10 Gimmicks That Could Only Exist In The 2000's

The 2000's what a time. Much like any other decade it had it's own trends and quirks that are synonymous with that decade. Depending on where you were in life during that decade, you get come across something and definitely know the era it was hot in.

Pro wrestling is a microcosm of pop culture and the world in general. In the 2000's there were several gimmicks created to feed off of what was popular during that time. None of these gimmicks really made a long lasting impact, and now years later you may remember one or two. More often than not you likely forgot about some of them, so here is 10 gimmicks that could have only existed in the 2000's. 

10. Eugene

Nick Dinsmore was a wrestler who made a few appearances in WCW. Often playing the role of a jobber. When WCW closed he floated around a bit, before signing with the WWE.

Fast forward a couple years and he was bought to the Raw brand as Eugene. The mentally challenged nephew of Eric Bischoff. Eugene was energetic with a childlike innocence to him and fans responded to him, making him a very popular act of the ruthless aggression era. 

His first big feud was with Jonathan Coachman. Later he became involved in angles with some high profile members of the roster such as William Regal, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Umaga, and even had a segment with The Rock. The character disappeared when Dinsmore was released in 2007.

A mentally challenged wrestler is definitely a product of the 2000's and would not exist today.

9. Paul Burchill

In 2003 Disney struck a goldmine when a movie based on their theme park ride Pirates Of The Caribbean became a worldwide box office success. A large part of that success was the portrayal of pirate Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp. So few years later WWE decides they need a pirate on TV.

They assign the role of the pirate to Paul Burchill who is from England with the story being he is an descendant of the famous pirate Blackbeard. To Burchill's and WWE's credit they did go all in on the gimmick. Burchill would make his entrance swinging on a rope and his look clearly was inspired by Johnny Depp's look in the film.

Despite all efforts the gimmick never caught on and Burchill was repackaged later into really a rather bland gimmick.

8. Festus

Before he was a member of the Bullet Club, or even the Straight Edge Society. Luke Gallows was known as Festus. A mentally challenged wrestler who often was zoned out, until the bell rang. Paired with his "brother" Jesse, Festus was the epitome of walking zombie. I really never understood what his purpose was, or what the joke was supposed to be. The act never caught on and the duo went nowhere.

In 2009 the duo were spilt up via the WWE draft and months later, Festus appeared alongside CM Punk and Serena. Now a member of the Straight Edge Society, he claimed he was drugs all his life that led to his almost catatonic state all the time. This gimmick was absolutely a product of the 2000's and thankfully went nowhere.

7. Brutus Modern Day Gladiator 

Today Nick Aldis is a well respected ring veteran who recently appeared on WWE TV as a authority figure for Smackdown. Back in 2008 however, he was a little known wrestler from the UK who just debuted on TNA. Having some experience on the overseas program Gladiators as Oblivion and though the film debuted 8 years prior Gladiator starring Russell Crowe was still a very popular movie.

So TNA decides to take his Gladiator experience and some inspiration from the film and dub him Brutus Magnus. Complete with Gladiator attire as his ring gear, needless to say it didn't last long and less than 6 months later the Gladiator gimmick was dropped. 

Another example of TNA not quite having a full gripe on pop culture at the time.

6. Streaker Mideon

No idea who came up with this, but after his in the Ministry of Darkness Mideon took his mid-card spot and ran with it. As a streaker or "Naked" Mideon, he would run to the ring and wrestle in just a fanny pack, thong, and boots. That's it, that was his entire ring gear.

Now this was around mid-2000 as the attitude era was still running wild. This is one of the dumbest ideas or should I say outlandish ideas that just didn't stick to come out of that era. Give him credit Mideon ran with it, but it would never be a gimmick in today's world.

5. Rock n Rave Infection 

In the mid-2000's a video game by the name of Guitar Hero was released and became very popular. The game is quite simple players would get a guitar that is actually a game controller that syncs with the video game as they play along to classic rock songs, living out their rock n' roll dreams. The game is actually quite addictive by the way.

So what does TNA decide to do? Make a tag team of wrestlers living out their rock star fantasies.

Complete with said game controllers by their side Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave along with Christy Hemme as their manager were bought onto the scene. The gimmick was actually harmless fun, but by time the team debuted in 2007 they were already a little outdated, lasting until 2009 using the gimmick somehow.

4. The Governor

In 2008 a month after Sarah Palin lost his bid as Vice-President of the United States alongside John McCain to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. TNA decided to "offer" Sarah Palin a job to come work with them. This effort was spearheaded by The Beautiful People (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky) and Kip (Billy Gunn).

When The Governor finally appeared on TNA TV it was none other than Daffney who bore a strong resemblance to Sarah Palin. The angle didn't go very far and didn't amount to anything, other than I guess a few jokes on Palin's behalf. 

3. Mike Awesome That 70's Guy

The nostalgia train usually runs on a 20-25 year schedule. In the mid 90's to early 2000's nostalgia for the 1970's was in effect. As a byproduct there was a very popular TV show called That 70's Show.

So Vince Russo in all his wisdom, decides to waste a very talented big man who can move around the ring in Mike Awesome. Instead of making him a beast in the ring like he was in ECW, he saddled him with the gimmick of a guy stuck in the 70's. 

Complete with The Partridge Family bus.

2. Simon Dean

In the early 2000's weight loss fad's were a big thing. There was the Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet, among the juicing diet. Everyone promised if you followed this diet you would lose weight without even trying.

So WWE in all their wisdom decided to make a gimmick playing on that. Taking uber talented but underrated Mike Bucci (Nova in ECW) and making him Simon Dean. A fitness expert he had the "Simon System" which he promoted through his informericals and would make his way to the ring on a segway. 

He eventually gained followers in the tag team Gymini, but despite the diet trend being huge in the early 2000's the gimmick never caught on which is a shame. As I honestly think Simon Dean the wrestler and the gimmick deserved more. 

1. Muhammed Hassan

Post 9/11 America was a very turbulent time. Although it's probably the most united the country has been this millennium, it was filled with a lot of fear. Mass Xenophobia towards citizens of Middle Eastern descent.

In 2003 we entered into war with Iraq heightening the fears and prejudice. In 2004 WWE decides to take advantage of this and introduces Muhammad Hassan alongside his manager Daviri. 

Their crusade is they were tired of the prejudice in America towards them. Muhammad was talented in the ring and good on the mic and drew immense amount of heat.

He held feuds against top members of the roster, Batista, Undertaker, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan. 

Muhammad caught a raw deal in 2005 when a Smackdown segment featuring masked men on his behalf attacking Undertaker and whisking him away. Occurred the same day as a terrorist attack in London. UPN demanded the character be removed from TV and angle dropped.

Both occurred and instead of WWE finding a new gimmick for him, they eventually released him. It's a shame as he could have been a bigger star. Due to the hyper divided and politicized world we live in today, a character like Muhammad Hassan wouldn't make it past the brainstorming phase.