Gimmick (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a gimmick is slang that refers to a wrestler's on-screen personality.

The nature and plausibility of gimmicks vary widely. In recent years, the emphasis has been on more 'realistic' gimmicks where the wrestler is portrayed as being an actual person, albeit with exaggerated personality traits, as opposed to previous years where gimmicks could be best described as 'cartoonish' (most of the World Wrestling Federation product in the 1980s and early 1990s fits this category).

Note that gimmicks can be described as heel or face. A "face gimmick" is one that can be described as being designed to be popular with crowds, often through adopting babyface mannerisms. A "heel gimmick" is one that is designed to be hated by crowds, usually to make the face look more popular in any storyline they may be both involved in (for example, pretending to betray a trusting face). A tweener gimmick falls between the two extremes.

Over a wrestler's career, they may be expected to portray many gimmicks, most of which may be implausible and inconsistent (see kayfabe). It is not uncommon to see a wrestler to undergo a complete on-screen personality change from one week to the next.

Promotions will often recycle past gimmicks, giving them to newer wrestlers. Typically, a promotion will wait several years before trying to recycle a gimmick in order to allow fans' memories to fade. This is especially easy for WWE to do, because it owns its wrestlers' gimmicks and ring names.

Examples of gimmicks

Gorgeous George was a heel wrestler who came to the ring in sequinned robes, sprayed disinfectant on himself, and cheated on every opportunity. Although he did not invent the professional wrestling gimmick, he popularized it for generatios to come.
Hulk Hogan, an All-American patriotic good-guy who carries the flag to the ring, has a theme song about being American, etc.
Mick Foley, who has been most recently portrayed as a wrestling legend and all-round good guy or bad guy; previous gimmicks include Cactus Jack (a crazy-tough guy), Mankind (who was crazy to the point of mental illness), and Dude Love (a fun-loving hippie).
Shawn Michaels, known as the Heartbreak Kid, in his first WWE stint he was presented as a flamboyant, arrogant and charismatic "sexy boy". This persona evolved into that of a juvenile and vulgar heel renowned for his arrogance and insatiable ego during the WWE's D-Generation X angle of 1997 and early 1998. Since his WWE return and finding of religion his persona has been altered to that of a legend of the business whose popularity stems from his past reputation and achievements rather then his on-screen flamboyance.
The Undertaker, his initial gimmick was of an undead wrestling phantom/zombie turned minister of darkness. He was later "humanized" into his "American Badass" gimmick, that of a biker with red hair. At Wrestlemania XX he readopted the "Dead Man" gimmick.
The Dudley Family of Extreme Championship Wrestling, all of whom were half-brothers in ECW storylines, despite varying wildly in physical characteristics and race, Now in TNA
Doink the Clown, a circus clown.
Irwin R. Schyster, an I.R.S. tax collector who for some inexplicable reason is also a professional wrestler. I.R.S. epitomizes the "day job" era of the early-'90s WWF, in which a wrestler's gimmick was usually defined by a second job they supposedly did away from the ring.
The Hurricane, an outlandish superhero in the vein of the Batman TV show; this gimmick developed to the point that he was given a sidekick "Super Hero In Training (S.H.I.T.)", Rosey.
John Cena, a rapper, who for several years wore a large metal chain around his neck and a throwback sports jersey connected to the city where he was appearing.
Randy Orton, a cocky, self-proclaimed "Legend Killer" who humiliates and disrespects veterans and respected wrestling personalities.
Edge, the "Rated-R Superstar", who does "unthinkable" things like having sex in public and "shooting" on fellow superstars. Edge's current gimmick is based on a similar gimmick used by Brian Pillman towards the end of his WCW run.
Eugene, a mentally challenged man with the mind of an eight-year-old, who turns into a wrestling savant inside the ring.
Kane, a sadistic, uncaring "monster" who appears to suffer from schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and Munchausen syndrome, among other mental illnesses.
Chris Jericho, a cocky rockstar (In real life he is a rockstar, vocalist of Fozzy, but humble & friendly unlike his TV Persona)
John Bradshaw Layfield, a rich Texan living in New York. This character appears to be patterned after J.R. Ewing from the popular 80s TV show, Dallas. Bradshaw was previously cast as a hard-drinking Texan trailer-park cowboy.
Red Rooster, a talented southern "rassler", Terry Taylor was brought to the WWF to look and occasionally act like a rooster in the ring, complete with a streak of red hair that stood on top of his head. Despite being a long-time veteran, Taylor also played a rookie in this role. This is an example of the use of a gimmick to bury a wrestler who isn't well liked by a promoter.
The Honky Tonk Man, somewhat an Elvis "wannabe." Jeff Jarrett, who also used a guitar but whose gimmick was country music, recycled the theme of a heel musician (nowadays he uses a guitar as a foreign object and no longer claims to be a country music singer).
Curt Hennig, as "Mr. Perfect", an incredibly skilled multi-discipline athlete who constantly brags about his numerous flawless performances.
Ted DiBiase, as the "Million Dollar Man", a rich man who tried to buy the championship, whose gimmick is seen as the predecessor to Layfield's JBL gimmick listed above.
Sting started as a blonde surfer with facepaint much like a Hulk Hogan style fan favorite, but after being thought of as a traitor (which was proven wrong), he returned in black and white with darkened hair and a trenchcoat in a gimmick mimicking The Crow comics and specifically movie look. After keeping silent as that character until he gained redemption, he started speaking again like 'the old Sting' except with a mean streak thereby combining the characters.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts used the memorable gimmick of bringing his python "Damien" into the ring to strangle his opponents. The snake was effective against André the Giant, who was terrified and it actually did bite Randy Savage.
Mark Copani (as well as his manager Daivari) used a highly controversial gimmick of an angry Arab American named Muhammad Hassan who was sick of the racism placed against him after 9/11. Copani was later released due to the public backlash against the character.
Mark Henry, first a man who was a heel charecter who was obsessed with love (with an odd gimmick and nickname that had nothing to do with his true persona), but then returned in early 2006 with a gimmick of one that injures wrestlers.
Mae Young, a woman in her early eighties who is usually seen stripping or parading scantily clad on WWE TV. Mae is an example of a gimmick influenced by popular culture; her character is heavily based on Mae West.
The Hollywood Blondes, a tag team generally composed of two young, blonde wrestlers; generally, the gimmick involves the wrestlers being cocky heartthrobs, causing the predominantly male audience to boo out of jealousy. In the 1970s, Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts had the team name; in the 1980s, it was Rip Rogers and Ted Oates, and in the 1990s, it was Steve Austin (before he shaved his head) and Brian Pillman, who were the better known team owing to their nationwide exposure on TBS. In the late 1990s, Lenny Lane and Lodi gave this concept a homosexual spin as the "West Hollywood Blondes." The tag team of MNM is an example of this gimmick with an attractive female manager in Melina.
Tiger Mask, a famous junior heavyweight wrestler in Japan, who wears a tiger-themed mask and uses high-flying moves in the ring. Four wrestlers have portrayed the Tiger Mask character.
Spirit Squad, a five-man male cheerleading team known for giving disrespectful cheers that do ultra-athletic moves.
Viscera, the "500 lb Love Machine" who wrestles in "pajamas" and interacts with various women backstage. This is seen by many as the successor to the "Sexual Chocolate" gimmick used by Mark Henry.
Mickie James, an energetic girl with a psychotic mindset such as hints toward bipolar, obsessive, and lesbian activity, among other strange actions. Similar imagination as Kane
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a beer-drinking, foul mouthed renegade who has blatant disregard for authority and lives by the creed "Don't Trust Anybody (DTA)". Arguably, the most popular gimmick in wrestling history
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (portrayed by Ed Leslie), a barber who rendered his opponents unconscious before cutting their hair.
Big Boss Man, a former prison guard who fought for law, order and justice as a face while savagely beating his opponents up with his nightstick, as a heel.
"The Kings", this gimmick was used by several superstars such as Jerry Lawler, Harley Race, Randy Savage (Macho King), Chris Jericho (King of the World & King of Bling-Bling), Triple H (King of Kings) & most recently Booker T (King Booker).

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Examples of gimmicks

See also