10 WWE Superstar Gimmicks That Nearly Turned Out So Differently

4. Adam Bomb

The Adam Bomb character is one of those that fans of 1990s WWE remember, mostly because it was the product of the nonsensical and poorly conceived New Generation of Superstars, most of whom featured some sort of ludicrous gimmick. Bomb was no different as he was supposedly the survivor of a nuclear apocalypse that gave him yellow eyes (SO HELP ME GOD, YELLOW EYES!!) and a red tongue. How every other Superstar, every member of management, the timekeeper and the popcorn guy in the fifteenth row managed to survive the same apocalyptic scenario without a hint of oddly colored body parts remains a mystery but Vince McMahon thought the character was a good idea so whatevs. But the final presentation, coupled with a physically imposing character, was an impressive package. That was not originally the case. In fact, the Adam Bomb character nearly looked like a demented mix of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe and American Gladiators. Pre-debut artwork featured him wearing brown shorts not unlike those your local UPS delivery man would sport, black kneepads with comic book-looking explosions on them, grenades and assorted weapons strapped around various parts of his body and, to top it all off, nunchuks and throwing stars. Allow that to register for a moment. NUNCHUKS AND THROWING STARS!!!

Further artwork saw him sporting gladiator gear or, in one case, the tightest bicycle shorts known to man. How either of those plays to the Adam Bomb name or gimmick is unknown but those with the power of the pencil thought it made sense. And they wonder why the gimmick failed as miserably as it did. Luckily for Bryan Clark, the man behind the character, he would rebound nicely as Wrath in WCW, becoming one of the few talented individuals the company managed to use correctly.

At least for a little while.