10 Wrestling Gimmicks Probably Made Out Of Spite

7. The Renegade

WCW The Renegade
WWE

Ahead of WCW Uncensored 1995, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were in the midst of a rivalry with Big Van Vader and Ric Flair, with the Hulkster to defend the WCW World Heavyweight Title against Vader at that March PPV.

To swing the balance in the favour of Hulkamania, brother, Hogan spent the weeks prior to the event hyping an 'Ultimate Surprise'. Given how Ultimate Warrior was a free agent at that time, many presumed the 'Ultimate Surprise' tag meant Warrior would soon be joining fellow ex-WWF stars Hogan, Savage, Big Boss Man, Earthquake, et al in WCW.

The story goes, the 'Ultimate Surprise' teases were indeed intended to be for Warrior's impending debut, with talks taking place between WCW and the Parts Unknown native. Once those talks stalled, Turner's rasslin' promotion found themselves with an Ultimate-shaped hole to fill.

Rather than pay Warrior the huge amounts he was asking for, WCW took an F-U approach to the man formerly known as Jim Hellwig.

That F-U meant bringing in Rick Wilson as The Renegade for less money and having him work a Warrior-lite gimmick as Hogan's latest buddy.

To be fair, WCW did give The Renegade a solid early push, having him score wins over Paul Orndorff, Steve Austin and beat Arn Anderson to become WCW TV Champion. Sadly, things soon stagnated, Wilson was released in '98, and he'd tragically take his own life a year later.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.