WrestleMania season is immensely exciting for wrestling and WWE fans around the world like Christmas morning is back for an encore. Some of the big matches are already announced and some of the Hall Of Fame class is shaping up as well. While being chosen to be inducted was (and probably still is) the decision of Vince McMahon, you cannot ignore the contributions of anyone who ever joined the hallowed hall.

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But it is easy to forget some of those contributions, especially when some of their early gimmicks are ridiculous and perhaps even laughingly bad.

10 Billy Gunn - The Honky Tonk Cowboy

When ol’ Daddy Ass got his start in the WWE, he came in with his Kayfabe brother Bart as part of The Smoking Gunns. But after a few years, that team had run its course and Billy Gunn was left floundering.

Since WWE didn’t want to squander the athletic ability of Billy Gunn, he was repackaged as a Honky Tonk Cowboy managed by The Honky Tonk Man, naturally. But once he started hanging out with Jesse James, he ditched Honky Tonk and formed the New Age Outlaws.

9 The Road Dogg - The Real Double J

When The Roadie first appeared on the scene, he stuck by Jeff Jarrett not just his on-screen Roadie, but his friend backstage too, and the pair walked out on Vince McMahon together. When Jesse James came back, it was revealed that he was actually the real guy singing With My Baby Tonight.

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They dubbed him The Real Double J. But try as WWE might; it just wasn’t working out for him. It wouldn’t be long before he found some Attitude and became the Road Dogg.

8 Jim The Anvil Neidhart - Who

The idea was one of the lamer ones of The New Generation. Years before The New Day would “who” all over the ring like a bunch of owls, 2019 inductee Jim The Anvil Neidhart donned a bright yellow mask and trunks to become Who.

While it was obviously The Anvil under the hood, the gimmick just gave the announcers a reason to think they were The Marx Brothers, doing old-school vaudeville jokes.

7 Brutus The Barber Beefcake - The Mariner

As the Lon Cheney of the entire wrestling industry, there wasn’t a single gimmick that Brutus The Barber Beefcake had that he didn’t try to get over, and ultimately make it a punchline.

As he was still recovering from having his face completely smashed to bits, Beefcake’s initial comeback run came in the form of The Mariner, or at least that’s what he would have reportedly been called. The Mariner only made a handful of appearances before the idea was dropped.

6 Molly Holly - Miss Madness

Having spent much of her career in the WWE as Mighty Molly, Molly Holly was and still is one of the best women’s wrestlers of her era; there’s a good chance in this current one too.

It’s easy to forget that she actually got her start in WCW. Trained by Dean Malenko, she would debut as Miss Madness, wearing beauty queen outfits and valeting for The Macho Man.

5 Kane - The Christmas Creature

One of the great features of Memphis Wrestling was their ability to take a chance on just about any gimmick out there. Even if it meant ruining Christmas for all the little girls and boys.

The Mayor Of Knox County, Kane got his start working for Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler in their territory as The Christmas Creature. Wearing a costume made by his mother, he’d challenge Jerry Lawler for the USWA title and clearly made enough of an impression on The King who suggested him for Isaac Yankem.

4 The Undertaker - Mean Mark

There haven’t been too many superstars more deserving of an entire wing of the WWE Hall Of Fame than The Undertaker. He was inducted during the 2022 ceremony and after thirty years of playing The Deadman, let the WWE fans meet Mark Calloway. One of the earliest versions of Mark Calloway the wrestler was in WCW first.

Managed by the likes of Teddy Long and then Paul Heyman, he was Mean Mark, just a big nasty heel wrestler that fans can thank Ole Anderson for being too short-sighted to see any value in the future legend.

3 Ravishing Rick Rude - The Halloween Phantom

Inducted posthumously, Ravishing Rick Rude’s legacy ages like fine wine. But one mark on his career often gets forgotten.

That is his debut in WCW at Halloween Havoc 1991 as the Halloween Phantom. He defeated Tom Zenk and then unmasked to reveal that he had arrived at the promotion.

2 The Big Boss Man - The Guardian Angel

Whenever the conversation arises about the best big men in wrestling, The Big Boss Man usually makes an appearance. For over 300 pounds, the Boss Man moved faster than plenty of lightweights during his time.

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When he returned to WCW, he came in with a new gimmick, The Guardian Angel. Playing off New York’s most famous vigilante/ neighborhood watch group and their leader Curtis Sliwa. However, for a southern-based promotion like WCW, the gimmick fell flat.

1 Ivory - Tina Ferrari

Similar to Molly Holly, you could plug Ivory into the WWE roster today, and she would do just fine. Originally trained by Mando Guerrero, Ivory debuted as Tina Ferrari, a member of The GLOW roster.

She was even able to become a GLOW World Champion before she took a brief hiatus from wrestling for several years before heading to the WWE.