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Inprofessional wrestling, agimmick generally refers to a wrestler's in-ring persona, character, behaviour, attire, and/or other distinguishing traits while performing which are usually artificially created in order to draw fan interest. These in-ring personalities often involve costumes,makeup and catchphrases that they shout at their opponents or the fans. Gimmicks can be designed to work as good guys/heroes (babyfaces) or bad guys/villains (heel) depending on the wrestler's desire to be popular or hated by the crowd. Atweener gimmick falls between the two extremes, such as wrestlers who manifests many heel and face traits such asRandy Orton's viper gimmick. A wrestler may portray more than one gimmick over their career depending on the angle or the wrestlingpromotion that they are working for at that time.
Promotions will use gimmicks on more than one person, albeit at different times, occasionally taking advantage of a masked character which allows for the identity of the wrestler in question to be concealed. Razor Ramon was portrayed by bothScott Hall andRick Bognar and Diesel was portrayed byKevin Nash and thenGlen Jacobs. Occasionally, a wrestler uses a gimmick as a tribute to another worker; such is the case ofRic Flair's Nature Boy persona which he took on as an homage to the original Nature Boy,Adrian Street. When a wrestler acts outside their gimmick this is known as 'breakingkayfabe', a term showing pro wrestling's linkages totheatre, where the more common term "breaking the fourth wall" is used.
Gimmicks are annually rated for theWrestling Observer Newsletter awards by the publication's owner, professional wrestling journalists, and various industry insiders, such asDave Meltzer, promoters, agents and performers, other journalists, historians, and fans. The two awards are given to thebest andworst gimmick of that year.
Pro wrestling's history has been tied to the use of gimmicks from its infancy. From its circus origins in the 1830s, showmen presented wrestlers under names such as "Edward, the steel eater", "Gustave d’Avignon, the bone wrecker", or "Bonnet, the ox of the low Alps" and challenged the public to knock them down for 500 francs.[1]
During the late 19th century-early 20th century, when wrestlerFrank Gotch rose to prominence, the focus became on contests largely legitimate (seecatch wrestling), which largely resulted in the abandoning previous character gimmicks.
It was not until the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the United States during the 1940s–1950s, whenGorgeous George created pro wrestling's first major gimmick. Hisheel character focused on his looks and quickly antagonized the fans with his exaggerated effeminate behavior, drawing jealousy to the fans. Such showmanship was unheard of for the time; and consequently, arena crowds grew in size as fans turned out to ridicule George.[2]
Gorgeous George's impact and legacy on wrestling gimmicks was enormous, demonstrating how fast television changed the product from athletics to performance. Before him, wrestlers' gimmicks imitated "ethnic terrors"—Nazis, Middle Eastern Muslims (Arabs, Turks, Persians, Bengalis, Afghans, etc.), Japanese, Russians, etc.—but his success birthed a more individualistic and narcissist form of character.[3]
He was one of the first pro-wrestlers to use entrance music, "Pomp and Circumstance" which always played as he made his way to the ring.[4]
In Britain, television took British wrestling to the next level when in 1964, it went full-time as part of theWorld of Sport show.
The style of wrestling at the time was unique with strong emphasis on clean technical wrestling. Heels made up a minority of the roster, with most shows containing an abnormally high proportion of clean sportsmanly matches between two "blue-eyes" (as faces were known backstage in the UK). This would remain the case for several decades to come. Gimmick matches were a rarity, midget wrestling failed to catch on, while women were banned by the Greater London Council until the late 1970s.
During theGolden Age of pro wrestling in the 1980s–1990s, a rise of cartoonish, outlandish gimmicks became popular with the increase of theWorld Wrestling Federation's popularity.
The WWF contributed to the explosion of gimmicks by becoming the most colorful and well-known wrestling brand because of its child-oriented characters, soap opera dramatics and cartoon-like personas. Most notable was the muscularHulk Hogan, who marked the 1980s with his "Real-American" gimmick and made his main events into excellent ratings draws. His dominant role in the industry at that time led to this era to be also known as "Hulkamania". Around this time, wrestling became a form of entertainment rather than an official sport.
Other wrestlers from this era with similarly vivid and outlandish characterization includeThe Iron Sheik,The Ultimate Warrior,Randy Savage,The Undertaker,Sting,Goldust,Roddy Piper,Ric Flair,"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels,"Big Daddy Cool" Diesel,Kwang,The Bushwhackers,Big Boss Man,Tatanka,Razor Ramon,Sgt. Slaughter,Irwin R. Schyster, among many others.
Beginning with the Ruthless Aggression era following the Attitude era, the emphasis of gimmicks became more realistic with wrestlers portraying themselves or actual people without wild exaggeration, freakishness or fantastical qualities. It is also more common for the wrestlers to use their actual names. Wrestlers likeRandy Orton,Batista,Bobby Lashley,John Cena, andBrock Lesnar are prime examples. All the said wrestlers are depicted as less-exaggerated average people.
Although rare, colorful and cartoon-like characters remain in the WWE, such asShinsuke Nakamura (a wildly random, erratic mixed martial arts enigma, emotionally charged by the sound of violins) andMatt Riddle (a stereotypical carefree,barefoot surferValley boy).[5] Outside WWE, some wrestlers have made names for themselves on the crowdedindependent circuit by adopting absurdist comedy gimmicks intended to be understood by post-kayfabe fans as purely fictional characters. Two such wrestlers whose independent-scene popularity got them noticed and eventually signed by the internationally televised promotionAll Elite Wrestling areOrange Cassidy, an emotionless slacker who puts as little effort as possible into his matches and frequently wrestles with his hands in his pockets; andDanhausen, a demonic but somewhat-bumbling figure in horror face paint who claims to be "very nice, very evil" and attempts to put curses on his opponents.
Exaggerating the characteristics of a wrestler's (on occasionfabricated) origin is one of the most commonly exploited gimmicks, in which overarching characteristics of a character play up to clichés andstereotypes.
A long list of wrestlers in this category includes:Arab (The Sheik,The Sultan,Muhammad Hassan),African (Kamala,Abdullah The Butcher,Akeem),American (The Patriot,Hulk Hogan,'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan,Jack Swagger),Australian (Outback Jack,Nathan Jones),Austrian (Gunther),Bulgarian (Rusev),Canadian (Team Canada (TNA),Team Canada (WCW)),Chinese (Xia Li,Boa),Cuban (Razor Ramon),English (William Regal,Lord Alfred Hayes,Gentleman Jack Gallagher),French/Québécois (La Résistance),German (Fritz Von Erich,Baron von Raschke),Hawaiian (Crush,Leilani Kai),Indian (The Great Khali,Jinder Mahal),Iranian (The Iron Sheik,Ariya Daivari),Irish(Finlay,Sheamus),Italian (Full Blooded Italians,Santino Marella),Jamaican (Kofi Kingston),Japanese (Yokozuna,The Orient Express,Mr. Fuji),Mexican (The Mexicools),Native American (Chief Jay Strongbow,Tatanka),New Zealander (The Sheepherders),Nigerian (Apollo Crews),Pacific Islander (Jimmy Snuka,The Wild Samoans,The Headshrinkers),Puerto Rican (Carlito Colón,Primo and Epico),Polish (Ivan Putski),Russian (Ivan Koloff,Nikolai Volkoff,Lana),Scottish (Drew McIntyre,Roddy Piper) andSwiss (Claudio Castagnoli).
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Masked wrestlers made their appearance in Europe (Theobaud Bauer in France, 1865) and the United States (Mort Henderson as "Masked Marvel" in 1915) considerably earlier than in Mexico, but it was the latter that popularised the use of masks. This, in some cases to signify a high-flyer style, influenced byLucha Libre.
A specific masked gimmick may be used by more than one wrestler at awrestling company's request since their identity can be permanently concealed. This is the case of MexicanSin Cara and JapaneseTiger Mask. Masks also allow a wrestler to perform as more than one character for a variety of wrestling promotions. In Mexico, a masked wrestler's identity is often not even a matter of public record, and being unmasked, usually as astipulation of losing a match, is considered a great humiliation. It is a major taboo for a Mexican wrestler who has lost his mask to start wearing one again, though this has occasionally been violated, as in the case ofRey Mysterio.
Other wrestlers who have used masks in their performances include:The Masked Superstar, Mexican-AmericanKalisto,Lince Dorado,Gran Metalik, or Japanese legendJushin Thunder Liger.
A high number of wrestlers who start their careers in another sport incorporate their athletic abilities as part of their act. That is the case for Olympic medallistKurt Angle, who previously competed infreestyle wrestling and alludes to it in his attire and wrestling style.Brock Lesnar is also an ex-amateur wrestler,NFL player andUFC champion. Welsh wrestlerMason Ryan is also a formerGladiator andfootball player. English wrestlerWade Barrett was also a formerbare-knuckle fighter as well asElijah Burke who is also a formeramateur boxer. FormerMMA fightersRonda Rousey andShayna Baszler also uses their MMA background as part of their characters as well as formerAmerican Ninja Warrior competitorKacy Catanzaro, formerkung-fu fighterXia Li, andMatt Riddle, who always wrestles barefooted during matches, presuming that he had an MMA background career in the past before debuting inWWE along withMojo Rawley's "hyperactive" wrestling style due to being a former NFL player before debuting WWE as well as the stableThe Four Horsemen.
The theatrical nature ofprofessional wrestling easily blends withcomic hero andvillain characters, made popular in the 1980s by legendThe Ultimate Warrior andSting, whose character was inspired by the 1994 movieThe Crow, based on thecomic book of the same name.
Other wrestlers with superhero and supervillain gimmicks include lateWWE Hall of FamerDusty Rhodes' sonsGoldandStardust,Big Van Vader,Bam Bam Bigelow,Pierre Carl Ouellet,Dr. Luther, the magicianPhantasio,Icarus,Super Eric,Dexter Lumis, SamoanRosey during his "the Super Hero in Training" (the S.H.I.T.) phase and his tag-team partnerThe Hurricane and valetSuper Stacy,Earthquake/Avalanche and his tag-team partnerTyphoon inThe Natural Disasters stable, and most recently,Ember Moon, and tag-teamsThe Road Warriors,Demolition,KroniK,The Assassins,The Super Assassins,The Machines, and most recently,The Ascension, andThe Viking Raiders/War Machine.
Some of these characters are brought during very short periods of time for entertainment value.The Joker andHarley Quinn from theBatman comics have inspired wrestling attire for Sting andAlexa Bliss respectively.Finn Bálor's Demon King persona is visually based onSpider-Man villainsVenom andCarnage.Sandman's character name is also based on Spider-Man villainSandman as well asRhyno, whose character name was based on apun on the Spider-Man villainRhino.Raven's character name was based onDC Comics superhero,Raven.Kenny Omega's taunts were inspired by video games since he was a big fan of them.Mantaur's character name was also based on a pun on the wordMinotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature fromGreek Mythology.Luchasaurus' character name is aportmanteau of "lucha libre" and "dinosaurus". Tag-teamThe Super Smash Brothers's name was based on the video game franchiseSuper Smash Bros.Nikki Cross also changed her gimmick and name like that of a superhero, intoNikki A.S.H. (Almost a Superhero).X-Men characterStorm has inspired wrestling attire forJade Cargill.Kris Statlander's character was originally analien gimmick, which she was nicknamed "The Galaxy's Greatest Alien" and billed as having come from theAndromeda Galaxy.TNA's Dean Roll's ring name,Shark Boy, became the inspiration for the3Dsuperheroadventure film,The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.
Similarly to superheroes and supervillains, supernatural characters add to entertainment value. Most famously in this category isThe Undertaker, considered one of the most respected wrestlers in the business, whose gimmick is a horror-themed character of an undead, macabre and paranormal dark presence prone to scare tactics. He was managed by the ghostly character that wasPaul Bearer and tagged with his half-brotherKane inThe Brothers of Destruction stable.
Other wrestlers displaying supposed supernatural powers includeMatt Hardy (as his Broken/Woken persona), and his younger brotherJeff Hardy (as his Brother Nero/Willow character),Mordecai,Waylon Mercy,Jake "The Snake" Roberts,Papa Shango,The Boogeyman,Abyss, and most recentlyAsuka,Ember Moon,Aleister Black, andBray Wyatt's The Fiend, and stablesThe Three Faces of Fear, andThe Dungeon of Doom. JapaneseOnryo portrays a dead wrestler who returned for vengeance.
Raven was the leader of five stables;Raven's Nest,The Flock,The Dead Pool,The Gathering, andSerotonin.
The Brood was a vampire stable, composed ofGangrel,Christian andEdge.[6]
Alexa Bliss was also given a different gimmick after her alliance with Bray Wyatt in late 2020s, appearing suddenly and sometimes attacking the other wrestlers, the same things that Bray Wyatt would do.
Since its beginnings in the circus circuit, the professional wrestler's stereotype has been that of large, powerful and strong, most notablyKane upon his arrival to the WWF/E. Various wrestlers have banked on the larger size which has influenced their in-ring style and persona.
Notable examples of these kind include SwedeTor Johnson (181 kg),Gorilla Monsoon (182 kg),Giant González (8 ft 0 in),André the Giant (7 ft 4 in),The Great Khali (7 ft 3 in),Big Show (7 ft 2 in),Awesome Kong andNia Jax (123 kg).
Similarly to juggernauts, since its beginnings in the circus circuit, the professional wrestler's stereotype has been that of small, but powerful and strong like those ofdwarves of Norse mythology. Various wrestlers have banked on the small size which has influenced their in-ring style and persona.
Notable examples of these kind include theleprechaunHornswoggle,El Torito and other various dwarfed versionsof other various wrestlers.
Education is a rare gimmick in wrestling due to the fact that, most times, the wrestler is a formerreal-life student or scholar of aschool, acollege, auniversity, or aTAFE, who also worked as acheerleader, acoach, adean, alibrarian, ateacher, or even aprincipal. Wrestlers who used this gimmick includeNXT wrestlers, e.g.Alex Riley etc.,Bobby "The Brain" Heenan,Dean Douglas,Jonathan Coachman,Michelle McCool's "sexy teacher" character,The Miz's andJack Swagger's "student" amateur background characters,Damien Sandow's "Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses" character, and"The Librarian" Peter Avalon and his managerLeva Bates, and tag-teamsThe Steiner Brothers,The Spirit Squad, and most recently,Team Rhodes Scholars,American Alpha, andChase University.
Disability is rare gimmick in wrestling, as wrestlers in real-life will often face discrimination from other wrestlers, as well as the fans themselves. Despite this, it is usually depicted as a heroic gimmick.Zach Gowen usually competes with one leg, due toamputation on his left leg at the age of eight.Gregory Iron was diagnosed withcerebral palsy, which has left his right arm withered and with extremely limited range of motion.Eugene's character was based on a "mentally disabled boy". The filmThe Peanut Butter Falcon follows a young man withDown syndrome who escapes from anassisted living facility, in order to follow his dream of being a wrestler.
Military characters are sometimes a villainous gimmick, but is quite rare due to the fact that, most times, the wrestler was formerly part of the real-life military. Wrestlers who use this gimmick includeSgt. Slaughter, and most recently,John Cena, after his acting debut of the filmThe Marine, and tag-teamsThe Shield, andThe Authors of Pain.
Bad News reporter characters are a villainous gimmick; due to any "bad news" reported to the fans by a "bad guy" (heel); but is quite rare since that fans are not quite interested in it either. Wrestlers who used this gimmick includeBad News Brown, and most recently,"Bad News" Barrett.
Religion is often a rare gimmick in professional wrestling due to its controversial nature. Wrestlers who used this gimmick includeFriar Ferguson, and most recently,"Bolieve" Bo Dallas, and"The Monday Night Messiah" Seth "Freakin'" Rollins.
Whilst being way beyond over the limit from some sheer violence is scary in some matches, hardcore technician gimmicks are also another popular choice for gimmicks, due to the fans beingover with getting used to watching sheer violence as they don't shy away from it either. These includeAbdullah the Butcher, andBruiser Brody, which came popular into other professional wrestling companies likeECW wrestlers, e.g.Terry Funk,Hardcore Holly,New Jack, andMick Foley/Mankind/Cactus Jack, etc.,CZW wrestlers, e.g.John Zandig,Necro Butcher,Wifebeater,Nick Mondo, andNick Gage, etc.,AEW wrestlers, e.g.The BladeandThe Butcher, etc., Japanese WrestlersAtsushi Onita,Toshiaki Kawada, andJun Kasai, and tag-teamsThe Motor City Machine Guns, and most recently,The Mechanics, andHeavy Machinery.
Music influences are another popular choice for gimmicks. In the 80's,The Honky Tonk Man worked with a Elvisesque character.Elias also works well with his musician guitar character.Rapping was demonstrated byR-Truth/K-Kwik's original rapper character along withRoad Dogg andJohn Cena worked during the first years of his career with a rapper gimmick. AEW tag teamThe Acclaimed also begin each of their matches with a different rap. Othermusic genre types were demonstrated byCM Punk'sstraight edge iconoclast hardcorepunk, party boysNo Way Jose andAdam Rose,Cameron Grimes,Rick Boogs,Rockstar Spud,Heath Slater,Lance Archer,Chris Jericho,Jeff Jarrett,Marty Jannetty,Disco Inferno,One Man Gang,Buck Zumhofe, WWE'sBrodus Clay and his fun-loving, funk dancing gimmick "The Funkasaurus" andFandango who includes salsa dancing in his routine, andAEW'sJack Evans who usually does breakdancing in the ring during entrances or when he's won a match, and tag-teamsThe Public Enemy,Badd Company,The Rockers,The Rock 'n' Roll Express,The Rhythm and Blues, and most recently,The Vaudevillains.AEW'sAdam Williams is also a professional wrestler and a real-life guitarist.
Whilst humor has long been present inprofessional wrestling matches and many wrestlers incorporate elements of comedy in their act, full-on comedic gimmicks are not commonly seen. These are sometimes reserved for wrestlers who not always have the stereotypical physique required in the industry and instead exploit their entertainment abilities.
Initiated by English wrestlerLes Kellett, wrestlers who fall under this category areDoink The Clown which was majorly portrayed byMatt Osborne until his death in 2013, which inspired others like Scottish comedian and actorGrado,Ring of Honor'sColt Cabana,Santino Marella,James Ellsworth, andEugene's "mentally disabled boy" character, Japanese WrestlersStalker Ichikawa,Gran Naniwa,Kuishinbo Kamen andToru Yano,Charlie Haas during his impersonations run, andWWE's 1990s turkey characterGobbledy Gooker, and rooster characterRed Rooster,WCW'sBrian Pillman, andAl Snow along with hismannequin prop called "Head" which he used as a sidekick companion during segments while addressing the fans. And recently,The New Day pursued a joyous gimmick, giving them a character heavily associated with the fans.Damien Sandow also falls under this category due to his 'stunt double' gimmick in late 2014 where he copied whatever his on-screen mentorThe Miz did, due to the latter using a gimmick of an arrogant movie star.R-Truth also influenced his character with some of his comedic activities, such as breaking out a joke, dancing and finding out his opponent to win the 24/7 Championship in a strange and funny way.
Characters who do charity are depicted as a heroic gimmick due toreal-life charity. Wrestlers who used this gimmick includeSweet Daddy Siki,Brother Love,"Make a Difference" Fatu,Dude Love, and most recently,"The Doctor of Hug-o-nomics" Bayley, and tag-teamMen on a Mission.
Usually a villainous gimmick, initiated byGorgeous George, due to the jealousy of the good looks the fans want to have for themselves. Wrestlers that followed on with this trend includeSonny Kiss,Angel Garza,"The Untouchable" Carmella,Lana with her catchphrase, "I am the best in the world","Dashing" Cody Rhodes,"The Black Machismo" Jay Lethal,"The Artist Collective" Sami Zayn,"The Masterpiece" Chris Masters,"Big League" Byron Saxton,"The Swiss Superman" Antonio Cesaro,Dolph Ziggler with his "perfection" gimmick,The Miz with his catchphrase, "AWESOME",Randy Orton,"The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix,Carlito Caribbean Cool,"The Phenominal" AJ Styles,"Glorious" Bobby Roode,"The Almighty" Bobby Lashley,"The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin,Scotty 2 Hotty,"The Rated R Superstar" Edge,The "Great One" Rock,"The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry,Val Venis,"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels,"Big Sexy" Kevin Nash,Lex Luger's "The Narcissist" character,"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton,Ravishing Rick Rude,"The Model" Rick Martel,"Adorable" Adrian Adonis,Hulk Hogan,"Macho Man" Randy Savage,Jesse "The Body" Ventura,"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair andhis daughter,"Handsome" Harley Race,"Classy" Freddie Blassie,AEW's"Pretty" Peter Avalon, andPowerhouse Hobbs,TNA'sMr Pec-tacular,Brian Christopher's Grand Master Sexay,Billy Gunn's Mr Ass,Curt Hennig's Mr Perfect,Paul Orndorff's Mr Wonderful,NXT'sTyler Breeze,Lacey Evans, and"The Finest" Kona Reeves, and tag-teamsThe Mexicools, andToo Cool, as well as women's tag-teamsThe Beautiful People,LayCool,Fire and Desire, andThe IIconics.
Hollywood movie stars are occasionally villainous due to fame outside of wrestling as a real-lifeHollywood actor/actress. These include"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan,The Rock, and most recently,Batista,John Cena,The Miz, andDavid Otunga's A-list character, and tag-teamsThe Hollywood Blondes, andMNM, and most recently,The Bollywood Boyz, despite being of Indian descent and being billed from the famous Indian filming district ofBollywood,Mumbai (Bombay), instead which they were named after (although the name "Bollywood" was borrowed from the word "Hollywood" but with a "B" instead of a "H" to describe a famous filming district in Mumbai (Bombay), in India, which it was named after).
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Authority figures are apparently villainous but sometimes as heroic characters as wrestlers and non-wrestlers (e.g.referees, general managers,security,police, etc.) as well depending on the storyline. Some wrestlers also use a character based on an authority over other people. These include non-wrestlers likemanagers, and wrestlers likeThe Mountie,Big Boss Man,"The Alpha Male" Marcus Cor Von,Consequences Creed,"The Man" Becky Lynch,"The Boss" Sasha Banks,Sean O'Haire's devil advocate gimmick, andDavid Otunga's legal adviser character,ECW's911, and stablesNew World Order,Right to Censor,The Truth Commission,The Acolytes Protection Agency,3-Minute Warning, and most recently,The Authority.
The evil billionaire/millionaire tyrant character works well as a villain — due to the jealousy of the fans who want the things "money can't buy" for themselves which they can't afford — in contrast to professional wrestling'sworking-class fan-base. It is because of this audience thatDusty Rhodes'Common Man or "American Dream" washighly successful with the crowds.
The original gimmick of this type was created by"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, which consequently inspired wrestlers likehis son, which includes being owners of the promotion, likeMr. McMahon andhis family (includinghis sonand daughter (since they are the real owners of WWE)), and most recently,"The Dream" Velveteen Dream, and stablesThe Diamond Exchange,The Beverly Brothers,The Million Dollar Corporation,Money Inc.,Beer Money, Inc., and most recently,The Prime Time Players,The Street Profits, andThe Hurt Business.JBL used his real-life work as Wall Street investor as base for his JBL character.
Similarly to evil billionaire/millionaire tyrant characters, and even authority figures, ruthless ruler characters are mostly a villainous gimmick based onreal-life royals,imperials,empires,monarchs, or around other non-royal characters, likebureaucrats,aristocrats,diplomats,nobles, andgents. Wrestlers who originally used this gimmick includeLord Alfred Hayes, which inspired others likeBaron von Raschke,"King" James Valiant,The Duke of Dorchester,Jerry "The King" Lawler,The Sultan,King Booker,Hunter Hearst Helmsley,Prince Nana,Tiger Ali Singh's rich and arrogant Asiatic heir character and his manservantBabu,William Regal's arrogant royal noble English ambassador character and his managerSir William, and most recently,Dalton Castle,Gentleman Jack Gallagher,Baron Corbin who uses the gimmick of a villainous and an evil king, after winning the2019 king of the ring tournament, but lost toShinsuke Nakamura who is using the gimmick like that of theJapanese emperor after winning the "Battle For The Crown" against Corbin,Roman Reigns who is using the gimmick of the head of the table and the tribal chief, representing his tribe, upon his heel turn,Jinder Mahal as the Modern Maharaja, associating with his Indian ancestry,Apollo Crews as a proud representative of Nigeria, andAlberto Del Rio's arrogant rich Mexican aristocrat character and his personal ring announcer,Ricardo Rodriguez, and stablesThe Nation of Domination,The Kings of Wrestling,The British Invasion,The British Bulldogs,The Blue Bloods,Los Conquistadores, and most recently,The Kingdom,The Undisputed Era, andThe Imperium.
Hated crime gangsters, terrorist thugs, bad guy bandits, mafia mobsters etc. all work well as a villainous gimmick due toreal-life crime gangs,terrorists,bandits, andmobsters, but has also become a more popular gimmick among heroes, partially due to beingover with fans who seem to be more malevolent towards the heels, even if the later are trying to be friendly or polite. These includeRazor Ramon,The Brooklyn Brawler,Stone Cold Steve Austin,Eddie Guerrero andChavo Guerrero with their catchphrase, "I lie, I cheat, I steal"/"We lie, We cheat, We steal","Brutal" Bob Evans,Beer City Bruiser,Shannon Moore,John Cena's "thug nature" character, and most recently,Eddie Edwards,Sami Callihan,Darby Allin,Hikaru Shida (with heryakuza gimmick), andBandido, and tag-teamsCryme Tyme,D-Generation X,The New Age Outlaws,The Disciples of Apocalypse,The Gangstas/The Gangstanators,FBI,LAX,Mexican America,La Familia,The Forever Hooligans, and most recently,Riott Squad, The Forgotten Sons,Social Outcasts,Enzo Amore and Big Cass,Sanity,Aces & Eights,The Bullet Club, andRetribution.
Professional wrestling is also considered to be acircus as well, as animals also engaged as opponents, as well as being gimmicks in matches, and mascots for wrestlers as well. These includebears likeTerrible Ted,tigers,cheetahs,orangutans,monkeys likeJapanese macaques,cats,dogs likeMatilda thebulldog, owned as a mascot by the tag-teamThe British Bulldogs, and was replaced by another bulldog named Winston,pigs, which are brought byHillbilly Jim, as in thePig (or Hog) Pen match,birds like Frankie themacaw, who was accompanied by"Birdman" Koko B. Ware, andsnakes like Damien thepython, who was the pet ofJake "The Snake" Roberts.
