Roll up, roll up, and enter the bizarre world of pro wrestling! Hailing from “Outer Space,” Max Moon was one of the few sci-fi characters seen in WWF during the early ‘90s. It was later revealed that Mystery Man was none other than Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Battle Kat, who only lasted in 1990, literally wore a plush cat mask. He event took the character through a cult phase during The Attitude Era with the Ministry of Darkness. Instead of wrestling, the match quickly devolved into a dance-off, complete with Amasis busting out the cardboard for some sick breakdancing moves. 10 Wrestlers Who Appeared In WWE, WCW, AEW And IMPACT! Professional wrestling has always had a flair for the dramatic. Everyone's favorite, Giant Gonzalez, a near-eight foot tall giant, would've been forgotten by everyone had he not been the third victim of Undertaker's WrestleMania streak. Not much was known about his fictional backstory, but Mantaur clearly was a play off the minotaurs from mythology. Case in point: the infamous 1988 incident where Dusty Rhodes had his eye "gouged out" by Road Warrior Animal. From an evil dentist to a plumber with entrance music featuring toilet flushes, some of the worst gimmicks have involved occupations. Debuting in 1991, The Berzerker was initially just known as The Viking. But what about wrestlers from "Parts Unknown?". However, professional wrestling is almost entirely about the spectacle of the sport. Repo Man was, as you have undoubtedly guessed, an evil repo man who loved repossessing other wrestlers’ property. In order to get the advantage against their opponents, Tyler Breeze and Fandango — a wrestling model and a wrestling ballroom dancer also known as the Fashion Police — had gone "undercover" in an effort to discover the secrets of their opponents' hoodies. His entrance includes a smoking lantern and often features him sporting an apron, much like Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Despite sharing a name, the two wrestlers had almost nothing in common. But what about wrestlers from "Parts Unknown?" To this day whenever that ominous bell tolls and the lightning and smoke appear, it sends a shiver down the spine of whoever is unlucky enough to be in the ring. ( WATCH FRIAR FERGUSON'S AWKWARD DEBUT), Kevin Nash and Scott Hall must have left their gear in the locker room when they made the move from WWE to WCW in 1996. Not after watching a Goon match. ( WATCH NAILZ IN A NIGHTSTICK MATCH), Kenny! Mystery Man vanished as soon as he arrived and the WWE Universe never learned his name or his true identity. After the camera pans to a portion of a false wall and pyrotechnics go off, The Shockmaster crashes through... but immediately trips and falls down. His brother-vs-brother feud with The Undertaker made him an instant main eventer, even winning the WWF championship over "Stone Cold Steve Austin.". No one can forget the 1998 Hell in the Cell match where Mick Foley was thrown from the roof of what Jim Ross called "Satan's Structure," and the determination that he showed when he got up to finish the match — and was thrown through the roof in the process. Share Share Tweet Email. One of the most fun moments, though, came from Player Uno, a retro-gaming themed luchador who wore an NES controller on his tights and occasionally found himself at the mercy of the pause button. Clearly, this had gone beyond the confines of a regular match, and to settle the score, Snow and Boss Man met in the Kennel From Hell: a ring encased by both the cell and a regular cage, with vicious dogs circling the ring, ready to tear anyone who tried to escape the ring limb from limb. Charles Dean is a contributing writer for Comic Book Resources, writing features and those lists you all know and love. To make things even strange, Fandango remained in his usual outfit — which, since he normally dresses like a bachelorette party stripper cop, is still pretty weird. He then begins gesturing before the prerecorded voice track plays, and the other wrestlers are heard on hot mics making fun of him. During his next appearance, it was revealed that it wasn’t Santa at all. The following year's "Kennel From Hell" match between Al Snow and the Big Boss Man, although most people who saw it probably wished they could erase it from their memory. ( ABSURD PHOTOS | WATCH WWE.COM'S MOST RIDICULOUS VIDEO PLAYLIST), Urban legend has it that Terry Taylor was nearly introduced to the WWE Universe as Mr. Also a pro wrestling commentator and former manager with a love of sparkly jackets. There are a number of eccentric superstars in New Japan, but Kenny the Cleaner is in a league all his own. Wife Carrying. The Boogeyman, real name Martin Wright, was a bizarre horror-themed character in the WWE. Al Snow was one of the stranger additions to the Attitude Era of the WWE. The horrible gimmick only lasted a month until it was scrapped after a disagreement about pay between Nash and WCW. Big Bully Busick. Phantasio then proceeded to pull a lengthy strip of ribbon out of his mouth and give the mask — and the saliva-soaked ribbon — to an unfortunate young fan at ringside. With no energy coming from the non-crowd watching, watching two men pretend to fisticuffs across an empty arena just seems weird. That’s how this world ended up with masterpieces like Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory” and Weird Al Yankovic’s “Another One Rides the Bus.” When it’s done wrong? Wearing a thick red sweater and a grey derby to the ring, the Pittsburgh native could have used his massive physique to win a few matches. During his bouts against the likes of The Barbarian and Greg Valentine, it was clear that Atlas was still a formidable and powerful Superstar, but the absurdity of his new persona made it difficult for the former tag team titleholder to be taken seriously. In order to even be in the pro wrestling industry, a person has to be pretty bombastic and interesting to begin with. Wielding a massive shield and spear and wearing an elaborate headdress, Simba looked like he was ready for some serious hand-to-hand combat, but his dance moves inside the squared circle undermined his warrior appearance. He was one of the coolest and creepiest parts of the old WWF era. He would run to the ring in a manic storm and then proceed to shake the ropes. 0. ( WATCH XANTA'S ATTACK ON SAVIO VEGA), WWE fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the recent NHL strike came to an end. You never know which personality you're going to get with Balor, but for the fans its a lot more exciting when the eerie Demon King rears his ugly head. Their signature goofy walk, exaggurated arm movements and the excessive amount of licking not only set them apart from the other talent at the time, but it got them over with the fans in a major way. You would think a gimmick this lazy wouldn’t be popular, but Repo Man was featured on multiple TV appearances, including Pay-Per-Views, before his last match in 1993. Who was your favorite WWF weirdo back in the day? Then, the Dude Love personality emerges, leading to one of the funniest video segments of all time where Foley's three wrestling personalities appear together to discuss who is going to appear in a match. A 7-foot, 300-pound ex-con named Nailz competing in his prison jumpsuit? But when the Superstar in the bright orange onesie opened his mouth, his angry growl went from frightening to silly pretty rapidly. That’s another story. Everyone likes Santa Claus, especially the little children who watched professional wrestling in the ‘90s. An argument could be made that Dustin Runnels has the market on creepy and odd characters. However, his outrageous costume and gimmick will live on in infamy for a long time to come. Or better yet, how about wrestlers from "Parts Unknown?" His "Parts Unknown" whereabouts only added to his mystique, as if he was a superhero who came from outer space. He made only a couple other appearances, and was soon forgotten by many fans, to the sadness of almost no one. You may have noticed that we did not include a video for this one. By Michael McCarrick Mar 11, 2020. Join us in looking at 15 of the most ridiculous retro professional wrestling characters to ever grace the squared circle! The man out of time later battled legends like Bret “Hit Man” Hart, The British Bulldog and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, but he would have been better off tormenting schoolchildren in the 1920s. The Shockmaster has a special place in the heart of professional wrestling historians. At the other end of the Japanese wrestling spectrum, we have Kenny Omega. A charming bushman from the town of Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory, the 300-pounder was an authentic Aussie and not just some guy from Canada doing his best Paul Hogan impression. So of course, “Macho Man” and Repo Man settled the debt as only Superstars can: in the ring. 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And that's how David Arquette (who was not a wrestler) pinned Eric Bischoff (who was also not a wrestler) in a tag-team match to win the World Heavyweight Championship (which had previously belonged to his own tag-team partner). Instead, his was colored with a decidedly more nefarious black. When it came time to turn them into bad guys, Dusty — a behind-the-scenes booker and the NWA's resident working-class hero — figured the best way to do that would be to have them blind him, an angle that had worked for plenty of wrestlers before. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned. Superstars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have dressed up as Kris Kringle around Christmastime and the jolly fat guy even granted Hornswoggle the ability to speak. The "Broken" gimmick evolved from Matt Hardy's creative mind. The world of pro-wrestling is a strange place. Thanks, Deadman! Get your game face on. After Konnan’s departure, and due to the financial investment in the character, Max Moon lived on with Paul Diamond under the mask. During its live on-air “hatching,” legendary WWF commentator, “Mean” Gene Okerlund speculated as to what was inside, even insinuating that it might actually be the Playboy Playmate of the Month. After going to Japan and learning a mixture of martial arts and pro wrestling, he was given a 400-year-old helmet from his Master as well as the name Glacier. However, that doesn’t make him immune to the bad gimmick. He even repossessed one of “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s trademark sequined cowboy hats. For every Macho Man and The Rock, there have been dozens that have tried to capture the spotlight... and failed miserably.