10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Only Lasted ONE Segment
Blink and you'll miss it gimmicks from the archives that WWE quickly gave up on.
"Maximise your minutes" has become a standard WWE-ism. Listen to any Bruce Prichard or Jim Ross podcast and you'll likely hear them echo the mantra every so often when discussing one-time federation pet projects or other short-lived stars. Making the most of time, no matter how short, is important to McMahon.
The men and women on this list had no choice but to try and make it work.
They only had one segment to convince the boss that they were worth TV time going forward. Apparently, none of them were, because WWE scrapped all plans to use these characters again - admittedly, a few get a pass. They were deliberately deployed as one-offs that wouldn't have worked as repeat performers again anyway.
There's also a ton of variety here. WWE presented bizarre, afro-sporting alter egos, lame magicians, even crappier men of the cloth, drug dealing miscreants, 'Deadman'-chasing Brits and more. They've also handed deities a company tryout, and resisted the urge to buddy up one of the most cherished cult gimmicks of all time with a surprise partner.
Say hello to this collection of misfits and forgotten faces.
10. Rufus “Pancake” Patterson
Might as well start off hot.
Five years before creating his own 'Slip N' Slide' at the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble, Titus O'Neil introduced the world to Rufus "Pancake" Patterson. There, on the 18 March 2013 episode of Raw, he and partner Darren Young asked why John Cena was getting all of WWE's merch money instead of them.
Titus, as the goofy Patterson, sported an afro wig and wore some overalls for the night. WWE barely tried to give this alter ego any context whatsoever - the announcers actually acted like O'Neil had gone off-script to deliver this Cena-bashing promo. It was as weird a segment as it sounds, and it was "Pancake's" only one.
Patterson didn't return for a second go-around the next week, and has never been referenced again on television. Christ knows what Titus and WWE were actually going for here. The Prime Time Players didn't need this bizarre offshoot.