Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
A gimmick is something that is intended to hook the attention of fans to a wrestler. They may be outrageous or steeped more in reality, whatever the case may be…some have succeeded and many others have failed. The Gimmick Table takes a look at the origins of some of your favorite and not so favorite gimmicks of professional wrestlers.
Today we browse the gimmick of The Blue Meanie
Brian Heffron began his pro wrestling career in 1994 under the name of Brian Estevez, because people said he resembled the actor Emilio Estevez. After promoters told him the name was too silly to be taken seriously, Heffron briefly wrestled under the name of Brian Rollins in honor of hardcore singer Henry Rollins to which he was a fan. While wrestling on an independent show as a last minute replacement, he was noticed by ECW stars Raven and Stevie Richards who were doing some scouting.
Raven took notice of the Heffron and approached him about working with him in ECW. It was Raven who had the idea of transforming Heffron into the character known as ‘The Blue Meanie’ The gimmick was based on the 1968 cartoon ‘The Yellow Submarine’ where the villains in that film were called the Blue Meanies. Raven’s idea was to have Heffron be the lackey to his lackey Stevie Richards. The Blue Meanie made his ECW debut at the November to Remember event in 1995.
While the look of the gimmick was made to represent what the characters looked like in the movie, Heffron stated that his mannerisms and facial expressions were introduced by him and based on the facial expressions of comedian George Carlin and his beloved grandfather. Heffron said that many of the comedic skits that involved him were from the mind of Raven himself. They included parodies of the nWo with the BWO, Bluedust and the homage to the rock band Kiss. The Blue Meanie was eventually hired by the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 and remained with the company until 2000.
He was released by the WWF, only to get rehired after an onslaught of emails flooded the WWF online demanding he be re-hired. Meanie was sent down to Memphis in developmental, but eventually left to take care of his ailing grandfather. The Blue Meanie, while never a main event star, is arguably one of the most recognizable gimmicks in wrestling to this very day.
To browse other Gimmick Table entries…Click Here.