10 Most Enigmatic And Reclusive Wrestling Legends

It takes all types of people to make the wrestling industry as diverse and entertaining as it is.

The Undertaker At Home There was once a time wherein all professional wrestlers were enigmatic and reclusive (to some degree) because that was the nature of the wrestling business. The marks were marks and the boys (and girls) were the boys, and it was actually frowned upon to be overly friendly with those in the non-wrestling outside world while still in the guise of doing pro wrestling business. Fast forward to 2014 and a list like this exists, which on some level highlights those who, in the modern era do something that wrestlers in previous generations all did not because they wanted to, but because it was almost a requirement of the industry itself. On this list there are legends who left the business behind out of distaste for it, their reclusive nature an attempt to leave an angered past behind. Yet still there are others who are just "old school," and see "fraternizing with marks" as synonymous with catching the Ebola virus. As well, there are those too who have "had their fill," and just fade away. And yes, there are those who, for "kayfabe" reasons just aren't seen in public looking and acting like a stereotypically normal human being. It takes all types of people to make the wrestling industry as diverse and entertaining as it is, and thus, this list contains an entertaining who's who of the not-so seen.

10. "Gorgeous" Jimmy "Jam" Garvin

Jimmy Garvin Regardless of the promotion, Jimmy Garvin was a staple of pro wrestling throughout the 1980s. As a primping and preening heel with either Sunshine or Precious as his valet, it " his fault" that he looked so good and wrestled so well. However after a run in the early 1990s in WCW with Michael Hayes as the Fabulous Freebirds, Gavin quietly retired from professional wrestling. Of course, when one watched WWE's The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling DVD and become acquainted with the older, balding and paunchy gentleman telling ribald road stories, the idea that it's the same guy as the bouffant-hairdo sporting 80s heel or stringy haired heavy metal dude from the 1990s is amazing. However, in a case of seeing the handwriting on the wall and having had enough of the business, Garvin's disappearance and reclusive nature was more a case of letting pro wrestling fade away more than anything else. Having been in wrestling since 1968, having put in 26 years of service is likely enough to make anyone want to leave any job. Leaving with his one-time valet Precious as his wife, and having a child and the ability to transfer into a job as an airline pilot, is certainly reason enough to want to leave the spotlight behind.
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Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.