One man, one obsession.

For every good character the WWE comes up with, there seems to be at least five that fall flat on their face. But sometimes the company gets lucky and a character that seems stupid will defy the odds and transcend its inherent stupidity to get over with the fans for any number of reasons (right place at the right time, the talent behind the gimmick, etc.). I have rifled through WWE’s recent history to bring to you the five characters that seemed stupid on paper but ended up being far better than they had any right to be.

5. Val Venis (1998-2009)

The Character: A wrestling porn star.

Why It Worked: Venis appeared on the scene in 1998 at the height of the “Attitude Era” when the WWE was using shock TV tactics in order to drive up ratings. He fit right in immediately; his promos were filled with double entendres and his ultimate method of getting into his enemies’ heads was to shoot (extremely tame) “porn movies” with the wrestler’s wife/girlfriend/etc. But while this all sounded stupid on paper the man behind the gimmick, Sean Morley, managed to make it entertaining; he was great on the mic (his raspy voice greeting the crowds with his catchphrase “Helloooooo laaaaaadies!”) and had natural charm and charisma that made him immensely likable. It also didn’t hurt that he was damn good in the ring and could have a watchable match with nearly anyone on the roster (check out his match against D’Lo Brown at Summerslam 1998 for proof). The Venis character eventually ran its course during Morley’s 11 year stint with the WWE, but the simple fact is this: during the Attitude Era, Morley made a “wrestling porn star” gimmick not only work, but successful.

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