Theres an argument for saying that all professional wrestlers are a little crazy. To do what they do, day in, day out is hard enough but often, theyre working without vacations, medical insurance, or decent sleep. Theyre constantly travelling, rarely getting to see their families: engaged in throwing themselves onto hard surfaces for the entertainment of a screaming crowd. And engaged is the right word, because wrestling is a passion. You cant do it unless youre fully committed to it. Lets face it even a basic back bump would be enough to put most people off for life, and thats probably the simplest bump a pro wrestler takes. But theres crazy, and then theres crazy. This article is dedicated to those wrestling characters whose gimmick was utter insanity. How do we define insanity in an insane profession? Well, one of the most important things in pro wrestling is the ability to suspend your disbelief and when youre watching a promo or a match and, whether its for a moment or for an entire match, youre really not sure whether the guy youre watching is two sandwiches short of a picnic, thats quality crazy. Honourable mention goes to Sabu and his uncle the Sheik, a couple of true hardcore innovators, but not famous for their promos or personalities, and to Ric Flair and the Ultimate Warrior, whose whacked out promos nearly made the cut on their own, but who werent generally playing a crazy man gimmick.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
