20 best WWE gimmicks of all time, ranked
By Mark Lynch
Every wrestler needs some sort of gimmick to be successful; something that the fans can get hooked on. Being a good wrestler isn’t enough. They need a character that attracts people to them, making the audiences respond to them, both in the arena and those watching at home on their TV screens.
To use a recent example, there’s LA Knight. He’s taken the WWE by storm with his very 1990s personality. What’s funny is he’s been the same person for years outside of WWE. It shows that perfecting a style can bear fruit.
Coming up, we have the best gimmicks in WWE history. These don’t include who’s the better wrestler in the ring. This is all about the characters that are portrayed, the promos they cut, and how they influenced the WWE and pop culture.
20. The Hurricane
Real name: Gregory Shane Helms
"Stand back, there's a hurricane comin' through!" - The Hurricane
The Hurricane was an amazing character - and a very underrated one. Gregory Helms’ superhero persona balanced being a goofy hero and wrestler really well. Sometimes The Hurricane would try to chokeslam or clothesline people we all knew he couldn’t. Those failures made his successes even better. Especially when he went over on people like The Rock.
Sure, Gregory Helms enjoyed success after The Hurricane, but this is the era fans remember the most. We don't talk about The Hurricane enough.
19. R-Truth
Real name: Ronnie Aaron Killings
"That’s on me, my bad." - R-Truth
R-Truth has never won a world title or main evented a WrestleMania. Nevertheless, fans love him because his antics make them smile.
Ron Killings knows it takes more than titles to stay relevant. You must keep people interested. It’s why he was missed in the ring and on our screens whenever he was out with his recent injury. He hasn’t been back for long and he’s already feuding with one of the best factions in wrestling in the Judgment Day. And that has just reminded everyone why we love R-Truth.
18. Mr. Perfect
Real name: Curtis Michael Hennig
"You have just witnessed perfection." - Mr. Perfect
Curt Henning took his Mr. Perfect gimmick to another level. It was a great persona to begin with, but he elevated everything he was given to, well, perfection.
He didn’t just do everything flawlessly in the ring, he made videos of himself doing the impossible outside of it, like throwing a football and catching it in the end zone and shooting shots without looking. He was arrogant and braggadocious on the microphone, but he backed up everything he said. And that Mr. Perfect an all around perfect character.