10 Gimmicks So Bad They Didn't Even Make It To WWE TV

4. Neville: Mighty Mouse

HBK Biker
WWE

Neville isn't a superhero.

He is a despicable man who almost resents how spectacular he is at killing people. He will linger over ascending to the top turnbuckle and stare at his prey before resigning himself to the fact that, yes, for f*ck's sake, the Black Arrow probably is going to best do the job.

Even as a babyface, he wasn't an outwardly happy-clappy energetic guy in brightly coloured clobber with a big daft smile on his face. His was a more reserved and authentic brand of charisma - so reserved in fact that he was almost bound to excel as a heel in the more exaggerated theatre of American TV wrestling.

But WWE being WWE of course almost got this drastically wrong. You see, Neville is a short man you might not expect to be as powerful as he is - "you" being Vince McMahon - and so this had to be reconciled in some way, as if the very thought could not otherwise be registered. Neville almost became a Mighty Mouse-adjacent superhero character upon his main roster debut in March 2015.

The rumour was so harrowing in an "of f*cking course" sort of way that it's a wonder AEW took a further four years to come into existence.

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!