10 Most Chilling Wrestling Gimmicks Ever
Worm-eating nightmares, psychotic clowns, and flesh-devouring cannibals...
Pop quiz: where can characters depicted as real-life athletes mix with those said to be from the underworld? Why, in the wacky realm of pro wrestling, of course! Where else could you find an industry once happy to present Bret Hart as an athletic champion on the same roster as nightmare fuel like shaman witch doctors and undead zombies?
Wrestling has always been weird, and the sooner people get to grips with that the better. "Weird" shouldn't be taken as an insult either, because wrestling is also absolutely wonderful. It's home to some of the best athleticism on the planet, but also characters that make you check underneath the bed or make you terrified to go to the toilet alone in the middle of the night.
Some fans may have grown up to see through these ghoulish guises, but that doesn't change the fact a quick jog down memory lane can bring feelings of fear creeping back up...
10. Bray Wyatt
Only in wrestling could a bearded cult-leader with possible serial killer vibes be considered for a babyface run. That's the fate staring Bray Wyatt in the face, such popularity coming despite the fact he reminds everyone of a character from the old Goosebumps TV series. Wyatt is spooky, and that'd be true even if he didn't occasionally walk upside down like a human crab.
When he's not encouraging everyone around him to "Run", Bray has been followed to the ring by huge men wearing sheep masks and even once sported goat horns that make him look like the devil. The beauty of Wyatt's gimmick is that it instantly reminds older fans of classic gimmicks from the cartoon age of wrestling.
If only WWE didn't consistently undermine Wyatt on television, perhaps he'd be higher on this list. The potential is there for Bray's 'Eater Of World's persona to be even scarier if his paymasters didn't deem it necessary to leave his powerful promos looking empty inside the ring.