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 Bastion Booger
When Mike Shaw joined the WWF in 1993, he was given the gimmick of a drunken monk named ‘Friar Ferguson.’ The gimmick was dropped after Shaw made only two appearances as that character due to pressure from religious groups. While contemplating how to repackage Shaw, Vince McMahon was not at all pleased with the weight that Shaw had gained from his time in WCW to when he signed with the WWF. Mike Shaw had always been overweight, but carried it well and was fast and agile for his size. After coming to the WWF, Shaw was much heavier and slower inside the ring.
Vince McMahon was ready to cut ties with Shaw, but Bruce Prichard convinced McMahon to keep him and accentuate his physical stature as his new gimmick. They created a costume for Shaw that would showcase his overweight frame and make his gimmick that of a gluttonous, sloppy, lazy wrestler. McMahon asked his creative team to come up with the most disgusting and vile name to give Mike Shaw’s new character. The first name that Prichard blurted out was Bastion Booger…and Vince loved it.
The Bastion Booger gimmick was considered by many, to be more of a punishment to Mike Shaw than an actual character that would be pushed as a star. Nevertheless, Shaw did the best that he could with what was handed him. He was eventually released from the company after only a year.
to browse other entries in the Gimmick Table series…Please Click Here.