10 WWE Gimmicks That Seriously Took The Piss
2. Man Mountain Rock
It is of vital importance for World Wrestling Federation to be a part of pop culture whenever possible.
The height of the 1980s and 1990s boom saw both versions of Vince McMahon's product sync up with the views and attitudes of the world at large. Fans weren't necessarily finding and falling in love with wrestling per se, but Reganites (and their kids) could get behind the go-getting prayers, training and vitamins of Hulkamania whilst frat house pissheads and blue collar workers alike could embrace Steve Austin as one of their own and look up to The Rock as an enduring symbol of cool.
These connections were iron-forged, but Vince McMahon himself never found the culture before it found him. He's gone on record as being glad to be behind the curve. He doesn't know much television beyond his own. He doesn't watch movies (Scott Hall pitched Razor Ramon like Tony Montana because McMahon had never seen Scarface).
So what of music? This. This f*cking thing is what.
WCW's Darryl 'Maxx Payne' Petersen came in in late-1994 with quasi-rockstar gimmick a recent history of kicking the f*ck out of people in hardcore matches. McMahon knew none of one and cared for little of the other beyond the fact he could actually play, dressing him in tye-dye pyjamas while giving him a company-branded axe to shred.
RAGE-uh...STRUM AGAINST THE MACHINE!