10 Wrestlers Whose Weight Problems Became Gimmicks
3. Bastion Booger
Wrestling journeyman Mike Shaw had competed all around North America before signing with WWE, where Vince McMahon had plans for him. McMahon was keen on the idea of a wrestling hunchback, and though the hefty Shaw didn't fit that particular bill, the WWE Chairman wouldn't let nature dictate his booking plans. A skimpy suit of straps was designed for the newly-named Bastion Booger with the intent of pushing up his excess back flesh into the shape of a hump. It didn't work - all it did, in fact, was expose more of Booger than anybody really needed to see. Booger's gimmick was no less humiliating. While Shaw had already played an asylum escapee, a truck driver, and a monk, he reached a new low as a slob who ate constantly, didn't clean himself, and came to the ring to the sounds of phlegm. Needless to say, the Bastion Booger character didn't last very long, and it's considered one of the most awful gimmicks in WWE history.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013