10 Wrestling Gimmicks Created By The Last People You’d Expect

Pro wrestling can get as "real life" as it wants to, or borrow heavily from sports like MMA, but gimmicks will be part of the industry's fabric forever. Modern-day examples like Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' and NXT's Dexter Lumis are just the latest in WWE's nonstop bid to create over-the-top personalities that fans might dig.

These days, it's not hard to work out who created what - one of Vince McMahon's writing legions or the wrestlers themselves are almost always responsible. Things haven't always been that straightforward. In fact, dipping deep enough into the wrestling archives reveals many gimmicks that were devised by outside sources and the most unlikely people.

For example, did you know that crusty AWA traditionalist Verne Gagne was responsible for one of the WWF's hottest young heart throb tag-teams? Or, that one of rap's biggest stars provided the basis for a gimmick that'd become a women's division smash hit? How about an iconic manager inspiring one of the worst ideas of the 'New Generation' years after he'd left the company?

You won't see some of these names coming, and therein lies the fun...