My Favorite Silly Characters

   We can all agree that professional wrestling has had many silly personas over the years.  I think that's part of the fun.  I know there's a time and place for each character but sometimes embracing the silliness is okay.  A character like the Undertaker is very serious, whereas The New Day are not.  Yes, some characters are ridiculous and just plain stupid but I want to put a positive spin and talk about my favorite silly characters.

   If you want to talk about silly characters in wrestling, look no further than the 1980's, especially in the WWF.  This was the cartoon era and many larger than life and silly characters were around at the time.  Despite not being too great, Koko B. Ware still managed to get a lot of airtime back then.  Hillbilly Jim was always fun to have around as well.  Even though the Junkyard Dog embraced the silliness when he got to the WWF, he was still extremely popular.  He was Mid-South's Hulk Hogan!  I'm also odd in what I like when it comes to silly characters.  For instance, I hated Cryme Tyme and I couldn't stand the Hornswoggle character.  Here's a few I really enjoy!

  One of my favorite silly characters was Akeem.  As the One Man Gang, he was a bad ass that took no prisoners.  He was rough and tough, and extremely intimidating.  The 450lber was a force to be reckoned with.  In a turn of events that was quite puzzling to many, he ditched his signature Mohawk for African garb to become Akeem, the African Dream.  He wore a bright blue and yellow dashiki and hat to match.  He would dance to the ring under the tutelage of the Dr. of Style, Slick to the tune of "Jive Soul Bro."  Yes, it was borderline racist but in those days, it wasn't focused on as much.  In contrast, when they brought back Tony Atlas as Sabba Simba, I thought that was terrible, whereas I thought Akeem was funny.  Akeem made a formidable duo with the Big Bossman as the Twin Towers and they were featured in main events with Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage, among others.  Even though the One Man Gang was cool, Akeem still has a special place in my heart.

   Of course, you can't talk about silly characters without bringing up The New Day!  It took a while for them to grow on me at first.  I wasn't a fan of their preacher gimmick and also, rumors were it was going in the direction of a new Nation of Domination type of faction.  What happened with them was similar to that of the Honky Tonk Man.  Their portrayal as babyfaces didn't generate with the crowd and they started booing them.  The New Day became great heels and had a long run with the Tag Team Championships.  The New Day really caught on and entertained fans so much, that they became even more successful as babyfaces once again.  Everything is great, from the dancing and gyrating, to the trombone playing, to the catchphrases.  They even got Triple H to dance!  These are silly characters I like...BECAUSE...New Day Rocks, New Day Rocks, New Day Rocks!

   I can't explain why, but I really enjoy the character of No Way Jose!  Call me crazy, but it's entertaining to me!  It's not something I thought I would like.  As soon as he came out and the fans starting chanting, I was hooked.  There's just something about it!  I like the dancing, the crowd interaction, even the conga lines!  Plus, he's a big guy and moves pretty well in the ring.  He's like a Dominican Hillbilly Jim!  I enjoy this character so much that I plan on dressing as him next year for Halloween.

   It's fun thinking about silly characters I enjoy as it brings back memories and it's nice to be positive about something. Another silly character that comes to mind is Santino Marella.  It was around the time of his second Intercontinental Title reign that I really started loving everything Santino did.  The Honk-O-Meter is classic!  His partnership with Beth Phoenix was nothing short of entertaining and who doesn't like when the Cobra makes its appearance.  In fact, who can forget the epic battle between the Cobra and Mr. Socko?  From the power walking entrance to the air trombone to his hilarious mispronunciation of words, Santino Marella was a hit!.  Santino was the comedy spot but he sold merchandise.

   I enjoy wrestling personalities that are versatile, people that can turn it on and off at a moment's notice.  I like to watch people that can adapt to any situation and just go with it.  Someone that personifies this is Vince McMahon himself.  He can be serious when he needs to be and is always ready to say "you're fired!"  However, when the situation calls for it, Vince can be downright silly!  He was always quick to dance with Flash Funk's girls at ringside and the fans always enjoyed when someone was making a fool out of him.  He's been on the receiving end of many a Stunner, as well as a beer bath, where he "swam" in the ring.  He's had crap dropped on him and had his head shaved by Donald Trump at WrestleMania.  No one can power strut to the ring like this man.  Heck, his ass even does tricks!  Even in the early days before many knew he ran things, he was willing to be silly for the purpose of entertainment.  One of my favorite silly Vince moments is when he sang "Stand Back."  You can always count on Vince to be silly!

   In early 2012, there were several vignettes announcing the arrival of Brodus Clay.  He was portrayed as a big monster, ready to destroy.  He was hyped for weeks.  To the dismay of many yet the enjoyment of myself, he came out dancing as the Funkasaurus.  I thought it was hilarious!  To me, it was better than coming out as some generic monster that would be gone as quickly as he arrived.  It was different and it was fun.  The whole shtick was enjoyable to me.  It extended his WWE stay in my opinion because he became a monster later on.  That gimmick also gave Naomi a platform to succeed as look at her now.  Cameron, I could do without.  I've got two words for her: girl bye!  I enjoyed Brodus Clay and the silliness that came along.

   There were some characters and gimmicks that were God awful and cringe-worthy but there were several silly characters I really enjoyed.  There's a lot more I can name as well.  Goldust, R-Truth, and Zack Ryder were also very entertaining to me.  For most of his career, William Regal was as serious as they came, but he embraced the silliness every once in a while.  Since I ripped into the horrible gimmicks of 1995, I thought it would be nice to explore the bright side of silly characters.  Who were some of your favorite silly characters?




If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/