This has happened in companies where management creates the character instead of the wrestler, meaning that it can be really confusing and hard to believe in the characters itself. Without that belief, it is hard to get behind the wrestler, and quite often they don’t succeed.
A prime example of when character development/promo goes bad…very bad is Mike Awesome.
Mike Awesome was a four-time world champion, he worked all over the world for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, WWE and ECW. But when he worked for WCW his gimmick went from Awesome to Awe-so-not…see what I did there?!
It started out as something cool, “The Career Killer”, but was quickly changed to have him become infatuated with heavy set women (this is absolutely not my frigging wording, I am a plus-size woman and do not condone those words) and calling himself “The Fat Chick Thrilla” (eww). This was even more quickly changed to “That 70’s Guy” (thank frig for that), where he dressed in awful 70’s clothes inspired by the TV show “That 70’s Show” and hosted interview segments named “Lava Lamp Lounge” (you can’t see it but I have my face in my hands trying not to cry). Then it was changed back to the original “Career Killer” gimmick, this time somehow involving him being Canadian (he’s not).
This all took less than 6 months because sometimes an idea should just always stay in your head and not see the light of day.
On the flip side of the bad promo, you have a wrestler whose use of gimmicks just never works until the right one comes along…cue set for 3:16!
Steve Austin had a few different gimmicks while working mid-card at WCW. He was part of the Dangerous Alliance, with Lady Blossom as his valet, then he became “Stunning” Steve Austin in the tag team The Hollywood Blonds. He was eventually fired, while injured for not being “marketable”. Oh little did they know!
Paul Heyman had an inkling, but not the full idea when he had Austin. He was at ECW for less than a year and made a mark as a prototype for the character to come as “Superstar” Steve Austin.
When Austin made his way to WWF he was originally given “The Ringmaster” gimmick, along with the Million Dollar Championship – like really, Ted Dibiase just gave it to him! But Austin knew the character was weak and he asked for a change. He was given a list of terrible names inspired by murderer “The Iceman” Richard Kuklinski (because who doesn’t want to be named after a burglar, a distributor of pirated porno, and murderer? It’s every man’s dream right?). Some of the names included Otto Von Ruthless, Ice Dagger, Fang McFrost and Chilli McFreeze…
Ok, I am not making these up just so my Drag and Wrestling point is believed. I promise these are genuine names made up by someone (maybe a drag queen) in WWF/E.
Unsurprisingly Steve Austin hated these names. I do not blame him, especially Fang McFrost and Chilli McFreeze, they sound delicious but not particularly awesome. Maybe as a tag team partner for Curry Man, but that’s another conversation.
“So how did he get his new name?” I hear you all shouting at your screens. Well, from his wife. A fellow English woman who told him to drink his cup of tea she made for him (better woman than me, mine can make his own and mine) before it became “stone cold”.
Then the perfect moment happened, and a true legendary wrestler was born. Imagine it’s 1996, you sit cross-legged on the floor watching King of the Ring – you assume HHH is going to win, but it turns out he is being punished for “The Curtain Call Incident” (look it up, all I can say is ffs). Instead, Austin makes it to the final against Jake Roberts, who at this time is working as a “born again Christian”. He wins.
Cut to the King of the Ring coronation, the camera follows Steve Austin to the stage where a presenter announces him as the winner. Steve Austin turns to the camera and utters the now immortal lines…
“You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn’t get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16… Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”
The reason this worked so well was because this character was relatable. He seemed like you could know him. But at the same time, it was over the top, formidable and completely different to anything seen in the TV world of wrestling. One promo, one small speech, and it changed the way a whole show ran, harked a new era in wrestling, and introduced a character who would be loved by all.