10 Ridiculous Wrestling Gimmicks That Should Never Have Worked

By Jamie Kennedy /

6. Goldust

If fans think Bray Wyatt's dark persona came along at a strange time, try being Dustin Runnels portraying the androgynous Goldust in cartoon-era WWF. Vince McMahon's WWE wasn't doing too well in 1995, and fresh ideas were needed. Maybe it was madness - perhaps it was genius - but the creation of Goldust was certainly striking. The character was initially very controversial and there were definite hints at homo-erotic behaviour or at least using such preconceptions to get into the head of his opponent. Most wrestling fans had never seen anything like it before; this was like Gorgeous George Wagner and Adrian Street turned all the way up to 11. Goldust is still going today after several lengthy sabbaticals from WWE and is as relevant as ever. For a character that didn't seem to have much longevity after the initial shock value, that's amazing.