10 Wrestlers Promoters Were Afraid Of

7. Abdullah The Butcher

Jake Roberts WCW
WWE.com

Fork-wielding mutilator Abdullah the Butcher is something of an anomaly in WWE's (admittedly free-form) Hall of Fame, given he only scraped foreheads in the company for all of ten minutes way back in the '60s. The Canadian's reputation within the industry was earned cutting folk with cutlery outwith Stamford, and it was partly the reason why he never had a long-term gig in Vince's glitzy promotion.

The other part, in addition to Abdullah's brutal incongruity, was his belligerent irascibility. Prior to his inexplicable 2011 induction, the Butcher admitted that he'd never even met Vince McMahon, owing to his fearsome notoriety for being a backstage menace. He told Slam! Sports, "WWE were scared of me because I was an outlaw, and I did not kiss anybody's butt."

It wasn't just that his bloodletting was at complete odds with the product WWE were promoting that prevented the call; even his colleagues advised against it. "The boys, back in the day there, would say, "Don't bring Abdullah in - he'll be trouble!" he recalled.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.