10 Wrestlers You Were Too Embarrassed To Admit You Loved

1. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Tafka Goldust
WWE

Vince McMahon and Dustin Runnels' collaborative and clunky stab at high art, The Artist Formerly As Goldust took a once-brave character in an equally-ballsy new direction that virtually prohibited audiences from finding anything to like. The sheer breadth of the insanity that fuelled the concept made it so hard to cling on to; his promos ranged from the nasty to the nonsensical, his feuds required cosmic levels of cruelty and he would wrestle wearing literally anything...and sometimes literally nothing.

A week spent as a New Year's Baby left him battered and bruised in a port-a-bog by Stone Cold Steve Austin. He wound up The Headbangers with a frightening turn as Marilyn Manson. He hounded a generation of homophobes yet again with his sexed up ramblings towards Vader, Marc Mero and others, though dressing as Sable may have already been a cause of confusion for 'The Wildman'.

It is as bad as it sounds in places, but it took bravery in the performance and bull-headedness in the booking. Under the surface of this ludicrous facade was a man on the edge following the collapse of his family and mental state. It was a vehicle for Attitude Era abuse, but one that's aged better than the rank-and-file misanthropy and misogyny elsewhere.

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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