10 WWE Gimmicks That Are Broken

As characters go, it’s hard to get much more ‘gimmicky’ than The Vaudevillains, two throwbacks to early 1900s pugilists and strongmen.

Back in NXT, it was somewhat charming to see Aiden English and Simon Gotch enter the ring under a black and white filter, with only the sound of their jaunty piano theme accompanying them. They got watered down as time went on, however, incorporating Aiden English’s singing into their brief and limited main roster feuds. Their push was arguably killed when the two accidentally gave Enzo Amore a concussion at last year’s Payback event, but it was always going to be a challenging gimmick to get over.

Whether or not English will continue to use the character after Simon Gotch’s recent release is anyone’s guess, but now WWE has two more likable moustachioed gents in the form of Tyler Bate and Jack Gallagher, it’s hard to imagine him being used as anything more than enhancement talent.

It’s easy to see what went wrong. Where Tyler Bate and Jack Gallagher are strong and independent characters who just so happen to look a little old-fashioned, The Vaudevillains were supposed to be the real deal. A lack of commitment on WWE’s part let them down – they ultimately played things too safe, and their main roster run was effectively dead on arrival.