The Gobbledy Gooker

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The Gobbledy Gooker
Turkey
Height5 feet 10 inches (178 cm)[1]
Weight205 lb (93 kg)[1]
HometownHartford, Connecticut[1]

The Gobbledy Gooker is a

World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) hyped its debut by showcasing a large egg
at live shows, causing much speculation among wrestling fans. Guerrero was jeered by fans in attendance when he hatched out of the egg and the character was quickly dropped by the promotion.

It subsequently attained a legacy as being one of the worst characters in the history of professional wrestling. After a lengthy hiatus, WWE began sporadically using the character again and several other wrestlers have donned the Gobbledy Gooker costume. Thirty years after its debut, it won the WWE 24/7 Championship at the 2020 Survivor Series.

Concept and creation

The concept for the Gobbledy Gooker was that it would serve as a

World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) akin to the San Diego Chicken.[2] In addition to being a mascot, WWF promoter Vince McMahon intended the character to wrestle and sought a skilled performer for the role.[3] After a recommendation from Dusty Rhodes, the WWF began contacting Héctor Guerrero in early 1990.[4] Guerrero landed the role after a successful in-person audition months later and was set to debut at the upcoming Survivor Series event. Survivor Series typically takes place around Thanksgiving and this edition was to take place on Thanksgiving night.[4]

In the weeks leading up to the event, the WWF began hyping the new character by displaying a large

world champion Ric Flair, who wrestled for the rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), was going to debut in the WWF by hatching from it.[5] Mark Calaway had recently signed with the WWF and feared that the egg was to hype his debut. He ultimately debuted as The Undertaker in an unrelated segment at the same event.[6]

History

Héctor Guerrero portrayal (1990, 2001)

The hatching of the Gobbledy Gooker

Announcer

Hartford Civic Center started to boo, a rock and roll rendition of "Turkey in the Straw" began to play and Okerlund and Guerrero danced in the ring. Despite the crowd's rejection of the segment, commentator Roddy Piper said that the Gobbledy Gooker had "won the heart of Hartford!" and his broadcast partner Gorilla Monsoon described it as a "big smash".[7]

Guerrero continued to tour with the WWF for a few weeks afterward.[4] However, he suffered another gaffe during an appearance at Madison Square Garden; he was unable to see out of the head of the costume, which caused him to fall into the ring after a handspring.[8] Despite initial plans for the Gobbledy Gooker to represent the company as a mascot, it disappeared from the promotion a month after its debut. The character was not seen again until WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, when Guerrero returned to the persona for one night and wrestled his only match under the moniker during the "Gimmick Battle Royal". He was quickly eliminated by Tugboat.[4]

Portrayals by others (2008–2020)

Drew Gulak portrayed the character in 2017 and 2020, including during its brief WWE 24/7 Championship reign

Since 2008, WWE has sporadically used the character in storylines or skits during Thanksgiving week. The first such appearance was at the

Maryse Ouellet disguised herself as the Goobledy Gooker to attack Melina Perez.[10] In 2013, WWE released a series of comical YouTube videos called "The Gobbledy Gooker Goes To Work".[11] To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut, Xavier Woods of The New Day donned the turkey costume on the November 26, 2015, episode of SmackDown. Later that episode, Jey Uso disguised himself as the Gobbledy Gooker to attack his New Day partners.[12]

On the November 21, 2017, edition of

205 Live, Drew Gulak dressed up as the Gobbledy Gooker, referring to himself as "the Gobbledy Gulaker".[13] Gulak reprised his role as the Gobbledy Gooker for the thirtieth anniversary of its debut at 2020 Survivor Series, although his identity was not revealed during the show.[14] During the pre-show, the character won the WWE 24/7 Championship by defeating R-Truth.[15] Later that night, it lost the title to Akira Tozawa, who quickly lost it to R-Truth.[14] The character made another appearance with R-Truth on the following episode of Main Event, where it was attacked by Retribution.[16]

Legacy

Héctor Guerrero has defended the Gobbledy Gooker

The Gobbledy Gooker is remembered by many as one of the biggest flops in the history of the professional wrestling industry. The satirical wrestling website

411Mania each ranked the character as having the second worst debut/reveal of all time, second to the Shockmaster (portrayed by Fred Ottman, who also wrestled as Tugboat and eliminated the Gobbledy Gooker at WrestleMania X-Seven).[21][22] During a 2008 episode of Legends of Wrestling, Dusty Rhodes, who had previously written for WCW and was responsible for creating the Shockmaster, revealed that he and McMahon would joke about which character was worse.[23]

WWE describe the debut as an "unmitigated disaster", but add: "Like an Ed Wood movie, The Gooker was such a terrible persona that it eventually endeared itself to the WWE Universe".[1] However, Guerrero has defended the character, stating: "The Gobbledy Gooker is called the biggest flop in professional wrestling history, but it wasn’t meant for the adults. It was for the children. Vince wanted to do something noble, which I take my hat off to and respect."[8] Okerlund addressed Guerrero during his WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2006, saying: "Héctor, we had a lot of fun, but all of this is forgotten". Paul Debendetto of Mental Floss disagreed with Okerlund's assessment, given the character's enduring legacy, writing: "the Gooker lives on. And Héctor wouldn’t have it any other way."[4]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Gobbledy Gooker". WWE. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Thompson, Conrad; Prichard, Bruce (February 25, 2018). "Bruce Prichard Shoots on The Gobbledy Gooker". Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Event occurs at 4:40. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Toro, Carlos (May 20, 2017). "J.J. Dillon Explains Ideas For The Gobbledy Gooker". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Debendetto, Paul (November 23, 2017). "The Gobbledy Gooker: Wrestling's Most Bizarre Gimmick". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  5. ^ Lake, Jefferson (November 14, 2018). "Five memorable moments from WWE Survivor Series". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Bernaschina, Michael (November 20, 2019). "The Undertaker Was Convinced He Was Going to Debut as the Gobbledy Gooker". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  7. ISBN 978-1554905447
    .
  8. ^ a b Barrasso, Justin (November 23, 2016). "Week in Wrestling: Kevin Nash on Diesel; creation of Undertaker; Gobbledy Gooker speaks". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  9. 411Mania. Archived
    from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  10. WrestleView. Archived
    from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  11. ISBN 9780744035100. Archived
    from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  12. ^ "WWE Smackdown: Dean Ambrose earns Intercontinental Title shot". Sky Sports. November 27, 2015. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Peeples, Jeremy (November 21, 2017). "WWE 205 Live Results: Gulak Faces Tozawa in a Street Fight". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Lambert, Jeremy (November 22, 2020). "Report: Drew Gulak Was The Gobbledy Gooker, Producer List For WWE Survivor Series". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  15. ^
    Pro Wrestling Sheet. Archived
    from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  16. Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived
    from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Cox, Billy (February 24, 2007). "Grappling with life". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ISBN 978-1550227628. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  19. ^ "The Shockmasters: 14 regrettable wrestling gimmicks and the stars behind them". The A.V. Club. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  20. ^ Felstead, Scott (15 April 2019). "The 11 Most Outlandish Ring Attires in WWE History". Muscle & Fitness. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  21. ^ Beaston, Erik (June 18, 2020). "Ranking the 10 Worst-Ever Reveals in WWE and WCW History". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  22. 411Mania. Archived
    from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "Worst Characters". Legends of Wrestling. June 1, 2008. Event occurs at 9:21–9:35. WWE Classics on Demand.
  24. ISSN 1083-9593
    .

External links
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