10 WWE Attitude Era Gimmicks That Didn't Get Over
These guys were more at home in the Platitude Era.
The Attitude era! It was the hottest time in wrestling, and the best time to be fan! Everybody was over! The product was amazing! Why did it ever end?!
Such statements are today considered wrestling truisms, and time and nostalgia have only served to cement such myths.
In fact, though the Attitude era was one of the most profitable in the history of the business, it was far from the most creatively abundant. Yes, the wrestlers were far more over than they are in today's age of 50-50 booking, but for the most part superstar status was reserved for a select few at the top.
Vast swathes of the WWF's roster failed to make even the faintest of susurrations, either through bad booking, a terrible gimmick, or unfortunate timing. In many cases it was all three.
Today, they are mere footnotes from a time still considered the high-point of the industry. But despite their limited achievements, the also-rans of the period aren't forgotten.
10. Brakkus
Vince McMahon's unusual fondness for beefy muscle-heads is well documented, as is his steadfast belief that sheer brawn is enough to get a guy over in lieu of any actual talent. He's wrong of course, but sadly for wrestling fans, he has never wavered in his belief.
Achim 'Brakkus' Albrecht was just one of a plethora of identikit hunks WWF expected to be a roaring success based on physique alone. Guess what? He wasn't.
Brakkus (occasionally spelt 'Brakus' for the sake of variety) was as beefy as they came. Unfortunately, beef was all he brought to the table. After an initial run with the company in 1996, WWF decided to spread the misery by shipping Brakkus to ECW for seasoning, where he regularly draped his parent company's banner over his defeated opponents.
After a year away, the Teutonic titan was finally deemed ready for a Stamford recall, and creative had a sure fire way to guarantee his success this time around: chainmail! Brakkus still didn't have a gimmick, or any personality whatsoever for that matter... but he did wear chainmail. Hulking to the ring like some sort of German knight, Brakkus soon became a tearaway superstar.
Wait, no, he didn't. He was an unmitigated failure, and was gone from the company by the end of the year.