10 Shocking Winners Of Wrestling Observer Awards
3. Goldust - Worst Gimmick 1995
In 1995, "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes debuted for the WWF as Goldust; an androgynous being covered head-to-toe in gold paint. Goldust was one of the most innovative and unique characters seen in years in the WWF and Rhodes quickly became a key part of their show.
Today, the Goldust gimmick is usually held up as one of the best ever, but this wasn't always the case. Evidence for this comes in the 1995 Wrestling Observer Awards, where Goldie shockingly "won" the Worst Gimmick gong, putting him in the same company as The Oddities, The Shockmaster, and The Gobbledey Gooker.
Whilst the original Goldust character was certainly shocking and played on some very nasty stereotypes, there is no way that this character should have won this award - especially when you consider that other nominees that year were The Shark, Issac Yankem, and The Yeti. He lost to a man covered in toilet paper, for God's sake!
Unfortunately, this isn't the only time Dustin has scooped this award. He "won" it again in 1997 as The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust and then again in 2007 as Black Reign. Actually, yeah, he kinda deserved those two...