10 Wrestlers You Never Thought Would Get Over On TV

5. Bradshaw

Orange Cassidy
WWE.com

Bradshaw in his '90s cowboy gimmick felt costumed and gimmicked to f*ck, and his matches were tedious.

He looked like the type of unit that would terrify and thrill Japanese audiences, but he sure as sh*t didn't work like one. There were was no powder keg quality to his power. It was dull and leaden, and stiff, yes, but not good stiff. Not the sort of stiff that elicits a giddy, repulsed "JESUS F*CKING CHRIST!"

Then he went goth as an Acolyte, seemingly doomed, like so many others in a curious '90s trend, to a life of sh*tty gimmick regeneration.

He became a star as a hard-drinking, decent patter merchant in the APA, not that you really wanted to watch them on pay-per-view - but on TV, the act was a great and entertaining narrative driver across the full breadth of the card, and Bradshaw had the comedic chops not to exhaust his heavy presence.

A massive bruiser with a great finish - the opposite of your mutant c*ck - the JBL character, the heavily ironic 'Wrestling God', made perfect use of his in-ring limitations at the main event level.

Contributor
Contributor

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!