10 Occupational Wrestling Gimmicks You Won't Believe

1. Bray Wyatt/The Fiend

The Fiend
WWE

Try, if you're able, to forget what happened to The Fiend for the bulk of his WWE career and remember the months between April and August 2019 where he'd astonishingly managed to undo years of abysmal creative with one remarkable makegood.

It had everything.

Not only were the early episodes spookier than anything Wyatt had ever done as a disjointed horror movie parody for years, but the scripting was inch perfect too. Wyatt took swipes at the organisation that had wronged him over the past few years, the flawed arcs and choices his old character made, and even - via the medium of the incredible "Muscle Man Dance" - those that body shamed him and others he'd worked alongside

This was an all out media and meta assault on the senses, his future storyline opponents, and even his employers. And all as The Fiend alter ego loomed large ready to enact the revenge the Mr Rogers persona was theoretically too gentle to accomplish.

Hopes (and everything else) were eventually dashed, but those that lived through those early days won't forget how sharp those initial segments were.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett