The Gobbledy Gooker

The Gobbledy Gooker is a professional wrestling character originally portrayed by Héctor Guerrero. The character is a turkey mascot, portrayed by a wrestler in a bird costume. In the weeks leading up to the 1990 Survivor Series, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) hyped the 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.

The Gobbledy Gooker (portrayed by Héctor Guerrero) is interviewed by Gene Okerlund after hatching at the 1990 Survivor Series

History

Héctor Guerrero portrayal (1990, 2001)
Héctor Guerrero portrayed the original Gobbledy Gooker

In the weeks leading up to the 1990 Survivor Series, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) began hyping the debut of a new character by displaying a large egg at several events. This caused rampant speculation about what was in the egg and the most popular theory was that multi-time NWA and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair was going to debut in the WWF by hatching from it.[1] 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 pay-per-view.[2]

Announcer Gene Okerlund appeared next to the egg at Survivor Series and speculated that it contained a dinosaur, balloons or perhaps the Playmate of the Month. After these comments, the egg hatched and Héctor Guerrero climbed out of it in a turkey costume. He then approached Okerlund for an interview but spoke only by making turkey noises. This prompted Okerlund to call him "the Gobbledy Gooker". As fans in attendance at the Hartford Civic Center stated 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".[3]

The original plan for the character was for it to be a mascot that would eventually start wrestling.[4] Guerrero was chosen to portray the character by WWF promoter Vince McMahon, who wanted a skilled performer in the role for when they needed it to wrestle.[5] However, the Gobbledy Gooker disappeared from the promotion a month after Survivor Series. 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 WWE 24/7 Championship reign

Since 2008, WWE (WWF changed its name to WWE in 2002) has sporadically used the character in storylines or skits during Thanksgiving week. The first such appearance was at the 2008 Survivor Series, where The Boogeyman dressed as the Gobbledy Gooker in a skit with The Bella Twins and The Colóns.[6] The next appearance was on the November 23, 2009, episode of Raw, when Maryse Ouellet disguised herself as the Goobledy Gooker to attack Melina Perez.[7] In 2013, WWE released a series of comical YouTube videos called "The Gobbledy Gooker Goes To Work".[8] 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.[9] On the November 21, 2017, edition of 205 Live, Drew Gulak dressed up as the Gobbledy Gooker, referring to himself as "the Gobbledy Gulaker".[10]

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.[11] During the pre-show, the character won the WWE 24/7 Championship by defeating R-Truth.[12] Later that night, it lost the title to Akira Tozawa, who quickly lost it to R-Truth.[11] The character made another appearance with R-Truth on the following episode of Main Event, where it was attacked by Retribution.[13]

Legacy

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 WrestleCrap named its annual booby prize the "Gooker Award" after the character.[14] In The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!, R. D. Reynolds listed the Gobbledy Gooker as the second worst wrestling character of all time, behind The Red Rooster,[15] while The A.V. Club listed it as being amongst wrestling's most regrettable gimmicks.[16] Muscle & Fitness listed the character as being the worst dressed wrestler of all time, writing: "having a WWE Superstar compete in a full Turkey suit is perhaps the most ridiculous concept ever".[17] Bleacher Report and 411Mania each listed 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).[18][19] During a 2008 episode of Legends of Wrestling, Dusty Rhodes, who wrote for rival World Championship Wrestling at the time and was responsible for creating the Shockmaster, revealed that he and McMahon would joke about whether the Gobbledy Gooker or Shockmaster were worse.[20]

WWE describe his 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".[21] 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."[22] 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. Lake, Jefferson (November 14, 2018). "Five memorable moments from WWE Survivor Series". Sky Sports. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  2. Bernaschina, Michael (November 20, 2019). "The Undertaker Was Convinced He Was Going to Debut as the Gobbledy Gooker". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  3. Reynolds, R.D. (December 16, 2010). The Very Worst of Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 19–21. ISBN 1554905443.
  4. Debendetto, Paul (November 23, 2017). "The Gobbledy Gooker: Wrestling's Most Bizarre Gimmick". Mental Floss. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  5. Toro, Carlos (May 20, 2017). "J.J. Dillon Explains Ideas For The Gobbledy Gooker". Fightful. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  6. Dunn, J.D. (November 27, 2008). "The Survivor Series 2008 Breakdown". 411Mania. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  7. Nemer, Paul (November 23, 2009). "Raw Results – 11/23/09". WrestleView. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  8. WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment New Edition. DK Publishing. September 29, 2020. p. 133. ISBN 9780744035100.
  9. "WWE Smackdown: Dean Ambrose earns Intercontinental Title shot". Sky Sports. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  10. Peeples, Jeremy (November 21, 2017). "WWE 205 Live Results: Gulak Faces Tozawa in a Street Fight". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  11. Lambert, Jeremy (November 22, 2020). "Report: Drew Gulak Was The Gobbledy Gooker, Producer List For WWE Survivor Series". Fightful. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  12. Quarrinton, Norm (November 22, 2020). "Gobbledy Gooker Wins 24/7 Championship". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  13. Meyers, Mike (November 27, 2020). "11/25 WWE Main Event TV Report: Ali explains the backstory on the names of each Retribution member on Miz TV, Bizarro episode with Elias playing throughout Ricochet-Hardy main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  14. Cox, Billy (February 24, 2007). "Grappling with life". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  15. Reynolds, R.D. (2007). The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!. ECW Press. pp. 354–356. ISBN 978-1550227628.
  16. "The Shockmasters: 14 regrettable wrestling gimmicks and the stars behind them". The A.V. Club. January 13, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  17. Felstead, Scott. "The 11 Most Outlandish Ring Attires in WWE History". Muscle & Fitness. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. Beaston, Erik (June 18, 2020). "Ranking the 10 Worst-Ever Reveals in WWE and WCW History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  19. Csonka, Lary (February 9, 2015). "The 411 Wrestling Top 5: The Top 5 Worst Debuts". 411Mania. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  20. "Worst Characters". Legends of Wrestling. June 1, 2008. Event occurs at 9:21. WWE Classics on Demand.
  21. "Gobbledy Gooker". WWE. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  22. Barrasso, Justin (November 23, 2016). "Week in Wrestling: Kevin Nash on Diesel; creation of Undertaker; Gobbledy Gooker speaks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  23. Meltzer, Dave (January 25, 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 1–49. ISSN 1083-9593.
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