Although Marc Mero's Johnny B. Badd gimmick would somehow get over as a babyface in WCW by throwing Frisbees into the crowd and smooching pretty ladies, his original heel Badd truly belongs in the pantheon of terrible musical gimmicks. The idea was that he was a flamboyant Little Richard impersonator who wore makeup, feathery outfits and pranced around in flowing robes. His name was a play off of a Chuck Berry song, he was a Caucasian male impersonating a black man, and he was playing an effeminate character to garner heel heat. Dropping "Tutti Frutti" references in his promos and dancing down to the ring, the original Badd was not just a bad gimmick, but downright offensive. Over time Badd would tone down the flamboyance, lose the makeup, and tweak the character but the damage was done. Mero would move to WWE and whether a "Wildman" or a heel boxer, Mero would never quite shake the stigma of the dancing Little Richard impersonator gimmick.
