Gobbledygooker
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The Gobbledygooker was a turkey-human hybrid character introduced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at its 1990 Survivor Series pay-per-view event, and is recognized as one of professional wrestling's most resounding flops.
[edit] History
The character was portrayed by Hector Guerrero, who was dressed in a turkey costume and "hatched" from an over-sized egg. The egg had been on display at WWF events in the weeks before Survivor Series, and was heavily hyped during promos on the WWF's syndicated and cable programs.
The egg "hatched" to a decidedly negative reception, and was heavily booed by disgusted fans as he began dancing in the ring with announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Play-by-play announcers Gorilla Monsoon and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper tried their best to be enthusiastic, but their true feelings were easily detectable in their voices. Critics were universal with negative reviews, and the character was quickly retired, receiving very few mentions afterwards, and leaving it a mystery if the character was ever even intended for more than short term use.
After the character was shelved the WWF didn't mention it for years, until it became fashionable to mock mistakes made in the past. At this point The Gobbledygooker was revived for WrestleMania X-Seven to participate in the "Gimmick Battle Royal". Though the costume was very different from the original, Hector Guerrero did again don the costume, being the second person eliminated in the match.
When "Mean" Gene Okerlund was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 , he recalled some of his famous interviews , and he acknowleged the fact that it was Hector Guerrero in the costume telling: "Hector, we had a lot of fun, but all of this is forgotten." And then the camera took a shot of a shy Hector Guerrero.
The Gobbledygooker inspired the creation of WrestleCrap's annual Gooker Award, given to the wrestling gimmick, storyline, or event, deemed to be the worst of the year.
