Professional wrestling has had its fair share of weird and wonderful characters over the years. Quirkiness and charisma oozes from some of wrestling's greatest characters. The Rock, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Paul Heyman and Dusty Rhodes are just some of the people who, when they get on the microphone, people sit back and listen to what they have to say thanks to their infectious personalities. But it's not just a personality that makes a wrestler stand out. Gimmicks are also often key to a wrestler's success or failure. A gimmick is generally perceived as being the character portrayed by a wrestler, but it can also be used to refer more specifically to the motif or theme evoked by a character, which could be indicated by their name, costume or other paraphernalia that they carry around or are associated with. Gimmicks aren't limited to things like "muscular guy", "high-flying guy", "martial arts guy" or "tall guy", however. Gimmicks take inspiration from all kinds of unlikely sources and, as a result, the rosters of any given wrestling organisation are far more interesting than they otherwise would be. In this article, we're going to take a look at some of the most bizarre sources from which wrestling gimmicks have been taken. Here are ten insane inspirations behind famous wrestling gimmicks...
