8 Stupid WWE Gimmicks That Got Over Huge
4. The Undertaker
Oh come off it. You all know that The Undertaker gimmick is, at least in theory, completely stupid. I mean, he's a pro-wrestling zombie, for crying out loud! It's the kind of Cartoon Era gimmick that is routinely crucified for being totally ridiculous but The Deadman somehow made it work.
Well, 'made it work' is kind of an understatement. The Undertaker took this inherently cheesy gimmick and turned it into the most successful wrestling creation of all-time. Him and Vince McMahon, anyway, because no matter how silly things were, Vince was 'Taker's biggest supporter.
For the first couple of years of his WWE career, The Undertaker wasn't to be knocked off of his feet, per the orders of McMahon. He barely sold at all. A year after his debut, The Phenom beat Hulk Hogan to lift the WWE Title. Every big time babyface or heel that came around, Undertaker either beat or got the better of.
He was unstoppable and presented as a threat, even if his matches were invariably rather boring. He only got more over as the character evolved, despite WWE's best attempts to sabotage him with eye-rolling special effects shows and beyond lame supernatural segments.
The Undertaker gimmick is bulletproof, even if the original incarnation of it was pretty dumb. Just imagine if Mark Callaway would have popped out of that giant egg at the 1990 Survivor Series instead...