10 Talented Wrestlers Let Down By Lame Gimmicks

8. The Disco Inferno (Disco Dancer)

Val Venis Towel
WWE

For some reason, the entire world became obsessed with 1970's culture during the late-1990's. Part of this was due to the wild success of That 70's Show on television, but those in charge of World Championship Wrestling can't point to that program as inspiration for The Disco Inferno.

Launched in 1995, a full 3 years before That 70's Show hit screens, the new character was reportedly thought up by Raven; Glenn Gilbertti, the man playing the Disco gimmick, has credited Raven for this in numerous interviews since the closure of WCW in 2001.

A throwback to dancing fools of the 70's, the well-tanned Inferno was clearly a homage to John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever.

As well-remembered as the Disco Inferno guise is though, it's often forgotten that Gilbertti was actually a talented wrestler between the ropes and that his obvious skills were undermined by the character he was asked to play; during Disco's early months, he was scripted to actually forget how to apply his Figure Four Leg Lock finisher.

This did little to accentuate the man's wrestling ability.

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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.