10 Best WWE Gimmicks That Were Only Used Once
6. Loose Cannon
The very definition of backs-against-the-wall booking, Brian Pillman was brought in with a guaranteed contract by a WWE not famed for giving deals like that out in 1996 because they felt they had to.
The 'Loose Cannon' persona was one Pillman had cultivated - and largely lived by - after taking his career into his own hands in mid-1995. Great wrestling had finally gotten him as far as joining the Four Horsemen in WCW, but his creative juices were flowing beyond kowtowing to Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and an act that would rapidly be diminished by insecure babyface Hulk Hogan anyway.
By early-1996, there were few in the industry generating as much buzz. His legendary three-way work of the trio of top promoters in North America saw him convince Eric Bischoff into firing him, Vince McMahon into hiring him and Paul Heyman into keeping him on the agenda in between. His wildness was considered worth the respective risks by all three, even after totalling his car and injuring himself before WWE could make good on the incredible in-ring potential.
His commentary on Shotgun Saturday Night was incisive, hilarious and near-the-bloodied-knuckle, such was his willingness to take risks when he thought he could get away with them. This, more than anything else he did in 1997 before his tragic passing, speaks to why there'll never be another like him. Bravery and agency feel like the first pieces removed from a wrestler's personality at the Performance Center - the 'Loose Cannon' would have been diffused before 'The Ticking Time Bomb' exploded.