10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Went Way Over Everyone’s Heads

10. TJP (Retro Video Game Character)

What People Thought: High-flying T.J Perkins is another Cruiserweight wrestler who likes flips, kick pads and dabbing. The first WWE Cruiser Champion of the modern era had a catchy, 8-bit beat as entrance music, but didn't stand out amongst the crowd. He was just another generic indy-riffic worker.

What He Actually Was: Perkins did have a gimmick beyond his indy stylings, and that Nintendo-ish music was there for a reason. His initials, TJP, were the kind you'd find lighting up leaderboards in the arcades, and his ring gear was often a cool mix of gaming styles and other pop culture phenomenons like Pokémon.

The sad fact is that WWE never fully explained why Perkins was played to the ring by tunes that wouldn't sound out of place in classic NES titles like Contra or Mega Man. As a result, his keen love of retro video games was completely lost on the audience, and they thought he was a low-rent Skrillex wannabe who liked high spots.