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 Justin ‘Hawk’ Bradshaw
In late 1995, John Layfield was signed by the World Wrestling Federation. Apparently, Vince McMahon was a fan of Stan Hansen and wanted to introduce a new, younger version of that gimmick to WWF audiences. He named Layfield, ‘Justin Bradshaw’ and was given a bullrope, chaps and cowboy boots and hat to complete the ensemble. Layfield felt that his time in the WWF would be limited, as he was still rather new to the business and suggested to Vince he be named ‘Justin Hawk’ just in case he was fired by the company. He wanted to use a portion of the name that he used while wrestling elsewhere like the GWF as John Hawk. McMahon was adamant on the Justin Bradshaw name, but compromised and allowed the name to be tweaked to Justin ‘Hawk’ Bradshaw.
Despite Layfield’s ability to cut good promos on his own, he was given a mouthpiece/manager in Zebekiah formerly ‘Uncle Zebekiah’ manager of the Blue Brothers (Harris Twins) in the WWF. Layfield believed he was given a Zeb as a manager after the Harris twins were fired for assaulting Shawn Michaels in a locker room altercation. McMahon felt bad for Zeb and thought a pairing with Justin Hawk Bradshaw fit his gimmick, so he was spared from being fired. McMahon requested that Justin Hawk Bradshaw work a really stiff, hard hitting style in the ring….very similar to that of Stan Hansen.
Vince McMahon added a branding iron to the gimmick ala Terry Funk. Bradshaw would brand his fallen opponents with the initials of JB. Eventually Bradshaw broke away from Zebekiah and was able to talk for himself. The gimmick was ultimately phased out in early 1997 and was paired with Barry Windham as the ‘New’ Blackjacks.
To Browse other Gimmick Table Entries…Please Click Here.