15 EXACT Moments Failed WWE Attitude Era Gimmicks Actually Got Over
9. Rikishi (December 27, 1999)
Rikishi enjoyed and endured a strange WWF career in the 1990s.
As a Headshrinker, he was a former World Tag Team champion when the belts were worth a damn. That might as well not have happened when he was briefly promoted as a man who wanted to “make a difference” and improve the prosperity of urban communities. He wasn’t exactly a credible role model, considering he couldn’t even help himself. The gimmick bombed. So too did the ‘Sultan’, an antiquated foreign menace with his tongue supposedly cut out. If that were true, he couldn’t have fantasy booked his son Jey to break Bruno Sammartino’s days-held World title record on his podcast years later.
He bounced around the indies before another late 1999 repackage as Rikishi Fatu and then quickly ‘Rikishi’. This wasn’t exactly promising initially; it was a Yokozuna rip-off and, you could argue, a literal diminished return. ‘Yokozuna’ at least means a grand champion sumo wrestler; ‘Rikishi’ is simply the translation of any old sumo ham-and-egger. His ring attire caught the eye, in that Rikishi displayed his bare, ample, and ultra-dimpled ass - and while he wasn’t over during his first appearances, fans did soon respond to his deadly-looking piledriver finish and cool array of throws.
He was first thrust together with Too Cool, accompanying them to the ring for their challenge of Tag Team champions the New Age Outlaws on the December 27, 1999 Raw. The Outlaws retained as a result of X-Pac’s interference, but Rikishi saved his new mates by sending DX fleeing. He was invited to dance by Too Cool, and this daft but endearingly wholesome bit of juxtaposition worked instantly. The crowd exploded and didn’t stop popping until Rikishi did it for da Rock.