3. Zach Gowen, One-Legged Wrestler
Much to the displeasure of many WWE fans, Vince McMahon doesn't have the greatest track record in handling wrestlers with disabilities. Although "subtle" isn't a word used to describe anything Mr. McMahon does, he would often go over the bounds of good taste when it came to this particular area. (Remember The Oddities?) Enter Zach Gowen, a cancer survivor and amputee who wore a prosthetic leg. Growing up as a fan of professional wrestling, watching his favorite superstars Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio fly around the ring was a little bittersweet. Of course, every young wrestling fan's favorite pastime is reenacting the matches they see on TV, and it's their fantasy to grow up and be an actual professional wrestler. That dream gets a little harder when you're 8-years-old and you have your leg amputated. Note: harder, not impossible. But in 2003, Gowen realized his dream of wrestling with the WWE. And what better way to be introduced than by with the help of Roddy Piper? Sitting in the audience of at an episode of Smackdown, Gowen was used as a plant to "help" Mr. America (a poorly disguised Hulk Hogan) when he started getting beat down by Piper. Since we're still talking about Vince McMahon's promotion here, as soon as Piper brought Gowen into the ring, the first thing he did was yank off his prosthetic leg and show it to the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57WwY_8VVWk The one-legged wrestler would have a brief but successful run in the WWE, with matches against The Big Show, Matt Hardy, and John Cena. Though his stay in WWE lasted less than a year, he still remains involved in the independent circuit, where he's won several championship titles.