5 Strange WWE gimmicks that actually worked 

There aren't many WWE Superstars on the main roster at present who portray actual larger-than-life characters. Gimmicks were once the focal point of a wrestler's presentation, but now they don't seem as important.

Over the years WWE has created some bizarre, yet impressive characters. Even though some gimmicks were short-lived, others were really able to take the ball handed to them by the creative team and run with it.

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt has proved that if a Superstar truly invests in their gimmick, then the WWE Universe will believe in them as well. Wyatt has become a massive success since his return last year and is now one of the company's most popular stars.

Wyatt isn't alone. Over the years, many WWE stars have been able to make strange gimmicks work, and here are just 5 of them.

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#5. Goldust

Little did @Goldust know how much the word "androgynous" would change his ENTIRE career... #WWEPhotoshoot @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/yLbjwXxwSK

— WWE (@WWE) June 12, 2018

Goldust easily had one of the strangest gimmicks of all time, since he was originally a cross-dressing gold suit-clad Superstar. Dustin Rhodes came to WWE with the idea that he wanted to drop the "Rhodes" name and carve out a career all of his own in WWE.

Shortly after signing, Rhodes received a call from Vince McMahon who filled him in on the idea behind the Goldust gimmick. Rhodes himself recalled that he agreed to the role before knowing exactly what he was letting himself in for, admitting that he had to then google the word "androgynous".

"I hung up the phone, and immediately I ran to the dictionary and looked up androgynous. And my jaw dropped, 'What did I just get myself into?'"

Despite the strange start to his career, Goldust went on to become a popular character who was always a hit with the WWE Universe. Rhodes has since moved over to AEW where he has been able to re-define himself and further cement his legendary status.

#4. Kane

Kane is a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer. The former World Champion has already secured all-time great status, despite being introduced to fans with a rather outlandish back-story.

The Kane character was brought into WWE as the brother of The Undertaker. Apparently the son of Paul Bearer, Kane was thought to have died in a fire at the mortuary where The Undertaker and his family lived. Bearer revealed that this was not the case when he announced that the "badly-scarred" Kane would be coming to the WWE in late 1997.

Kane was obviously out for revenge on The Undertaker and went on to have a fantastic feud with "The Deadman" the following year. Much of Kane's backstory was seemingly dropped in 2003 - when he finally took off his mask and revealed that there weren't any scars from his childhood.

Kane later explained that all of his scars were mental. A story like Kane's would have been hard for anyone else to pull off, but somehow Glenn Jacobs was able to do the role justice, taking a far-fetched gimmick and turning into a run that exceeded 20 years on the WWE roster.

#3. John Cena

John Cena is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but his WWE career was in jeopardy towards the end of his first year on the main roster. Cena hadn't really connected with the fans, but showed his potential whilst rapping on a tour bus and impressing Stephanie McMahon.

Stephanie wanted Cena to incorporate his lyrical abilities into his character. It was a long shot, but somehow Cena managed to make it work. Cena would come to the ring wearing a padlock necklace and rap about his opponents ahead of their matches.

Cena had little to lose, as his run on SmackDown prior to the gimmick had been forgettable at best. It has even been suggested that Cena was on the verge of being fired by WWE had the rap gimmick not come along. That being said, Cena excelled in his new role, starring as one of the most entertaining parts of the show on a weekly basis. Of course, Cena has since become one of the biggest names in the history of WWE.

Cena has evolved his character over the years since his "Doctor of Thugonomics" character . Cena moved on to become the leader of the Cenation which seems to be much closer to his real-life self.

#2. The Godfather

The Godfather is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, which would have seemed a strange thought when the character was first introduced. However, the WWE Universe loved The Godfather during his Attitude Era run. The man behind the gimmick, Charles Wright, had been a WWE employee for many years and portrayed many different characters in that time.

Wright had played Papa Shango, Kama, and had even been a member of the Nation of Domination. It is as the fun-loving Godfather, though, that Wright had most success.

The gimmick wouldn't be acceptable in WWE at present which shows just how much the perception of the wrestling business has changed, but in the late 1990s, The Godfather was one of the company's most popular stars.

Godfather would come to the ring with women by his side and tell the WWE Universe that his job wasn't easy, despite the fact he was clearly having a great time. The gimmick might well have been a failure if anyone other than Wright had been handed it, but the long-time Superstar made it work. He enjoyed the gimmick, as did the fans and the ladies involved. Former Women's Champion Victoria even made her WWE debut alongside The Godfather and was then able to become one of the best-known female wrestlers in the company in the early 2000s. This shows just how much of an impact The Godfather had in WWE at his peak.

#1. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt was already mentioned earlier in this article since his character "The Fiend" has become a huge part of WWE television in the last year. However, the man behind the gimmick has already proven that he could handle such a challenge - through his original Bray Wyatt character.

WWE has realized at this point that if they put a mic in Wyatt's hand, then he will almost always deliver. He first demonstrated this when he debuted as the patriarch of the The Wyatt Family back in 2013 alongside Harper and Rowan. There's a lot about that character that was never revealed, but Wyatt was able to distract the audience from any questions they might have had by talking about Sister Abigail and calling the WWE Universe his "Fireflies". Wyatt was so believable in the role that the WWE Universe ate it up.

Wyatt was pushed all the way to the WWE Championship, but many fans believed he was never given the credit he truly deserved. Wyatt had so many layers in his first run and his creativity came through in every promo. Luckily this wasn't wasted forever. The original Bray Wyatt character has now been brought back on SmackDown and looks set to play a part in the development of The Fiend's overall story.