What a great idea this is – have a talented worker dress up like a 1950’s rock & roller that everyone’s forgotten! One can almost hear the wheels spinning in Dusty Rhodes’ head (or was this an Ole Anderson gimmick?) when he first saw Marc Mero: “Yeah, you’re talented, kid, you got the goods if you will, now we just need a gimmick. You look kinda fruity in the booty, so let’s dress you up like LITTLE RICHARD, kid, and you’ll be as over as Big Dust!”
Yes, it was a LITTLE RICHARD gimmick.
In addition to that, Mero was made out to be … well, let’s see how can I put this? A FLAMER. Early Johnny B matches weren’t rated in stars, they were rated with the sparkle-meter. He spoke very effeminately. At one point, he claimed, “I’m so pretty, I should have been born a little girl.” He even had a pop gun that fired confetti into the crowd, called the Badd Blaster.
The sad thing is, Mero could work. I mean, he could flat out put on great matches, as was demonstrated with Brian Pillman and many others. It’s a testament to Mero’s abilities that he was able to overcome the gimmick and put on memorable matches.
After a squabble with Eric Bischoff, Mero left WCW behind and headed to the WWF as “Wildman” Marc Mero. His fortunes there weren’t much better, though, as he was quickly overshadowed by his wife, Rena “Sable” Mero. After she grew too big for her britches, both departed the WWF and Marc is now running Rena Mero Enterprises.
Suddenly, the idea of putting on makeup and talking with a lisp doesn’t sound so bad, does it Marc?