10 Precise Moments WWE's Best Ever Gimmicks Stopped Working

4. Goldust

Goldust Luna Vachon The Artist Formerly Known As
WWE.com

If you have children who stumble across 'Sabledust' on the WWE Network, good luck. Here's a quick PSA: Goldust's entire 'Artist Formerly Known As' experimental phase from 1997-98 should be avoided generally by anyone with kids. It's just a bad time for everyone.

The golden outfits of before were replaced with increasingly more out-there attires, and Luna Vachon's stint as Goldie's erm... pal was more intense than the average rollercoaster ride. This was not a banner period for Dustin Rhodes, nor was it progressive in a good way. 'TAFKA' Goldust killed the original's genius play on psychological mind games and sexual prejudice.

It wasn't a running commentary on anything in particular, and was weird for the sake of being weird. When Goldust first took steps away from his blonde hair, golden paints and dazzling costumes in favour of oddity mishmash garbage, people stopped paying attention to him as much.

That irony wasn't delicious.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.