10 Worst Women’s Gimmicks In WWE History

Back in The Attitude Era, seemingly nothing was off limits. We had Sexual Chocolate, necrophilia, murder, torture, fake miscarriages – all incredibly tasteless angles that pushed the then WWF over the line on more than one occasion. The Ruthless Aggression era might not have been quite as risqué, but it did have its moments, as Linda Miles can probably attest.

Although she might not have had quite the same impact as some of those aforementioned abominations, Miles was lumped with one of the most sexually charged gimmicks ever seen in an industry known for them.

A graduate of the second season of Tough Enough, alongside Jackie Gayda, Linda Miles was given the name Shaniqua and was tasked with accompanying the Basham Brothers to the ring. Doug and Danny Basham weren’t exactly known for their unique looks or overpowering charisma, so WWE went literally hell-for-leather with their valet, turning Shaniqua into a villainous dominatrix.

She could often be seen backstage, whipping the brothers on their behinds while they were handcuffed to posts, growling at her through brightly coloured ball gags and gimp masks. Long before Fifty Shades of Grey made BDSM culture a mainstream phenomenon, Shaniqua was strutting around a SmackDown ring wearing garters and stilettos, flogging her Basham’s into next week.

It gets worse. Shaniqua’s breast implants were actually explained away as part of a storyline in which Bradshaw had clotheslined her so hard, that her bosoms had begun to swell up. I doubt that will be appearing on WWE’s next empowering video package about women’s wrestling.