Throughout the years, WWE has had its fill of larger-than-life characters with over-the-top gimmicks. Some of these weird gimmicks ended up really winning over fans; however, there are quite a few that didn’t cut it or were just way too weird. Let’s take a look at some of the wrestling gimmicks that didn’t work or were incredibly bizarre.

Papa Shango

While Undertaker’s supernatural gimmick was winning over fans, WWE tried to have lightning strike twice by introducing Papa Shango, a voodoo practitioner who put curses on the men he faced in the ring. Most notably, Papa Shango feuded with Ultimate Warrior, where he put a curse on him that made Warrior drip black goo from his forehead.

Akeem the African Dream

Iconic manager Slick represented the seemingly unstoppable wrestler, One Man Gang. After a Wrestlemania loss, One Man Gang was repackaged as Akeem: The African Dream. Slick revealed Akeem was actually African and was going to embrace his “roots,” by dressing in “African” garb and talking in jive. Yes, it’s as offensive as it sounds, if not worse.

Kerwin White

Continuing with offensively weird gimmicks, wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. denounced his Mexican heritage, dyed his hair blonde, and became Kerwin White, a stereotypical, white, conservative American, who came to the ring in a golf cart. While the gimmick was amusing, it started getting dicey when White’s catchphrase became, “If it’s not White, it’s not right.” The gimmick ended abruptly after his uncle, Eddie Guerrero, passed away and White went back to being Chavo in the ring.

Gillberg

In WCW, Goldberg was an unstoppable force, beating anyone that stood in his path. He was positioned as having 173 straight wins in the company. Gillberg was WWE’s parody of that character, with the plan to have Gillberg lose 173 straight matches. His entrance was like a “poor man’s” version of Goldberg, which included sparklers and fire extinguishers. Although the gimmick was silly, Gillberg was the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion.

Simon Dean

Simon Dean entered the WWE in 2004 as a fitness guru whose promos parodied late night infomercials. He tried to sell viewers and other wrestlers on “The Simon System.” He took a break from the character but returned months later featuring a segway he’d ride around called “The Dean Machine.” Surprisingly enough, other wrestlers bought into the “Simon System,” before Dean semi-retired in 2006.

Perry Saturn and Moppy

Parry Saturn had a great run at WCW and during his time at WWE. However, for a short time, Saturn fell in love with a mop that had a face on it, also known as “Moppy.” He believed that Moppy was alive. The promos were bizarre, and all of this ended with Moppy being thrown into a woodchipper.

Mantaur

Before the Attitude Era went into a full-effect, WWE’s wrestlers were a bit out there. Your job was your gimmick, and when that went out of style, the company started experimenting with things like Mantaur, a Minotaur wrestler. It was confusing to see a man come down to the ring with a bull’s head on, take it off, then moo at his opponent.

Max Moon

Max Moon was a character who shot fireworks out of his Mega Man-like hands during his entrance. The outfit purchased by WWE reportedly cost $13,000. Two people ended up playing Max Moon during the character’s short tenure at WWE, one of which was Konnan, who later found greater success in WCW.

Mordecai

In 2004, Mordecai made his way to Smackdown. He was a religious zealot who wore all white, condemned the audience, and told them they needed to pray with him, as he was on a crusade against sin. Mordecai was originally created to feud with The Undertaker, but before that could get started, Mordecai was sent to WWE’s training territory, and the character was scrapped.

Kaientai

Kaientai was a Japanese wrestling stable made up of five members. The group came to WWE during the Attitude Era and are most notably known for attacking Val Venis and cutting off his penis. Kaientai became something very different afterwards. Taka and Funaki became a tag team under that name, and all of their promos were overdubbed poorly, like watching a Japanese monster film. Funaki would only say “Indeed!” during said segments.

Bastion Booger

In 1993, WWE debuted Bastion Booger. He was overweight, was always eating, and wore a dingy, grey outfit to the ring, which was just as revolting. That’s about as deep as the character got, but many fans remember moments of Booger stuffing food in his face. Booger lasted about a year, before leaving WWE. However, it’s a year of grossing fans out that we’ll never forget.

The Boogeyman

After months of bizarre vignettes in 2005, The Boogeyman debuted on Halloween. He was a character who smashed a giant alarm clock on his own head and ate worms during his entrance. He also used to pop up in backstage segments, scaring other wrestlers. There wasn’t much explanation as to what this character was about, aside from him yelling “I’m the Boogeyman” and laughing maniacally.

Bonus WCW Gimmick: Shockmaster

While everyone who is into wrestling has seen the grand debut of Shockmaster during that infamous WCW segment, what most people don’t realize is that the company kept the character going as a parody of itself. His entrance music sounded like someone practicing guitar, and he wore a construction helmet, in case he fell over again.

Bonus WCW Gimmick: Seven

While he’s best known for portraying the eccentric Goldust in WWE, when Dustin Runnels went to WCW he was given a truly bizarre gimmick that is still a bit haunting. The character’s name was Seven, who looked like an S&M Uncle Fester, and in a vignette, we see the character looking in a child’s window. Turner Standards and Practices told WCW the character could be perceived as a child abductor, and Seven was scrapped before ever wrestling. However, Runnels did come to the ring as the character and unleashed one scathing promo.

Bonus WCW Gimmick: Glacier

Rounding out the list is Glacier, who looks heavily inspired by Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat. The vignettes felt a bit more inspired by the movie Mortal Kombat though. His over-the-top costume cost around $35,000, while his entrance came in at nearly $500,000. Glacier had a long run in WCW, even though the outfit, backstory, and vignette were completely derivative of something incredibly mainstream at the time.