10 Times WWE Ripped Off WCW And Nobody Noticed
7. ‘Mr. Ass’ Isn’t The First Booty Man
The same could be said of this.
Billy Gunn turned heads during the 'Attitude' era for nicknaming himself 'Mr. Ass' and shaking his goods any time he was on camera. That character became a stalwart of the time, and eventually led to a huge singles push for the guy. It failed, much like WCW's earlier experiment with Ed Leslie.
The former Brutus Beefcake became 'Booty Man'. His role was to comedically (or so they thought) reference his own tush any chance he got, and his finisher a high knee (or heinie). It was doomed to fail from the start, which means Gunn's own arse-obsessed persona remains wrestling's most famous.
A dubious honour, to say the least.
The 'Mr. Ass' character was such a popular addition to the New Age Outlaws/D-Generation X package that Leslie's own anal fixation didn't come up amongst fans. There had to be at least some inspiration hidden in there for Gunn though. Surely.