10 Disastrous Wrestling Debuts

8. The Gobbledy Gooker

Shockmaster Fall Botch GIF
WWE.com

For months in 1990, the WWF wheeled out a gigantic egg on its television programming. The Federation promised, ad nauseam, that something hugely exciting lurked under its shell. Instantly, a red flag was raised. Might have had something to do with it being a gigantic egg. Still, it was a different time. The WWF and ridiculousness went hand in hand. It wouldn't have been too far-fetched to expect Ric Flair within the yolk.

"Things are really heating up!" remarked Mean Gene Okerlund, at that year's Survivor Series event. The egg was about to hatch! "That thing is ready to blow!" he screamed, inciting the crowd into fever pitch.

That crowd, famously conditioned by the WWF to accept a fair amount of tripe, rejected the character en masse. "What in the world is this?" asked Okerlund. Why, it was a gibberish-spouting Hector Guerrero in a DayGlo turkey suit. "Is that all you do, is gobble?" Okerlund asked. Pretty much: the gimmick was such a bomb that he would only make a handful of appearances before being carved up for good.

The Survivor Series event has become synonymous with the wrestler debut. The Undertaker, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Scott Steiner, The Shield and Sting all made their WWE bow at the November classic. That the Gobbledy Gooker remains the most memorable of all is indicative of how uniformly awful the gimmick was - inarguably, wrestling's worst ever.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!