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 Beverly Brothers
When Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1991, the company was struggling to find the right gimmick for them. Vince McMahon envisioned the team would pay homage to the Blond Bombers which consisted of Ray ‘the Crippler’ Stevens and Pat Patterson. Enos and Bloom were asked to bleach their hair blond and think of a name for their tag team.
Enos and Bloom thought about it and came up with hailing from Beverly Hills, California and being spoiled, rich brats. A couple of the names that they came up with were the Beverly Hills Blondes or the Bomber Brothers. Vince wasn’t completely sold on those names. Enos and Bloom said that it was Hercules Hernandez who suggested that the team should be called the Beverly Brothers.
Vince loved the name and christened Enos “Blake” and Bloom “Beau.” Apparently, Pat Patterson was a fan of Paul Newman and suggested that the team hail from Newman’s hometown of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Shaker Heights was a well to do area, so it fit their gimmick. The Beverly Brothers were given bright purple tights and matching capes to make the team stand out more. The team were given ‘Coach’ John Tolos as a manager and eventually were paired with ‘The Genius’ Lanny Poffo.
While not ultra successful in the WWF’s tag team division, the Beverly Brothers were most remembered for their finisher called the ‘Shaker Heights Spike.’ A maneuver which had them throw their opponent up in the air and then slam him down by the neck face first into the mat. The Beverly Brothers remained with the company until 1993.
To read other entries in The Gimmick Table series…Please Click Here.
David Fullam
Or “How to ruin a great tag team.”
RAY
Always a great read on this page for years. Appreciate the work that you put in brother, it brings me back to growing up and good memories.