10 Wrestlers Scarier Than The Fiend

10. Jake Roberts

A signature prop is a fairly ambitious concept, and yields very mixed results.

Stan Hansen's bull rope worked because he was such an awesome, convincing brawler that it was as if he'd just rocked out of the saloon full of liquor, piss and vinegar. Triple H's sledgehammer meanwhile was dumb, because why would he need it, and where would he find it? Tables and chairs look like they might serve a use in assembling a ring - they are somewhat organic to the environment - but a sledgehammer?

Tellingly, the Fiend has already abandoned what may have become his bespoke prop: the comedy oversized mallet seen at Hell In A Cell. It was the opposite of scary. It was "f*cking stupid". Say he successfully struck Seth Rollins with it. What then? It wouldn't have looked like a brutal act of violence. It was ACME bullsh*t that stepped well beyond the audacious horror-comedy leanings of the character. He might as well use Rambin' Rambit as Mr. Socko for the Mandible assist.

Jake Roberts was a terrifying performer without his signature prop - a disquieting, malevolent presence - but the cobra he unleashed in the early '90s was actual, fabled nightmare fuel. The thing was so erratic in its deadly movement that, for the young fans watching, it looked capable of lunging forth from the TV screen.