10 WWE Wrestlers You Can’t Believe Got Over

4. Brodus Clay

Brodus Clay
WWE

Brodus Clay had a winning idea to pitch to WWE creative; as the next big hoss, he would steamroll his way through the competition, entering all and sundry into his 'Hall of Pain'. It was inspired stuff - a surefire way of guaranteeing months' worth of victories with a marketable spin.

He lost it. It was given to Mark Henry - an honourable mention here, given that the act propelled him to a once-inconceivable World Heavyweight Title run. Clay, meanwhile, was given something dismal - on paper. Usually, in the post-territory age, monsters devolve into comics soon after their aura is quashed. WWE didn't even bother going the monster route; after baiting and switching his generic Monster of the Week vignettes, Clay appeared on RAW as a disco-dancing dinosaur complete with Ernest Miller's blinder of an entrance theme.

It felt like a rib. It shouldn't have worked - and it didn't, long term - but for a few gloriously campy weeks, Clay was something of a one hit wonder, delighting crowds with his barely-there dancing skills, hip-swivelling taunts and ad-libbed bits of crowd interaction.

As something of a gauge of its success, Michael Cole was genuinely incredulous at the booth on Clay's January 9, 2012 debut. He made the robot emote - which is almost as impressive as making it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!