Pro wrestling is, and should be, wacky. It's a live action puppet show that kids and adults alike can go to so they can cheer and boo their hearts out. Theater for all ages Just look at the above photo: There are likely few wrestling-related images in history evoke "live action puppet show" like this. It appears to be "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (in is King Duggan guise) visiting Hershey Park...where he's greeted by anthropomorphic chocolate and what I'd hope is some kind of tour guide in...what is that? Is it an elf costume? A chocolate-making elf? But it's a pro wrestler who's best known as a living, breathing cartoon character being flanked by costumed confectionaries and, well, it actually looks kind of normal. Pro wrestling has a long, storied history of great photography, first with decades of magazines all over the world, and now with the new galleries we get online each week. Sometimes, though, those photos get a little...weird.
14. Hulk Hogan's War Bonnet
1988 was the year that Hulk Hogan lost the WWF Championship for the first time. He took time off to shoot No Holds Barred, came back, and, well, something weird happened: He came back looking like THAT. That thing on Hulk Hogan's head? It's his "war bonnet." A gladiator helmet with a Hulkamania headband...and a giant fist!?!? He used it for a month or two while feuding with Ted DiBiase and Bad News Brown on house shows, and it's impossible to determine where such a weird idea came from. Maybe it was to cover up Hogan's bald spot and/or create a new piece of merchandise, but someone wised up before long and he stopped using it. There are rumors that WWE started developing prototypes for a toy version of the helmet. If that's true...who thought that monstrosity was fit for children?
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
