Rebooking WWE WrestleMania X-Seven's Gimmick Battle Royal For Modern Times
Who would star in a remake of this classic match?
1 April 2001. WrestleMania X-Seven. A night considered by many to be the greatest in professional wrestling history. But nestled in the card between TLC 2 and Triple H vs The Undertaker was a match that has generated a cult following all of its own - the "Gimmick Battle Royal".
This over-the-top-rope contest pitted 20 of the most outlandish characters in WWE's history against one another to crown the ultimate silly wrestling champion. It featured the likes of the hockey-playing Goon, the trash-collecting Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Doink the Clown, Hillbilly Jim, and eventual winner "Sheiky Baby" himself, The Iron Sheik.
Despite the actual match lasting less than four minutes, the Gimmick Battle Royal was a delight; which is a shame as the company has yet to put on another one. But what if that were to change?
Which weird and wonderful characters from WWE's recent past would be a good fit for an updated version of this match? Who would fans love to see back in a WWE ring for five minutes of fame? Let's trawl through the archives and find out.
15. Kevin Thorn
The fact that the very first episode of WWE's version of ECW began with a zombie walking out should tell you all you need to know about how the show viewed silly gimmicks.
One of the most memorable silly gimmicks from the brand was Kevin Thorn; an actual, factual vampire following in the footsteps of a certain Gangrel (whom he was originally pitched to work with). Alongside fellow bloodsucker Ariel, Thorn was a decent presence on ECW TV, even appearing at WrestleMania 23 as part of "The New Breed".
A character like this was made for a Gimmick Battle Royal. It's theatrical, over-the-top and totally unbelievable, but just ironic enough for fans to get behind in a weird sort of way. Considering that Thorn hasn't been in WWE since 2007, his return would be greeted very warmly by those with fond memories of his fang-bearing days.
And if you didn't like the vampire thing, you have to admit it was better than Mordecai - Thorn's other WWE personality and winner of the "Worst Gimmick" award from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2004.