12 Awesome Wrestling Gimmicks WWE Didn’t Know How To Handle

10. Gail Kim

Goldberg Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Though not technically a gimmick in the traditional sense, Gail Kim's reputation as the best Women's wrestler in North America whilst leading TNA's revolutionary Knockouts Division was criminally cast aside when she made her 2009 WWE return.

Despite re-signing with WWE in late-2008, the company elected to keep her off television until March the following year, where she inauspiciously crept back onto the roster via a run-in on both competitors, failing to position her as a either face or a heel.

Worst of all, the re-debut came two weeks before the demeaning 'Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal' at the twenty-fifth iteration of the show. Kim was shunted into that amongst peers far below her talent and stature.

More misery followed, with Kim rarely able to get a foothold in a useless Divas division, before a romantic pairing with Daniel Bryan in early 2011 at least gave her a slight sense of direction for the first time since her return.

After several more months of frustration, Kim allowed her her contract to expire mid-way through 2011 to allow an immediate return to TNA.

Humorously, she calmly eliminated herself from a Raw battle royal shortly before her WWE exit, exquisitely highlighting how little attention was paid to female performers and their actions.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett