10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Were NOTHING Like The Wrestlers Who Portrayed Them

3. Vader

vader before and after
WWE

Hard as nails lobbing right and lefts at opponents through the netting of a terrifying hood, Vader was persistently one of the most threatening figures in Japan, WCW and WWE before Vince McMahon's haphazard booking completely butchered his aura by 1998.

Some of it wasn't an act - the 'Mastodon' was a known hard hitter, but had a notoriously soft centre. Shawn Michaels once b*llocked Vader to tears during the pair's WWE Title programme in 1996. A premium prima-donna at the time, 'HBK' allegedly threatened to have his top challenger fired following a particularly stiff assault during a house show clash. He infamously lost his rag during their SummerSlam match too, though by then Vader's cards were presumably marked.

Referred to as a 'teddy bear' by numerous colleagues over the years, Vader was clearly somebody who relied on the stability of his fragile confidence. Michaels and McMahon eroded it completely, leaving a supposed monster completely beyond rehabilitation.

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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