10 Insane Wrestling Gimmicks That Morphed Into Another Level

7. The Shockmaster

Undertaker Lord Of Darkness
WWE.com

Fred 'The Shockmaster' Ottman's pro wrestling career is so defined by that legendary, incredible botch, in which he fell through a wall and onto his "f*cking a*se", losing his glittery Stormtrooper helmet in the process, that many forget what came before and after.

The Natural Disasters were immense fun as a pair of massive bruisers, but 'Tugboat' was decidedly less good. We're talking about a Hulk Hogan lackey worse than Brutus Beefcake.

Watch this promo.

This in itself should be a meme, but it isn't, because the sheer, iconic awfulness of the Shockmaster's debut dwarfs it. Ottman mimics a horn more dumbly than The Rock did to ridicule Kevin Nash at No Way Out 2002, and he wasn't even taking this piss.

But what came after *that* botch? In a rare moment of inspiration, early '90s WCW leaned into Ottman's involuntary clownishness by basically reframing him as a massive oaf. Tony Schiavone interviewed Shockmaster on WCW Saturday Night, and in a desperate attempt to connect with the kid crowd, he claimed to love "Bugs Bunny" and "Roadrunner" cartoons, before launching into maniacal laughter.

Shockmaster was also interviewed at his home. "When school's out," he said, "it's over to Uncle Fred's house for fun!"

"Hey, kids, do you wanna meet my friend? He's called Seven!"

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!