WWE Gimmicks That FAILED The HARDEST Every Year (1985-2025)

7. Shorty G (2019)

WWE halted a tag-team Chad Gable had going on with Bobby Roode to move the former to SmackDown in the 2019 'Superstar Shakeup'. That didn't irk most fans, because it gave Chad the chance to show what he could do on his own after years of tag work. A few months of creative nothingness followed before Baron Corbin (him again) referred to Gable as "Shorty G".

What happened next was staggering.

Chad owned the remark by claiming that he'd decided years ago never to let his height hold him back. A bunch of midcarders then made lighthearted jokes about Gable's size despite often being the same height or even smaller than him. It made no sense whatsoever. Fans didn't connect with the underdog story WWE tried to tell, and it didn't help that Chad was dressing like a Space Jam cast off.

This was the most Vince McMahon idea that ever Vince McMahoned. He cared that Gable wasn't 6'5", but nobody else watching did. Plus, various workers on the roster came across as high school bullies (and lame ones) for repeatedly mocking Chad's stature.

The character change must rank right up there with Braun Strowman suddenly revealing that he was a bullying victim in 2021. He claimed that he'd been ridiculed for his height and cumbersome nature since childhood. None of this captured the imagination of fans at home. Not one bit of it.

Gable was finally free from the "Shorty G" trash by October 2020, and he's since gone on to become a more valued member of the roster. He's even made the 'El Grande Americano' thing work, but "Shorty"? Nah, that was mission impossible.