10 Wrestling Gimmicks Originally Designed For Other Wrestlers
7. Glacier – RVD
During the mid-90s, WCW was seemingly hell-bent on capitalising on the popularity of the Mortal Kombat video game series and that wish came true in late 1996 when the "Blood Runs Cold" vignettes began airing.
The payoff to these hype packages was the introduction of the Glacier character. Heavily inspired by Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat games, Glacier was played by Raymond Lloyd and made his WCW debut in September '96 on WCW Pro. At a time when WCW were moving away from cartoon gimmickry towards more realistic storylines with the inception of the nWo, the gimmick flopped and found its home firmly as mid-card filler.
Which makes it all the more surprising to hear that ECW legend, Rob Van Dam, was originally considered for the role of Glacier. Luckily for both Rob and ECW (as well as the viewing audience at home), Paul Heyman managed to talk him out of accepting the role.
A skilled martial artist in his own right, it’s easy to see why WCW would have been interested in Mr Monday Night; however, the doomed Glacier gimmick could well have ruined his career. Instead, RVD became the “Whole F’n Show” and rode the tidal wave of momentum from ECW all the way to the WWE Championship. Meanwhile, Glacier became a glorified enhancement act before being let go in late ‘99.