10 Absolute Wrestling FREAKS! ?

The biggest, best and WEIRDEST individuals in wrestling history, Freaks, of sorts.

Sid freak
WWE

Wrestling freaks go HARD.

Historically, "freak show" was the deeply unkind and discriminatory term for carnival/fairground sideshow acts "featuring" people with various biological rarities, impairments or disabilities. The general public was encouraged, for a fee, to pay just to get up close to fellow human beings and stare at them.

It's gross, but it's yet another example of the way in which professional wrestling is great - the brutally cruel practice thankfully condemned to the past...is something babyfaced, encouraged and endorsed in the bizarre present day that wrestling portrays. All are welcome, and though creatively most shows exist years in a time-warp behind actual pop culture, locker rooms themselves have often been more accommodating of those considered waifs, strays and "freaks" by those in polite society.

Wrestling's a rewarding venture for these sorts - the type that speak in riddles and look like cartoons come to life are the ones that thrive in a universe seemingly built for them. The bigger, dafter and freakier you are, the more chance you stand of making it in the industry. If you can run the ropes and throw an effective worked punch, even better, but it's honestly not a pre-requisite...

10. Sid

Sid freak
WWE

Vicious, Justice, Pyscho, Sycho. He is all these things. He is Sid.

Stone Cold Steve Austin found the sweet spot on a bedpan, but Sid found it in a barber shop. The talc-covered specimen above was such a freak that he managed to smash a window with a steel chair in just the right spot to flick a talcum powder container right in his face. Then, with half the product stuck fast to his face, he still cut one of the scariest promos of all time. Even scarier for how he no-sold the chaos around him, actually.

When he wasn't getting to Hulk Hogan via hair products, he was pulling weird faces behind the Madison Square Garden curtain, beating up friends and family members of his biggest rivals, hilariously over-selling the damage done to rental cars, and exploding into smaller territories with such force that he looked like Godzilla and King Kong to the poor defenceless souls in his path.

That his punches in particular looked weak only added to the aesthetic - not once did anybody question that this freak may kill you, even after watching him work. Sid remains the master and the ruler of the world, we remain just trying to live in it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett