10 Stupidest Gimmick Changes In WWE History
5. Billy Gunn To Rockabilly
The mid-1990s was not a good time for the WWF. Vince McMahon seemed woefully out of touch with his audience and his audience was rapidly leaving him for the edgier and cooler WCW product.
Nothing better symbolized this disconnect than the storyline about the Honky Tonk Man's protege.
Honky had returned to the WWF as a manager in 1997, announcing that he was searching for his protege to turn into the next great Intercontinental champion. So far, so good. All you needed was a young, upcoming wrestler who could get the rub from Honky and get a little push in the card.
Instead, they repackaged tag wrestler Billy Gunn into "Rockabilly".
It was a sad knockoff of the Honky Tonk Man gimmick and crowds reacted with complete and total apathy. They even did a feud between Rockabilly and "Double J" Jesse Jammes over who was the better singer.
Thankfully, both guys realized how terrible it was and suggested becoming a tag team. Rockabilly smashed a guitar over Honky's head and the New Age Outlaws were born.