Worst Wrestling Gimmick

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who had the worst character gimmick in the past
year.  

Previous Winners:

  1991: Mike Rotundo as Irwin R. Shyster 
  1992: Papa Shango's voodoo 
  1993: Doink the Clown 
  1994: Doink the Clown 
  1995: Dungeon of Doom
  1996: The Leprechaun
  1997: Glacier / Blood Runs Cold
  1998: Warrior appears in "strange mist" / forms One Warrior Nation
  1999: Beaver Cleavage (Chaz)

**2000**: That 70's Guy / Not a Mullet / Fat Chick Thriller / Career Killer Mike Awesome

536 first place votes
522 second place votes
509 third place votes

125 62 46  903   "That 70's Guy" Mike Awesome (Career Killer / Fat Chick Thriller / Not a Mullet)
 62 47 30  511   Mae Young pregnant
 31 49 29  360   G.I. Bro (Booker T.)
 41 22 11  293   David Arquette as unwilling WCW champion
 26 17 13  207   Al Green as The Dog
 19 24 20  207   Naked Mideon
 11 24 23  173   Sexual Chocolate Mark Henry as Mae Young's boyfriend
 17 16 16  165   Chyna as a sex symbol
 10 18 22  148   Oklahoma
 13 11 18  134   Undertaker as "American Badass"
 13 11 15  128   Misfits In Action/FUBAR
  9 17 14  124   Kwee-Wee, the wardrobe guy
 11 13 14  122   Powers that Be
 13  7 11  108   Right to Censor
 13  6 12  107   Vince Russo
  9  5 11   82   Goldberg's new streak
  2 14 12   76   Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea
  5  4 11   59   Eddie Guerrero as Latino Heat, with Cheech Marin accent
  5  6  5   53   General Hugh G. Rection
  3  9  5   52   Hacksaw Jim Duggan as a member of Team Canada
  2  7  9   49   Chavo Guerrero Jr. becomes Amway salesman
  4  6  5   48   Kane speaks
  3  5  7   44   Berlyn (Alex Wright)
  3  4  6   39   Nova as "the real innovator of offense"
  2  8  2   38   Dean Malenko as James Bond
  1  5  9   38   Insane Clown Posse
  3  3  5   34   Too Cool
  3  3  5   34   Terry Bollea (Stone Cold Hulk Hogan)
  2  6  2   32   Natural Born Thrillers
  3  2  4   29   Bilvis Wesley
  2  3  5   29   Rey Mysterio Jr. with horns
  1  4  6   29   Maestro (the 'stro)
  2  4  1   24   Al Green as Al Green...in a mask
  2  1  5   23   Rikishi
  3  1  2   22   Creative Control - Patrick & Gerald
  1  2  5   21   Kronik
  0  3  6   21   Bull Buchanan as Big Boss Man's lackey
  2  2  2   20   3 Count & Tank Abbott - Ultimate Boy Band
  3  0  1   17   Big Show as various characters
  3  0  1   17   "Positively" Kanyon
  2  2  0   16   Big Boss Man
  1  3  1   16   Mr. Ass
  2  1  1   15   William Regal as an ambassador of goodwill
  2  1  1   15   Lo Down
  2  1  1   15   Goodfather
  2  1  1   15   Big Sexy Kevin Nash
  2  0  2   14   Demon
  1  2  1   13   T&A
  1  2  1   13   Road Dogg
  1  2  1   13   Lex Luger as the guy who swerves *everybody*
  0  2  3   12   Goldberg as a heel
  1  0  3   11   Perfect Event - Perfectshawn Stasiak & "The Main Event" Chuck Palumbo
  0  3  1   11   Sinister Minister
  2  0  0   10   Tiger Ali Singh
  2  0  0   10   Rock
  0  1  3    9   New Blood
  0  2  1    8   X-Pac
  0  2  1    8   Sting
  0  2  1    8   Ms. Hancock pregnant
  0  2  1    8   ECW's "Network"
  0  2  1    8   Crowbar, that 70's sidekick
  1  0  1    7   Tazz
  1  0  1    7   Raven
  1  0  1    7   David Flair
  0  1  2    7   Godfather
  0  1  2    7   Brad Armstrong as Buzzkill
  0  2  0    6   Triple H
  0  2  0    6   "The Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett
  0  0  3    6   Stuttering Buh Buh Ray Dudley
  1  0  0    5   Test
  1  0  0    5   Rhino
  1  0  0    5   Pogo the Clown
  1  0  0    5   Justin Credible
  1  0  0    5   Full Blooded Italians
  1  0  0    5   D'Lo Brown as pimp sidekick
  1  0  0    5   Curry Man
  1  0  0    5   Commissioner Mick Foley
  1  0  0    5   Burn Victim
  0  1  1    5   Steve Blackman as "greatest hardcore champion"
  0  1  1    5   Steve Austin
  0  1  1    5   Shane (Mr. Jones)
  0  1  1    5   Disqo's Duck
  0  1  1    5   Cat
  0  0  2    4   Just Joe
  0  0  2    4   Disqo as a Filthy Animal
  0  0  2    4   Al Snow
  0  1  0    3   Westside NGZ
  0  1  0    3   Tank Abbot
  0  1  0    3   Scott Steiner as the Big Bad Booty Daddy
  0  1  0    3   Retard
  0  1  0    3   R&B Security
  0  1  0    3   Millionaire's Club
  0  1  0    3   Little Spike Dudley, the Giant Killer
  0  1  0    3   Lane & Idol as Standars & Practices
  0  1  0    3   Hardcore Holly
  0  1  0    3   Filthy Animals
  0  1  0    3   Cyrus
  0  1  0    3   Chyna & Kat (Master & Slave)
  0  1  0    3   "New" Harlem Heat
  0  0  1    2   Wall
  0  0  1    2   Val Venis in white trunks
  0  0  1    2   The Band is Back Together
  0  0  1    2   Terri Runnels, the horny little she-devil
  0  0  1    2   Psychotic Ric Flair
  0  0  1    2   Musketeer
  0  0  1    2   McMahon-Helmsley Regime/Faction/Era
  0  0  1    2   Lt. Commissioner Debra
  0  0  1    2   Lance Storm changes Cruiserweight belt to "100kg"
  0  0  1    2   Fat Tammy Sytch
  0  0  1    2   Elix Skipper's Grey Cup ring
  0  0  1    2   Dudley Boyz - "Get The Tables"
  0  0  1    2   Doink
  0  0  1    2   Chris Benoit
  0  0  1    2   Boogie Knights
  0  0  1    2   Al Snow & Steve Blackman's rotating gimmicks

REJECTED - not in eligible timeframe

 14  5 11        Road Dogg & K-Kwik gittin' rowdy
  3  4  3        "The One" Billy Gunn
  1  1  2        "Anything in..." votes
  0  2  2        "Tie" votes
  1  0  1        WCW in general (not a gimmick)
  1  0  0        Gobbleygooker
  0  1  1        Duplicated votes
  0  1  0        TL Hopper
  0  1  0        Battledome v. WCW
  0  0  1        Pinata on a Pole Match
  0  0  1        Dropping Triple H in the car at Survivor Series

DON DEL GRANDE: I voted for the "100kg title" because (a) that's not the
actual limit (what is the Cruiserweight limit - 205 pounds? 210?) and (b)
there used to be what was in effect a 100kg title - the old NWA World
Junior Heavyweight title (and the AWA one as well) had a 220-pound
(99.79kg) limit.

HIRO: Mike Awesome was stuck in gimmick limbo for a while and when the
dust settled, we get this? The Mark Henry gimmick with Mae Young really
left a bad taste. So did Naked Mideon, which thankfully was totally
censored out here. Chyna as a sex symbol almost made it to the list, as
did the American Bad Ass, Eddy Guerrero/Cheech Marin stuff and Dean
Malenko as James Bond.  Some gimmicks at least were quickly dropped, like
the GI Bro bit.

CHRIS BIRD: Oklahoma and the Misfits in Actio were worse gimmicks, but I
have to admit, the chain of gimmicks given to Mike Awesome defies belief.
Career Killer was okay at best, but from there we go to the lover of fat
chicks, and followed by "That 70's Guy", which is possibly one of the
stupidest ideas in wrestling ever - other than Oklahoma. Oh, and the
Misfits gimmick is just lame-ass. At least "That 70's Guy" was creative,
in a kindergartner-playing-with-fingerpaint sort of way.

MICHAEL BANKER: Since Road Dogg and K-Kwick rapping did not appear on this
list, can I assume that it will appear next year?  Please say that it
will, because that rapping shit is just a horrible, horrible gimmick.

JASON BOUGGER: This could easily have a 25-way tie.  There were so many
bad gimmicks this year.

MARK POLISHUK: Boy, this category was a lot more fun this year.  Thanks,
Russo!

ADAM FROM TORONTO: It's been said before, but Chyna as a natural sex
symbol is as believable as Triple H as a roid-free main eventer.

LAGMONSTR: The Underbiker is the WORST. Go back to being the silent reaper
of souls. No ministry crap, just dark and evil. And shut up, for God's
sakes. I'd vote for Dean Malenko as pimp in training if it was there.

J3R CR0WE: WCW sucks.

ROBERT STRUPP: Boy, did Awesome have some horrible gimmicks or what? Fat
Lady Thriller was just enough to squeak him by Al Green as Al Green in a
mask. Powers that Be??? Ugh, I had just forgotten that bit of WCW before
reading this ballot. Thanks CRZ!

MICHAEL STAKELY: There are just so damn many of them thanks to Vinny Ru.

CHRIS OSTER: I forget who it was that said it, but he was right on the
money when he asked how Mike Awesome was supposed to get over when, after
he finishes destroying someone, that cheesy 70s music fires up?  I thought
what he did to ECW was despicable, but please...NO ONE deserves that
gimmick.  The Dog was, hands down, the worst gimmick I've ever seen...but,
it was only around a couple of weeks and was stuck on a nobody, so it only
gets second.  How Booker T got past GI Bro with his credibility intact,
I'll never know.  Hats off to you, Booker...you don't get third, your
gimmick does.

SCOTT W.: There were so many bad gimmicks.  Poor Mike Awesome and that
70's crap.  That gimmmick may only draw only 70 people.  Hey wait, that's
about 1/2 of the people who buy WCW tickets, so I guess it could draw.  
GI Bro.  C'mon.. Okalhoma was just horrible.  Nothing funny, even if you
include destroying the Cruiserweight title.  pathetic.

MARCUS SPARKS: It says it all when all three of these come out of WCW.  
The Dog was just stupid.  That 70's guy is such a stupid indy-ish gimmick
and a waste of Mike Awesome's talent.  G.I. Bro was luckily killed off
before it did massive damage to Booker T's career.

JOHN C.: Tough category because there were so many bad things this year.
Mae Young being pregnant and giving birth to a hand had to be one of the
most pathetic things I've seen on a wrestling show. Goldberg's win streak
starting up again put the nail in the coffin of WCW as far as I'm
concerned because it was a sign that Vince Russo had given up with coming
up with anything creative. There's nothing worse than saddling a great
wrestler like Mike Awesome with two bad gimmicks (The "Fat Chick Thriller"
& "70's Guy")  but Russo proved to us once again just how bad things can
be when he is in charge.

REISMARK: The G.I. Bro fiasco just happened to be the lowest point of the
year for WCW - thank god they gave its bearer a well-deserved title run a
month later.

ANDY P. GOSS: I have yet to see Billvis Wesley, but the name alone turns
me off to the gimmick.  In addition, G.I. Bro was a terrible, terrible
idea, and it wouldn't surprise me to hear it was Bischoff's.  Don't get me
started on the Dog.

STEPHEN TISZENKEL: Watching Misfits in Action makes me feel bad for Vince
Russo in exile. Sure, the gimmick was horrid to begin with, but to turn it
into circa-1986 flag waving garbage? That's a crime.

JON WALTON: Mae Young pregnant wins this award because it not only
revolted me, it actually had my non wrestling fan friends revolted.

SCOTT CRAWFORD: God damn, there was a lot to choose from in WCW this year.
Of course, this is the company that's produced everything from the
Shockmaster to the No Limit Soldiers, so it shouldn't surprise me. Mae
Young/Mark Henry was SO BAD that it beats out any individual affront to my
intelligence on WCW's part.

EZE4DA3747: The Showster was the funniest thing I have ever seen since
I've been a wrestling fan

JONAH ROSCH: Another close one. Naked Mideon makes me run from my
television screaming in horror, but I will watch a marathon of Naked
Mideon matches than to hear the name G.I. Bro ever again. On top of
everything else, to give such a lame nickname to a good wrestler is a
crime against wrestling.  It was a dumb name, and was insulting, and was
racially disgusting. One of the worst attempts at a gimmick of all time.

JAMES HOWARD: Rey Mysterio Jr. as an Evil Horned Mexican is bad. Oklahoma
was bad, *and* offensive to my intelligence. And the two of *those* angles
*combined* weren't as bad or offensive to my intelligence as the idea of a
tag team created solely to be an insult aimed towards Pat Patterson and
Gerald Brisco. No, sir, I don't like it. ^_^;;

JUST JEFF: At first I was trying to figure out whether to give Mideon the
Naked Man or Mae Young being pregnant the top spot for Worst Gimmick.  
But after thinking about it, I have to give it to the Undertaker's new
persona.  Granted, it's based on reality and it reflects what Mark
Calloway is in real life (plus the entrance theme is simply kickass), but
they could have incorporated the biker/redneck elements into the Man from
the Dark Side persona.  He doesn't have to talk like a dead man or a
cultist...I can accept it if he talks the way he is, but at least still
dresses up in a way which reminds people of the Undertaker of old.  If he
did that, he could have an easier time hiding his injuries and limited
mobility with the no-sells and slow, methodical movements of his previous
persona.  His current gimmick and appearance simply have no link to the
old Man from the Dark Side/Lord of Darkness/Reaper of Wayward Souls
schtick he used to do except for the name and the man playing them.  On
the flipside, I don't understand why Right to Censor is even included in
the list of nominees; the gimmick is one of the great things the WWF has
introduced this year, and it certainly is much better than WCW's version
of it.

GEORGE JOHNSON: Chyna's "shoot" interview was by far the most insulting
and hypocritical thing I've ever witnessed.  I was genuinely pissed off
after watching it.

LCDRKODIAS: Not only is Russo the worst gimmick, he helped pilot most of
the other bad ones as well.

PETER HAZLETT: Anything with Mae Young should be here....

JOE GAGNE: G.I. Bro, no matter who came up with it, was an insult to a
talented wrestler.  I thought Mike Awesome was a can?t miss prospect, but
his Mullet/Fat Chick/70?s Guy gimmicks have totally killed the character.  
Unreal.  Poor Mark Henry.  Did anyone ever believe being Mae Young?s
boyfriend would get him over?  Kronik the angry potheads deserve a mention
too.

BOB MORRIS: I probably wouldn't have minded the RTC gimmick so much had
the WWF not decided to add so many cooks to stir the pot. Steven Richards
is effective in his heel role, but the rest of the players in the group
are looked upon by fans as nothing but a bunch of mid-carders. It didn't
help that this gimmick was created simply because Vince McMahon hates the
PTC so much. It would be best to pull the plug on this gimmick, but given
how much Vince dislikes the PTC, I don't see that happening.

OFFSPRUNG182: Damn you Vince Russo!

RICK SCAIA: Clean sweep for WCW in the "Worst Gimmick" category, with one
bad gimmick representing a different "booking era" from the company.  The
transitionary booking team (featuring Kevin Sullivan) is responsible for
the flat-out worst gimmick of the year:  the Dog (as portrayed by Al
Greene). The original Powers That Be gave us the dreadfully unfunny
"Oklahoma" (a parody of Jim Ross who, unfortunately, decided not only to
offend our sensibilities by doing commentary, but by also getting in the
ring as a wrestler).  And the New Blood/Russo era gave us new names and
characters for the "Misfits in Action"; these were/are just plain bad, but
at least WCW saw fit to ditch the "GI Bro" idea and let "Booker T" return!

TROY OLSON: So many to choose from, so few spots.

NATHAN LONEY: I've seen the Black Scorpion, I've seen the fake Sting, I've
seen Royal Rumble 1994... and now I've seen a large black man loving an
OOOOOOLD white woman.  And I never want to see it again.  Damn you, Russo!  
The gimmick of Oklahoma... hmmm... how do I say this?  OKLAHOMA WAS A
FUCKING STUPID IDEA!  Maybe that will get it through Russo's thick head.  
Finally, the man, the myth, the shitty writer: Vince Russo.  I voted for
that because it would be wrong to not call him on all the bullshit the
pushed, and because his own "gimmick" in WCW sucked donkey balls.

BILL LEHECKA: What was the WWF thinking pairing Mae Young and Mark Henry?  
Ugh!!  Every appearance by this "couple" made me think we should elect
Jack Kervorkian president.  I need a lozenge right now to cleanse the
thought and taste of that idea....

NATE PATRIN: Yeah, the WCW belt was forever tarnished, but at least we
didn't have to see anyone give birth to a fucking HAND.

MATT SPAULDING: G.I. Bro could have killed Booker T's career had it not
been cut off so quickly.  Mike Awesome's not going anywhere with the
extremely limiting "70's Guy" gimmick.  And TAFKA Prince Iaukea fell flat
because nobody's cared about the REAL Prince for years, and nobody's EVER
cared about Iaukea.

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: Naked Mideon. Mae Young. Dog. Yuck, yuck, yuck. And
this is just the bottom of the usual huge barrel, too. Shame Road
Dogg/K-Kwik is too late to contend for this.

TANVIR RAQUIB: Take a 100 year old woman and use her to shock your
pre-pubescent audience with disgusting skits with a much younger 450 pound
black man who sings and writes poetry. Then, have her get pregnant. Now
where's the money drawing ability in THAT angle?

MIKE PLYLEY: GI Bro and all of Mike Awsome gimmicks in WCW were some of
the most idiotic things I've ever seen in my life.  Do they realize that
gimmicks are for people who aren't able to get over otherwise?  Booker was
at least able to regain his dignity and then some, but Mike Awesome will
never be the same.  But both those gimmicks pale in comparison to The Dog,
the peak of Kevin Sullivan's drug induced booking.  I mean, THE DOG!!  A
guy who drinks from the toilet and thinks he's a dog!  And gets paired up
with Fit Finley and "Hardcore" Brian Knobs!  How could that be expected to
draw heat?  Get over?  Be anything but an absolute waste of my TV time?

JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Mae Young's PREGANT?  Someone needs to lay off the
crack in the WWF booking office.  Misfits in Action was simply a HORRID
angle that only now is slightly being saved. Note to WCW:  Parodies of
announcers in other feds shouldn't be Cruiserweight champs.

THE CUBS FAN: I'm sorry - did Mike Awesome make fun of Vince Russo's
booking or something?

KIM (BITCHFACTOR): 3 Count & Tank Abbott's teen-pop exploits could have
worked brilliantly (witness "Ain't Nuthin' But a Tank Thang"), but for the
most part, it came off as an afterthought and/or a timekiller; an
unwatchable mess and a truly heartbreaking shame. I weep for what could
have been.