9 Awful Proposed WWE Gimmicks That Thankfully Never Made It To TV

1. Baron Von Bava

In the history of awful gimmick pitches, none are as awful as the character that former WWE writer Dan Madigan pitched for the totally clueless Jon Heidenreich. It was a gimmick in such poor taste that not only did it not make it anywhere near TV, but also forced Vince McMahon to leave the room after hearing it. Madigan's idea was for Heidenreich to come in as Baron Von Bava, a cryogenically frozen Nazi stormtrooper from the 1940s who had been frozen in ice, only to be thawed out by Paul Heyman some sixty years later. He would be intent on carrying out the work of Hitler and would goose-step to the ring. This is a thing that happened. Not only is the idea extremely distasteful and totally out there, but having Paul Heyman (who is Jewish) manage this Nazi cyborg? Come on. In order to fully illustrate his idea, Madigan apparently began goose-stepping around the writer's room himself as his colleagues sat in stunned silence. On the whole debacle, Madigan said to Power Slam magazine in 2008 that 'I thought these were good ideas: inside my mind, it worked out well'. Madigan was let go by the company not long after and all talk of Baron Von Bava ceased to exist.
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Student of film. Former professional wrestler. Supporter of Newcastle United. Don't cry for me, I'm already dead...