Terrible gimmicks in wrestling are nothing new or surprising. With an industry as old as pro wrestling, which thrives on portraying performers as certain characters in order for them to connect with audiences, be it in a good or bad way, there was always going to be more misses than hits.

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However, there are still some gimmicks from this massive catalog that absolutely stunk the place out, ensuring they live long in infamy among fans and critics alike. What is even more shocking is that a few of these failed experiments were not even meant for those who eventually played them, but rest assured whoever missed out must be thanking their stars.

8 Giant Gonzalez As Yeti

A sureshot for the worst gimmick ever, the Yeti was rejected by fans the moment he made his way to the ring during the WCW Championship match between Hulk Hogan and The Giant at 1995's Halloween Havoc. What was the worst part? He was wrapped in dirty gauze and toilet paper, meaning he should have been a mummy!

Even more flabbergasting is the fact that the person playing The Yeti, Ron Reis, was not the first choice. As Ron himself revealed, the character was supposed to be played by the lumbering Giant Gonzalez, but his persistent physical problems led WCW to give Reis a call, and the rest lives on in infamy.

7 Konnan As Max Moon

Having met with Vince McMahon to thrash out a WWE deal in the early 1990, Konnan came up with this character as his gimmick. It was inspired by Japanese anime, and surprisingly, the WWE CEO agreed, even spending $13000 to get the wrestler his gear, which had circuitry and a pyrotechnic gun that shot sparkles into the crowd.

However, as expected, the gimmick never stuck, despite Konnan only appearing under its guise twice. His irregular appearances with the company led to his firing, and since Vince had invested so much on the costume and gimmick, he handed it over to Paul Diamond, who also could not save such a bad idea.

6 Mr. Kennedy As Vince’s Son

Mr. Kennedy was one of the fastest rising stars in WWE in the mid-2000s and was even earmarked for future world title success. Such was the backstage faith in him that there were plans to unveil him as Vince McMahon's illegitimate son on WWE TV, thus helping slingshot him to stratospheric success.

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However, a combination of factors ensured that never happened, and Kennedy was soon gone from the company. The lucky wrestler to replace him? Hornswoggle. And let's not get into that ordeal.

5 Edge As Val Venis

Val Venis was not the most terrible gimmick in the world, but let's be real, an adult star masquerading as a pro wrestler was never going far. And while Sean Allen Morley did his best, he could not drag the gimmick to any real success.

However, the original plan was for then fellow new signing Adam Copeland, aka Edge, to take up the role due to his good looks and previous experience of playing a ladies' man. However, the company thought the future WWE Hall of Famer would be better off playing the mysterious outsider character, and Copeland must be thanking his stars.

4 Undertaker As The Gobbledy Gooker

Just imagine the injustice and ramifications here! When a newly signed Mark Calaway went to meet Vince McMahon to discuss what gimmick he would take up, he was told he would debut at Survivor Series as a bird hatching from the heavily hyped egg and crush some jobber.

Thankfully, due to his size, creative decided Calaway was better off making his debut in the ring. Thus, history ensured that he got perhaps the greatest gimmick ever, while simultaneously avoiding arguably the worst-ever one. Spare a thought for poor Hector Guerrero, though, as he had to endure the role of the Gobbledy Gooker.

3 Crush As The “Lex Express” Guy

Brian Adams, aka Crush, was a fast-rising and popular face in the undercard when Vince McMahon decided on the whole Lex Express experience. He wanted someone to replace the recently-departed Hulk Hogan as the new patriotic babyface of the company and initially settled on Crush, who was a pseudo main eventer at that point.

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However, at the last moment, McMahon decided it would be the narcissistic heel Lex Luger who would play that role and abruptly turned him face. And the former WCW man failed spectacularly in that role, as he clearly was more comfortable playing a self-obsessed heel than a face.

2 RVD As Glacier

Rob Van Dam, the Whole Damn Show, playing one of the most ill-thought-out gimmicks ever? Chalk that up to another brilliant WCW idea.

The character, obviously ripped off Sub-Zero from the legendary Mortal Kombat games, was to show off some cool ninja moves, which kind of suited RVD's move-set.

Fortunately, since he was still new to the biz, the decision was made to give Raymond Lloyd that role, and so continued Mr. Monday Night's ascension to the top.

1 The Undertaker As The Berzerker

Mark Calaway must be thanking his stars every day. If dodging the Gobbledy Gooker bullet was not enough, during his initial meetings with Vince McMahon and co., another idea pitched was for him to be a Viking thanks to his impressive physique.

However, yet again, cooler heads prevailed, and the role went to John Nord, who portrayed another absolutely dated and horrendous gimmick known as The Berzerker. Fans should be thankful for not one, but two instances of fortune that led Mark Calaway eventually become The Undertaker.