So, I found myself needing some pro wrestling gimmick ideas the other day. Wasn’t for anything specific, really. Just kinda got the itch, you know? Maybe watching too much old stuff, maybe just bored. But the point is, I sat down to actually do it, not just think about it.
First thing I did? Stared at a blank notepad. Seriously. For like, ten minutes. It’s weird, you think ‘wrestling gimmicks, easy!’ but then… nothing. My brain just went completely blank. Felt kinda dumb, honestly.
Okay, plan B. Needed some fuel. Started digging through old stuff. Watched some classic NWA promos, some weird Japanese matches, even skimmed through a couple of cheesy 80s action movies. Didn’t really look for whole gimmicks, more like… sparks. A weird line someone said, a cool outfit, a strange job title someone had in the credits.
Basically, I just soaked up weirdness for a while. Made little notes. Stuff like ‘guy obsessed with traffic cones’ or ‘accountant who thinks he’s a pirate’. Most of it was garbage, obviously.
Then came the messy part. Took those little notes, those sparks, and started smashing them together. Like playing with LEGOs but with weirder pieces. What if that ‘traffic cone guy’ was also a failed magician? What about the ‘pirate accountant’ – maybe he uses an abacus as a weapon?
- Tried mixing professions: Garbage Man + Opera Singer.
- Tried mixing personality types: Extremely Polite + Absolutely Vicious.
- Tried mixing eras: Caveman + Tech Support Guy.
A lot of this felt stupid. Really stupid. But you gotta churn through the bad ideas to find anything remotely interesting. It’s like panning for gold, mostly mud.
Okay, found a couple that didn’t immediately make me cringe. Let’s take one… say, the ‘Extremely Polite Vicious Guy’. Now what? Needed more.
Started thinking:
- What’s his name? Maybe something super bland, like ‘Mr. Henderson’.
- How does he look? Perfect suit, maybe slightly stained with… something.
- What does he say? Always apologizing, even when breaking fingers. “So terribly sorry about this inconvenience…” snap.
- Entrance? Maybe just walks out calmly to classical music.
Did this for a few concepts. Just layering on little details. Some ideas got better, some just collapsed under the weight of their own silliness. Tossed those out.
Ended up with maybe five or six ideas that felt like they had legs. Nothing revolutionary, you know? But solid. Wrote ’em down properly. Gave each one a little paragraph describing the core idea, the look, the attitude. Just enough so I wouldn’t forget.
It wasn’t some grand creative vision unfolding. It was mostly just trial and error. Trying stuff, seeing if it stuck, writing down the bits that didn’t immediately suck.
So what did I learn?
Mainly that coming up with this stuff is work. It ain’t magic. You gotta dig, combine weird things, and be okay with most of your ideas being terrible. It’s not about waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration. It’s about sitting down and grinding it out, even when you feel like an idiot.
And honestly? Just having that small list, those few ideas I wrestled out of my brain? Felt pretty good. Like I actually made something, even if it’s just scribbles about imaginary weirdos who fight each other. Better than staring at a blank page, anyway.
