9 Wrestling Gimmicks That Took YEARS To Get Over

Outside of the odd celebrity or crossover star here or there, it often takes stars years and a ton of trial and error to get a gimmick properly over in this ever-changing wrasslin' industry.

Before he was whippin' ass and stompin' mud holes dry, Steve Austin was going nowhere as the 'Ringmaster'.

In the time pre-'Doctor of Thuganomics', John Cena's "Ruthless Aggression" schtick almost got him fired.

And even 'The Man' only came around after a few years of trying and failing to really get anywhere as a 'Lasskicker'.

However, there are those performers who simply refused to give up trying to make one particular character/gimmick work. And after years of perseverance and creatively tweaking a persona they knew would one day help them stand out from the crowd, this lot only went and bloody did it!

So, get ready to be inspired, folks, because this bunch of anything but overnight successes all managed to eventually establish themselves as some of the most dominant, exciting, and popular stars in the game after years of hard work... or being crammed down fans' throats.

Either way, they all got there in the end, and that's all that counts!

He may have largely disappeared from WWE programming recently, but coming into WrestleMania 38 Rick Booooooogs had remarkably become one of the most entertaining mid-card performers on the roster, teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura as the two battled The Usos.

And while it may have taken years for WWE to finally realise what they had with the meaty ball of guitar-shredding charisma that is this moustached titan, the folks taking in weekly episodes of NXT back in 2019 quickly knew there was something special about this lad.

The Full-Sail crowd were well up for the Eric Bugenhagen party, rocking out with the screeching hero when he occasionally popped up on the black and gold brand.

When he wasn't given the chance to pop NXT crowds in the ring or be the most distracting main roster extra the PC had to offer during the pandemic, Boogs was also turning heads with his explosive personality on his YouTube channel; his "I NEED A HERO" workout is a work of hulking art.

Boogs then only went and ended up in a couple of random WWE Old Spice commercials, with that latest reminder of how captivating this 'Night Panther' had always been giving Vince McMahon no choice but to call the massive talent up immediately. And from there, it didn't take long for the main roster crowd to fall in love with the charming powerhouse, too...