Top 10 Strangest Wrestling gimmicks

Over the years Pro Wrestling has provided us with many memorable characters.  The ones we have loved and cheered on, and who will always be in our hearts.  And then there are these guys.  There really is no limit to the amount of unusual gimmicks that have been tried, but for me, these are ten of the strangest people to ever step foot in the ring.

10) George “the animal” Steele.  Or as he is known in real life, William James Myers.  Of all the strange characters on my list, this one is the most normal.  Really, all that was different about him was that he grunted for interviews, had a green tongue, and ate turnbuckles.  But he was fun to watch, and that was what made his character work.  Unlike pretty much everybody else on the list.

9)  The Missing Link.  Dewey Robertson was pretty much just a cheap knockoff of my number ten pick, George Steele, and it certainly seemed that this is where he got the idea for his character.  With virtually no in ring skills to speak of, aside from ramming his head into his opponent, or the turnbuckle, he didn’t go very far.  But I think his look inspired my number 8 pick.

8)  The Boogeyman.  Martin “Marty” Wright.  Originally got his start by competing on WWE’s Tough Enough 4.  He was disqualified though, because he was over age cut off limit.  He was 40, and the limit was 35.  Still, the WWE let him train in Ohio Valley Wrestling.  Eventually he made his way to Smackdown, where his gimmick was revealed.  Boogeyman recited creepy sounding nursery rhymes, ate worms, and pretty muched sucked in the ring.  Thankfully, he didn’t last very long.  But at least his look made for some interesting action figures.

7)  Papa Shango.  Long before “The Pope” was pimpin in TNA,  The Godfather was running the “Ho Train” in WWE.  And as much fun as his character was, there was a time before that, that Charles Wright played a different role.  Papa Shango was a voodoo practitioner, who had a painted face, wore scary clothes, and carried a smoking skull to the ring.  Sort of sounds like my number 8 pick doesn’t it?  But Papa Shango was even scarier because he had the ability to cast spells.  One of which made The Ultimate Warrior, projectile vomit on camera.  Very scary stuff indeed.

6)  Damien Demento.  His real name was Phil Theis, and for the most part, this guy just plain sucked.  He had a ring outfit that looked like his head was sticking out of some animals mouth.  He also heard voices and spoke in gibberish.  But when your hometown is announced as, ” the outer reaches of your mind”  Then you make lists like this one here.

5)  Zeus.  No this wasn’t the Greek god of Olympus, it was an actor by the name of Tiny Lister.  You see, Hulk Hogan did a movie called No Holds Barred, in which he played….Well, himself with a different name and colour scheme.  And his nemesis in the movie was Zeus.  So, in an effort to cross promote, Zeus made the jump from the movie screen to a WWE ring.  Thankfully once his feud with The Hulkster was over, they didn’t keep him around for very long.

4)  Oz.   Of all the things Kevin Nash has had to do over the years, this has got to be the one thing I bet he wishes everyone would just forget.  While in WCW he played some silly characters, such as Vinnie Vegas, and Master Blaster Steel.  But the worst was Oz.  Thats right, as in “The Wizard Of”  complete with a long flowing robe, a turbin, and a manager called Merlin The Wizard.  No wonder these days he’s all about the money.

3)  The Giant Gonzalez.  Otherwise known as Jorge Gonzalez, this was a massive 7 foot 8 Wrestler, who appeared in WCW for a while under the name of El Gigante.  But he will forever live in infamy as the guy who wore a full body suit with painted on muscles and fur, that feuded with The Undertaker.  His look was just about as bad as his in ring ability, and thankfully once his matches with Taker were complete, he went away for good.

2)  Goldust.  Call him Dustin Rhodes, son of The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.  Or Dustin Runnels.  The one name he can never shake, is Goldust.  Of all the people on this list, this one has been the most successful.  A 3 time Intercontinental Champion, and a Tag Team Champion, in the WWE, Goldust has had his ups and downs over the years.  But despite multiple name changes in WCW and TNA, he is back in the WWE, as Goldust.  The Bizzare One may never be a World Champion, but he will never be forgotten.

1)  The Shockmaster.  If there is one single person who has not seen the debut of “The Shockmaster”  then you need to look it up right away.  Without a doubt, this is one moment in Wrestling History that I bet Fred Ottman wishes he could take back.  As pictured above, he was decked out in of all things, a Star Wars Stormtrooper hemet, spray painted silver, and covered in glitter.  The rest of his outfit consisted of jeans, and some kind of fur thing.  But the thing that gives him the top spot, despite the fact that this character lasted for no more than a blink of an eye, is the fact that during his debut, he literally fell flat on his face while trying to bust through a fake wall.  Once again, if you haven’t seen this, then find the video and prepare to laugh.  And for having the most embarassing moment in Wrestling History,  The Shockmaster takes the number 1 position on my list.

     If you liked this, then check out the links below.

http://comedy.com/2008/10/20/the-13-worst-pro-wrestling-gimmicks-ever/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/347486-the-5-worst-gimmicks-in-wrestling

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