10 Short-Lived WWE Gimmicks You Totally Forgot About

5. Abe 'Knuckleball' Schwartz (The Brooklyn Brawler)

abe knuckleball schwartz
wwe.com

In 1993-1994 alone, Steve Lombardi appeared on WWF cards as The Brooklyn Brawler (his most famous guise), Doink The Clown, Kamala's handler Kim Chee, MVP, The Red Knight at Survivor Series '93 and baseball player Abe 'Knuckleball' Schwartz. The latter is the one we're focusing on here.

Do you remember it? We're having trouble.

Ol' Abe debuted as Schwartz in July '94 amidst the MLB strike. The gimmick was exactly the same as the MVP one, but this time Abe whined about how wrestling fans attending WWF cards had caused diminishing crowds at baseball games. This, in case anyone needs another reminder, was part of the promotion's 'no off-season' branding.

Schwartz didn't last very long before Lombari returned to his Brooklyn Brawler gimmick. It was like nothing had happened; in fairness, the character had zero purpose once issues in the MLB were resolved and baseball resumed.

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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.