WWE: 8 Embarrassing Early Gimmicks Future World Champions Want You To Forget

2. Dolph Ziggler €“ Spirit Squad Member, 2006

After working your whole life to achieve your dream of becoming a WWE superstar, it must be pretty rough when you finally reach that goal, only to be told that your character will be a male cheerleader. This was exactly the case for Nick Nemeth, better known to fans today as Dolph Ziggler. The Spirit Squad debuted in January of 2006, with Nemeth playing 'Nicky', and the megaphones, trampolines and group cheers that followed really did not allow him to showcase his true wrestling ability. Despite having to play such a humilating gimmick, Nemeth cannot say that his time in the spirit squad kept him towards the bottom of the card. In fact, the cheerleading five-some were heavily involved in the Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon feud (which culminated at Wrestlemania 22) and furthermore got to main event Vengeance 2006 against DX. Yet, one would probably be safe to assume that Nemeth was happier to work his way up from the midcard with a much more suitable gimmick. He was repackaged as Dolph Ziggler, a cocky and athletic superstar who had some of the most jaw-dropping moves ever seen in a wrestling ring. 'The Show Off' has gone on to win the Intercontinental, U.S. and World Heavyweight championships since switching gimmicks, something that is definitely worth cheering about.