10 Wrestling Gimmicks Based On LIES!

1. George 'The Animal' Steele

Sgt Slaughter
WWE.com

Standard issue wrestling logic has it that the best characters are the real life characters with a feature turned all the way to eleven on the dial - so what the f*ck did schoolteacher Jim Meyers have lurking in his subconscious to unearth an Animal?

Covered in hair and able to effectively portray a deranged (then, eventually, lovably so) monster, William Meyers was a schoolteacher at Madison High School in his home state of Michigan. A celebrated football coach, he eventually became a member of the institute's hall of fame for his off-the-field achievements...though not for dying his tongue bright green.

Ironically, his first gimmick actually did try and make use of his past - The Student was his first label during a masked run designed to hide himself whilst he worked both jobs. Only upon embracing wrestling as a full time profession did he embrace the character that fans came to adore during the 1980s boom after its origins as a terrifying monster.

Watch Next


Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett