10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Weren’t Supposed To Last Long

5. 'Stone Cold' Shark Boy

Shark Boy
ImpactWrestling.com

Shane Helms isn't the only one that owes Steve Austin a debt of gratitude.

Yet another ridiculous TNA gimmick that threatened to make chum out of a bonafide X Division challenger, Shark Boy's 'Stone Cold' confusion remains part of his amphibious act to this day.

Previously reliant on a comedic aesthetic that literally masked his skills in the Impact Zone, Shark Boy instead feasted on the best of Steve Austin's repertoire after waking up from a coma with a case of mistaken identity and flagrant gimmick infringement. Doing his own version of Austin's "BMF' walk to the thrashes of his 'Stone Cold Fish' entrance music, Shark Boy struck all that moved with 'Chummers' in a character twist that, stupefyingly, stuck.

The Austin-infused silliness of the character endured - so much so that Shark Boy's cameo in the riotous Slammiversary 2017 Scott Steiner/Josh Matthews/Joseph Park/Jeremy Borash tag team match was revealed to a thunderous pop with an "Oh Shell Yeah" subtitle.

Shark Boy's made just enough of somebody else's gimmick work for him - and that's the fishin' line.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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