10 Wrestlers Who Visibly Hated Their Own Gimmicks

5. Braden Walker

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Wrestling promoter Vince McMahon has a tendency to ban words. He doesn't like the words "hospital", "shot", "international" and "wrestling" - and, in the case of poor Braden Walker, he didn't like the word "vaseline" when he absolutely f*cked him over.

Walker's WWE career was outstandingly unremarkable - so much so that he is now the byword for it. WWE could not have cared less about him. It was a black comedy pièce de résistance, Walker's career; a very entertaining personality as part of America's Most Wanted, he debuted in WWE as...a guy, which might preclude him from a list centred on gimmicks, were it not for his quasi-comedian schtick.

"Knock knock," he said, infamously, to Armando Estrada. "Braden Walker," he answered. "And I'm gonna knock your brains out."

Now, Braden aimed for a gruff, no-nonsense delivery - but he couldn't have looked more uninterested.

Actually, yes, yes he f*cking could have. This was a wrestler so haunted by his inevitable fate that he literally put his hands on his hips as he made his ring entrance. He was a bit like Orange Cassidy, only Orange Cassidy does the whole couldn't-care-less thing as a bit.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!