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

As fans in attendance at the 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.

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".

[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 event.

[19] Muscle & Fitness similarly described 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".

[20] Bleacher Report and 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.

[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.

Paul Debendetto of Mental Floss disagreed with Okerlund's assessment, given the character's enduring legacy, writing: "the Gooker lives on.