10 WWE Wrestlers You Can’t Believe Got Over
8. The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman was a dire professional wrestler because he was barely trained as a professional wrestler; higher-ups spotted his potential as a character (because Boogey was legitimately insane), sent him to developmental, and basically instructed Jim Cornette to train him to a level one notch above utter liability.
In addition to wrestling robotically, with zero nous or poise, the gimmick was anachronistic, much like his über-gimmicked developmental peers like Eugene and the Spirit Squad. What got Boogeyman over, against the grain of logic, was his deeply convincing and disturbing portrayal. Boogeyman entered the arena with unpredictable herky-jerky voodoo movements looking positively possessed, a state of mind reflected in his crazed eyes. He also willingly ate worms, which helped him get over as a nut job.
When he ate Jillian Hall’s facial mole, it was a fitting visual metaphor for the character’s success; he was fed pure nonsense, but somehow made it work.
Fans and officials alike were taken by this theoretical abomination - so much so that Vince McMahon allegedly impersonated him backstage - but he never had the in-ring stuff to transcend his status as a curio.