7 Professions WWE Superstars May Have Portrayed Incorrectly
Repo Men tend not to wear Hamburglar masks, for example.
Looking back at WWE within the early 1990s, one of the more memorable parts of this era was how gimmick-oriented its characters were. After all, very few of the WWE storylines at the time were rooted in reality. Hence, a voodoo-practitioner (Papa Shango) putting hexes on a tribe-less warrior (The Ultimate Warrior).
Yet a fair share of the WWE roster at the time portrayed characters who seemed to have professions which they brought to the ring. It often raised the question if these characters were moonlighting as wrestlers, or if they were transitioning into full-time careers in the ring. For example, if Paul Bearer -- as portrayed by Percy Pringle, who actually had worked within the funeral industry -- was portraying a pallbearer or some sort of funeral service director, why was he traveling around the world with a reanimated corpse instead of working at a chapel, cemetery or funeral parlor? In turn, a lot of these career-oriented characters did not accurately represent what someone normally did as part of that job.
Knowing what we know about Vince McMahon and his unpredictable creative process, it also begs the question as to whether or not these were intentional oversights for entertainment's sake, or more so someone who has been out of "the real world" for so long that he just simply didn't know. Whichever way you choose to look at it, expect a whole lot of entertainment when digging into these and other early 1990s Superstars episodes on the WWE Network.
7. Friar Ferguson
It is easy to confuse the responsibility of a friar with that of a monk. While monks generally live outside of traditional society, friars live within the general population, aiming to provide service and a sense of well-being to their local community. As part of their professional and spiritual responsibilities, friars are known to take vows of not only chastity but also obedience and devotion. Generally speaking, friars are supposed to travel to preach, educate the people and treat the ill.
In the case of Friar Ferguson -- as portrayed by Mike Shaw, who had also wrestled as Bastion Booger and Norman The Lunatic -- this character was inaccurate first and foremost in its representation of a pain-seeking combatant. Naturally a friar would never intentionally inflict pain or suffering on another individual. During his WWE debut, he cheated during the match by choking his opponent with his robe and also balked at shaking the hand of a young fan seated ringside. Also, when walking to the ring, he showed a drawing of himself smiling to imply a vow of silence, even though friars are not required to keep silent.
However, with regard to the heavy travel schedule of the WWE in the early 1990s, Friar Ferguson may have been doing the right thing by traveling extensively to preach. He was accurate in terms of going around the world to spread his truth. He also was wearing correct traditional friar garb within his matches.