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George Steele, nicknamed "The Animal," is among the many examples of colorful characters that helped the WWE thrive in the sports entertainment world. Someone who's wrestled since the 1960s, George Steele is among the many legends of the past generation. As he got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995, George Steele is best known for his wacky characteristics in the ring. One of those characteristics is biting off the turnbuckle in an animal-like fashion, which became a signature characteristic throughout his career. With that said, some might wonder what came about George Steele's gimmick of biting off turnbuckles, considering how much it's a sight to see regarding George Steele's antics.
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George "The Animal" Steele's Recognition In Wrestling
The 1980s wrestling boom period paved the way for many larger-than-life characters to become established legends in the business. George Steele is among those larger-than-life characters that people remember fondly during the 1980s wrestling boom period, as his career in WWE goes even further back to the 1960s when it was the WWWF. Someone who's wrestled the very best in the business, whether it's Bruno Sammartino at MSG or Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 2, George Steele is the perfect example of an attraction that wrestling promoters would want in their company.
George Steele was also involved in the business for many decades, entertaining the fans with his cartoony antics. He even continued wrestling sporadically into the late 1990s despite retiring from the ring almost a decade before.
Furthermore, George Steele is widely honored throughout the wrestling industry, not just in WWE. While inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995, George Steele's accomplishments also got recognized by the Cauliflower Alley Club organization and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame museum in Witchita Falls, Texas.
Related: 10 Things You Didn't Know About George "The Animal" Steele
George Steele's Biting Off Of Turnbuckles
Throughout the many decades of George Steele's career, the main attraction of his character had been portraying an animal-like behavior in the ring. As someone with his physical build and ability to act, considering George Steele can naturally portray an over-the-top cartoony character is why many fans adored him over the years. His animalistic personality also helped him thrive as a heel performer, as George Steele got widely praised for coming off as somewhat of an intimidating figure in the ring.
Biting off turnbuckles was an effective way for him to come off as intimidating. Acting like an animal in the ring, George Steele would bite the turnbuckle as if he was going to eat it, as it doesn't get more cartoony than that.
However, it may be cartoony, but it's something George Steele can call his own. In a business where certain characteristic traits get copied by different performers, George Steele biting off turnbuckles is unique to another level.
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Origins Of George Steele's Turnbuckle Gimmick
There's an interesting story surrounding George Steele biting off turnbuckles. George Steele explained the origins in an interview, stating that its birth goes back to 1967 when an incident regarding a fan heckling him took place during one of his matches.
During a match, someone in the crowd threw a pillow at George Steele as he had to think quickly on his feet. George Steele knew that throwing it right back would only cause the audience to throw more pillows at him, so he resorted to drastic measures. George Steele bit it off and threw it in the air as the wrestlers in the back laughed at the comedic display. One little incident with a fan became a launching pad for George Steele's obsession with eating turnbuckles, as biting off turnbuckles became a main focal point of his gimmick.
Cartoony Antics Turn To Wrestling Gold
One could imagine how nerve-racking it might be when fans in the audience start throwing objects at wrestlers who are just trying to do their job, even if it's a soft object like a pillow. However, George Steele successfully turned a negative incident into a positive turnout as fans got a kick out of him acting like a savage. A professional like George Steele can turn something intended to be a bad reaction into wrestling gold.
Even if some fans may not be fond of over-the-top cartoony characters, during a period in wrestling where gimmicks were much more valued, George Steele took something that's supposed to be goofy and turned it into sports entertainment gold. Because of this, even as the wrestling business has drastically changed from larger-than-life characters, George Steele's legacy will continue to live no matter what.
