10 Terrible WWE Gimmicks That Were One Tweak Away From Perfection

7. Marvellous Marc Mero

Marc Mero
WWE.com

What kind of boxer can't actually knock folk out? Not a good one, nor a "Marvellous" one, despite his personalised branding and the support of megastar-in-waiting Sable.

Such was the immediate crisis Marc Mero faced upon his return from injury in late 1997. Going down with a knock earlier in the year, Mero had previously dazzled as the 'Wildman', with his flashy arsenal overwhelming a corny gimmick and lack of popularity in the locker room. The company he returned to later in the year had changed dramatically in his absence, not least in its need for heels following the meteoric rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin through the babyface ranks.

Abandoning the "call of the wild" (whatever that actually was), Mero drew on his Golden Gloves history to inform a turn to the dark side as a p*ssed off version of his former self. Unfortunately, sharing a stage with 'The Toughest S.O.B' undermined his every action.

Negating to batter folk with his fists of fury, Mero only really threw hands when he could cuff somebody in the balls for a cheap win. Like everybody else, he was a willing victim for 'The Rattlesnake' too, further denting his chances of getting the workable persona over.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett