WWE Gimmicks That FAILED The HARDEST Every Year (1985-2025)
40. Babyface Honky Tonk Man (1986)
'He's got long sideburns and his hair's slicked back, he's comin' to your town and he ain't comin' back'. Those could've been the revamped lyrics for The Honky Tonk Man had he not turned heel and leaned into the delusional Elvis impersonator bit completely. Originally, Honky was a "likeable" Presley wannabe who got all cosied up with good pal Hulk Hogan.
The Hulkster even tried to put his buddy over with gushing promos, but WWF fans were having precisely none of it. They just refused to get onboard with an Elvis impressionist who couldn't even play guitar and wiggled his hips like someone's dad after 10 pints at a wedding when 'Jailhouse Rock' comes on.
Babyface Honky Tonk Man was an outright disaster, and something had to change if he was going to survive (or indeed thrive) in the biggest promotion going. Mere months into his run, Honky asked fans to give him a vote of confidence. When they booed, he turned on them and started heeling it up. That was an inspired decision that honestly saved his skin.
There's no way he could've continued as a good guy. It wasn't working at all.
Try to find some footage of the earliest moments of Honky Tonk in the WWF if you can. Hulk's interviews putting him over are especially interesting, because even big Terry looked unconvinced that any of this was a fab idea. One quick pivot later and the federation of the mid-to-late-80s had one of the their finest villains.
Disaster averted.