10 Awesome Gimmicks Wasted On Terrible Wrestlers
2. Waylon Mercy
Based on 1991's Cape Fear, Waylon Mercy was a soft-spoken, disturbing villain who was every bit as dangerous as he was charming. Debuting in a series of pre-taped vignettes, the character captivated fans, the peace in his words offset by the danger in his eyes.
Unfortunately the man behind Mercy was Dan Spivey, a veteran of the ring game whose best days as a performer were well behind him. Known best for his days as one-half of The Skyscrapers with Sid Vicious in WCW, Spivey had competed in WWE before, but not since the 1980s. Years of wear and tear had robbed him of in-ring quality.
Spivey was a shell of his former self by 1995 and an injury suffered early into his run as Mercy doomed the character to failure.
There is no telling just how successful the character would have been. The mid-1990s was a wasteland of horrendous gimmicks, mostly of the occupational variety. Mercy was different but audiences routinely rejected on-screen personas not born in reality. It is likely the Max Cady ripoff would have suffered the same fate.