So this won’t surprise long time readers by any stretch of the imagination but guess what? I am super into another completely retro and nerdy hobby on top of all of my others.

Yes, as you may have guessed by the logo, I have launched myself full force into the world of Professional Wrestling. Right now, specifically the, “New Generation” as it’s referred to by Wrestling connoisseurs. The “New Generation” of wrestling talent was marked by some comical, cartoony and over -the-top gimmicks before the Promotion found its footing (and dominant T.V. ratings) later in the 90’s with the “Attitude Era”.

So as I’ve been watching I’ve been taking note of some particularly entertaining or just plain bizarre gimmicks from the era and figure I would share some here. So put on your leggings, adjust your spandex and raise your title belts over your head for some downright hilarious gimmicks the WWE experimented with in the mid 90’s.

1.) Man Mountain Rock

Man Mountain Rock’s catchphrase was, “If it’s too loud, then you’re too old” as he would would rip off nasty guitar solos with oversized WWF logo guitar. Eventually his Rock n’ Roll lifestyle would clash with another awful storyline featuring a cantankerous Bob Backlund running for president on a platform of condemning the youth of the country. Due to a tirade of injuries and substance abuse violations the rocker was let go by the promotion in 95’.

Later on he would file a $10 Million lawsuit against Rock Star Games accusing them of stealing his original ring name of, Maxx Payne. The case was settled out of court.

2.) Duke “The Dumpster” Droese

Duke “The Dumpster” Droese was tasked with a pretty lame gimmick as a disgruntled garbage man who would carry, presumably his, garbage can down to the ring. He kept the schtick up for over two years and delivered Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s first career lost via Disqualification at In Your House 6.

Despite making a couple of cameos over the past several decades, Droese has largely been absent from the WWE since 1996 when he asked Vince McMahon to be released from contract citing exhaustion from the rugged road schedule wrestlers must face.

3.) The Brooklyn Brawler

Played by Steve Lombardi, in defense of the Brooklyn Brawler he had a lot of staying power as a talent enhancer. Spending years fighting in dark matches and opening shows with the next wave of WWE Superstars, the thing that made The Brawler such a bad gimmick is how stagnant it had become and a small overlooked wardrobe malfunction.

The Brooklyn Brawler’s obsession with the Yankees had some wrestling and baseball fans scratching their heads. Considering the Yankees played in The Bronx and were hated by most Brooklyn-nites while the Dodgers were still in the Borough.

4.) Glacier (WCW)

Not only did Glacier look ridiculous, his entrance was unnecessarily long taking up to five minutes at times and grinding WCW program’s momentum to a halt. In fact, it’s easy to argue that Glacier was dead in the water before he even had a chance to fight in the squared-circle as WCW had spent over a year teasing the audience with vignettes featuring a he mysterious martial arts practitioner that looked a whole hell of a lot like Sub Zero from the Mortal Kombat series. before the storyline mysteriously disappeared as the NWO storyline blew up.

Even despite being undefeated for an entire calendar year, success in the ring couldn’t seem to elevate Glacier over mid-card matches and his persona seemed cartoonish and obsolete from the beginning in comparison the edgier competition, Monday Night Raw.

5.) The Yeti (WCW)

The Yeti may go down in history as one of the dumbest things to ever happen on a Pay-Per-View event. Led by “The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan The Dungeon of Doom may have been one of the most ridiculously stupid wrestling stables ever assembled. Having an all monster theme, The Dungeon of Doom was in the midst of recently added to the WCW roster superstar, Hulk Hogan in 1995. The rivalry between Hulkamania and the bunch of ghoulish freaks would come to a head at Halloween Havoc 95’ during a world championship match between Hogan and The Giant. By the end of the match all hell had broken loose (which was typical for the last five years of the Promotion) and a bunch of wrestlers turned on Hogan beating him badly after the match. All of that would have been made a suitable end to the Pay-Per-View but the WCW wasn’t done yet. Introducing The Yeti – a seven foot two inch roll of toilet paper that drunkenly bumbled down to the ring and dry humped Hogan. It’s regarded as a top ten worst moment in Wrestling history and honestly, in my opinion, must-see-T.V.

Impossibly, just a month or so later The Yeti would come out in an even more ridiculous costume and renamed, The Yetti. He would make a couple of appearances in the coming months and be out of the WCW soon after for good.

Do you agree? Disagree? Would you like to see more awful wrestling gimmicks? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!