggan major Gunn's and lance storm had a spiral

[@Iansco1]

Standards and Practices failed. DX came on the air and read actual S&P crap from USA won.

[@yomamma359]

I think I.R.S. became V.K. Wallstreet or something like that 🤔

[@seanm2600]

A prince iakeua sighting

[@sydrified]

Where is The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea?

[@patrikbroden6592]

This list could have been all about Brutus barber beefcake and still be a top 10 and and still be set in Wcw

[@antoniobanks-tazzy]

I highly disagree with Rey being on this list…. filthy Animal Rey was good and a fresh breath of air to his character

[@mikeattard3543]

Alex & Disco were The Boogie Knights. I don't remember them ever being "The Dancing Fools." Ray Traylor did his best no matter what they gave him, and same for Tenta. And punishing Awesome because he was a distant relation to Hogan? Ugh, c'mon, that's Vince McMahon levels of pettiness.

[@francissobotka8725]

I'm glad Ray Taylor went back to the wwf .It was great to see him there but I wish he would of won a world title

[@Jitenge98]

Is it just me or is most of this video WCW

[@ThatThereWesty]

I thought for the longest time I was mad remembering Rey Mysterio with horns

[@mannyduran8458]

10:54 I see what you did there for anyone that doesn't know rey mysterio is spanish and translates to king of mystery.

[@tafua_a]

Rey Mysterio is Spanish for "You're eliminated". Or was that Sin Cara? (I hope somebody guesses the reference)

[@bryanmorrison2396]

Repo man was a fkn legend 🙌 👏

[@guyfranchise934]

ISO: I remember watching an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night and seeing Booker T working a match as G.I. Bro. I've been searching for over 20 years now and can not find it. This was around the time he changed from Booker to Bro. If I'm correct, he worked the gimmick in the WWE then debuted it in WCW

[@Rando1975]

Booker wasn't in WWE till after WCW closed.

[@guyfranchise934]

That's why I've been looking for this. It took place on Shotgun Saturday Night. They used to put little quotes under the wrestler's names during their entrances. For example, after the Slammy Awards, the quote under Mankind's name said "Yo Adrian, I did it" being that's what he said after winning an award. Under G.I. Bro's name it read "Yoooo Bro"

[@mikeattard3543]

@@guyfranchise934 Booker was in WCW till it closed, then went to WWE. He did briefly use the G.I. Bro in WCW's dying days, but I don't recall him ever using it in WWE.

[@guyfranchise934]

The match took place on 07/11/1998 It was Dan Severn vs G.I. Bro but..... It wasn't Booker T 😡 The match is available on KZbin

[@rhymingreason]

Unpopular take: I loved Rey as part of the Filthy Animals.

[@tafua_a]

I would say that without that period in his career, Rey probably wouldn't have become the star he became in WWE. It made him flesh out his character more, made him cut more promos, and while his promos in WWE weren't amazing, they were serviceable, and we didn't just marvel at his speed, but felt for him as a person. In WWE, Rey kept the swagger he had found in the Filthy Animals and became more than the original Kalisto.

[@michaelspikes8076]

I really like rey unmasked in the filthy animals

[@The4cp]

Prince Nakumaki! Jericho killed it.

[@SheriffOutlaw]

JAh Yes! I was wondering when this topic was gonna be covered Mr. Pacciti! But all jpking aside Good Afternoon good sir! TBH Berlyn and Unmasked Rey was what my teach would call "Dog Sh**".

[@Hugh.G.Rectionx]

i know what my new name is going to be....

[@Monk0405]

Never heard of Standards and Practices but they just sound like a botched Right To Censor 😭

[@EternallyEve]

Which is ironic since they were first, but RTC actually had talent and Steven Richards' charisma while S&P had... fuckin' Lodi?!

[@terrencenewman5580]

Berlin was WCWs generic value brand Edge

[@Mr_Gray_Sky]

Remember in the first series of Tough Enough when Rey came out and took his mask off and everyone had to pretend it was a big deal?

[@lightningfarronxp8899]

I dunno, I remember watching WCW in like 98' when I was in second grade and I liked Maskless Rey Mysterio in overalls. I thought he looked cool and his hip hop style really went well with his entrance theme (one of very few good entrance themes in WCW, the others being the NWO themes and Goldbergs theme). To me it very much felt like the original thuganomics gimmick.

[@Djarra]

Big Boss Man isn’t the only wrestler who joined the Guardian Angels and worked the gimmick in the ring, Vampiro is also an Angel and appeared as one in Mexico

[@mcfadyenmaffoo]

0:42 Ooh, big bratwurst.

[@BrandonRiddley2024]

SUPER Unpopular opinion! : Unmasked Rey Mysterio great! 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

[@chrisuncleahmad]

JOIN US

[@khingofswordz43]

What about "Owen Hart as Blue Blazer" "One Man Gang as Prince Akeem" "Dwayne The Rock Johnson as Rocky Maivia" "Kevin Nash as Big Daddy Cool & Diesel" "X-Pac as The 1,2,3, Kid" "Billy Gunn as Mr Ass" "Hulk Hogan as Hollywood Hogan" Mabel as Viscera & Big Daddy V" ❤️❤️🌍❤️🌍❤️🌍❤️🌍

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Rey was offered to put the mask on by WCW management after negative backlash from fans. However, Rey, who was always about honor, refused and said publically that, despite it all being scripted, he wanted to honor the word he gave to Kevin Nash on-screen. Interestingly enough, the man in charge of booking in WCW at the time was Kevin Nash. Rey never used a mask for the rest of his WCW run.

[@namikstudios]

Then McMahon saw $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and cashed in on remasking him. All done out of respect of course, as the "WWE Universe" (McMahon's marks) will be quick to assure you. *groan*

[@777lando4]

Bruh...I feel you.. I'm with you on all that AND I know the man himself didn't want to unmask...BUT No Limit Rey Rey hit the target demographic. trust LOL

[@luminous6969]

1:08 WOW I HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT DISCO INFERNO. I've watched a ton of wrestling content of KZbin and none of it ever mentioned him so I was never reminded of him until now.

[@danielsweet858]

The STUPIDEST thing WCW ever did was importing the amazing Mexican masked wrestlers then taking away disguises & their mystique. 🤢

[@adrianmixit1998]

This guy is wrong. The filthy animals were great. Bringing in so much latino talent and then L.W.O.

[@georgejackson4426]

One rumor was that Berlyn (will the evil foreigner gimmick ever end) was supposed to be a NAZI but Wright refused. Ah yes early 1990's where all wrestlers had a day job Sparky Plugg Issac Yankem Repo Man and Captain Mike Rotunda are some of the most cringe of them.

[@LoneWolf-zd7lh]

People can laugh at me saying this however I am a fan of Yellow Dog, also I really liked The Artist Formerly known as Prince Iaukea or as The Artist, & I liked That 70s Guy Mike Awesome. It might have seemed stupid for the time or might have been wacky but that's the way WCW was, it was different. & I believe in these past WCW characters & gimmicks.

[@TheEPWF]

Most of the list are guys with throwaway gimmicks before and after these horrid changes. Booker T, Bosssman, and Pullman are the exceptions. I got a lil love for the Filthy Animals, but not b/c of Rey

[@adamhawkins3036]

I liked Alex wright loved his missile dropkick as much as Shawn Michaels superkick...he was not meant to be a heel..his baby face gimmick worked fine for him the leather jacket the dance moves it worked it was fun... Berlin..pfff just boring and generic in my opinion

[@REfan2002]

Alex Wright was one of my favorite wrestlers in WCW.

[@stevenpagnani7005]

It didn't make sense calling him Rey mysterio without his mask. Rey junior would've made more sense

[@spokenwordillusions5756]

Hugh G Reaction!!! Was one of the few who watched WCW Saturday night, and do remember "Mr. L P G A", Barry Darslow would always bring a golf club, and hit a golf ball right into his vanquished opponent. The only thing worse was Nu Blood vs Millionaires' Club, where all the Nu Blood faction would try to impersonate the Millionaires from wardrobe to entrance music. One of those things i prefer to forget. The only bright spot was Curt Henning repackaged as the West Texas Redneck

[@ajmurtagh27]

"Little watched show WCW Saturday Night" ...OK...

[@dylanogg347]

"JOHNNY DON'T B BAD, JOHNNY B GAY!" - I think that may have contributed.

[@MovieEggman]

Vince Russo in WCW pretty much showed people that he has zero respect for wrestling traditions, especially Lucha Libre traditions, where removing your mask is considered a sin.

[@DavidDavisDH]

I swore Vince Russo gets the stupidest ideas and keeps throwing the ideas everywhere until it works, most times it doesn't. It's not just WCW, look at TNA too, I applaud him for keeping a job that long for so many terrible ideas lol

[@attiepollard7847]

9:00 if you didn't see WCW that case was kind of winnable if they would have sued for the avalanche name. For example WWE didn't have nothing to say when Jake the Snake Roberts came but he called himself Jake Roberts even though the obvious he was going to have a snake in wcw another example when Sid vicious came from WCW and he was named and he was renamed Sid Justice only for a couple of years to go back to WCW with his name Sid vicious even though both characters are similar. But I WCW did not want to to deal with the legal troubles.

[@joejackson3091]

Didn't multiple people play Rey Mysterio? I could've sworn a few of his tattoos changed or disappeared outright over the years.

[@juliooquendo220]

I like Rey Mysterio unmasked he has such a cute baby face I bet the ladies during the late 90s find him attractive and adorable and also sexy. That makes me jelious

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

I hated that The Shark changed his LSU Tiger Tattoo because I'm a LSU fan lol

[@DecadentDeviant13]

...'Booker went MIA'... ...I see what you did there...twice even.

[@FrankC71]

Congrats you say Mysterios Biography and found content

[@randyenkerton5015]

Allot of this comment section has no idea what they are talking about n dosnt understand simple wrestling continuity and it really shows..

[@joshj7515]

Rey losing his mask was a huge mistake but I don't think the filthy animals were that bad they were one of the reasons people tuned in to watch wcw is the later days due to the funny things they did...

[@jonroberts8396]

Simon will have words with you about your diss of Repo Man 😉

[@RageyRage82]

I am a sucker for the cheesiest gimmicks, all the years later. I actually kinda miss that stuff lol!

[@youngcity4241]

Unpopular opinion I liked Mysterio without his mask at the time