10 wrestlers who secretly hated their gimmicks

Cody Rhodes in his Stardust persona he used near the end of his WWE career.

#7 The Shockmaster (Fred Ottman, aka Tugboat and Typhoon)

The Shockmaster was one of the most unintentionally hilarious moments in all of sports entertainment.

Fred Ottman was a big, big man. Easily as powerful as Hulk Hogan in his heyday, the massive man gained a WWE contract. Ottman was famous for never turning down a gimmick or character. Perhaps that's why he didn't object when WWE put him in a striped shirt and named him tugboat.

The Tugboat character didn't go very far. The highlight was probably tagging with Hulk Hogan himself in a one-off match. After that, he changed gimmicks to become the initially villainous Typhoon alongside fellow big man Earthquake (John Tenta.) The heel team eventually turned face, and were one of the more surprisingly popular tag teams of the new generation era.

Money talks, and Ottman eagerly signed the dotted line for more money at WCW. Unfortunately, he was given a glitter sprayed Stormtrooper helmet and named Shockmaster. The outfit looked terrible, but it was his entrance that spoiled the character having any momentum. Ottman busted through a wall on cue, but tripped over lighting equipment and fell to the floor.

The mask flew off, revealing Ottman's true face, even as a pre-recorded diatribe from the Shockmaster played over the PA. In one fell swoop, Shockmaster went from potential main eventer to a comedy act.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram