One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY Month Of The WWE Attitude Era

29. December 1998 | The Craziest Entrance Lore Ever?

Oddities WWF
WWE.com

Golga was John Tenta in what was possibly a case of the most unrecognisable masked identity ever. This is said with all love, because Earthquake was awesome and Tenta was said to be one of the nicest blokes to ever enter the industry, but he transformed from a scary fat guy into a run-of-the-mill barfly fat guy during a time when the WWF was obsessed with weighing its roster on a weekly basis. Giant Silva was even worse than fellow seven-plus-footers Great Khali and Giant Gonzalez. Kurrgan would place third on that list in best-to-worst ranking. 

Together, they were core members of the Oddities faction. Sable, Luna Vachon, the Insane Clown Posse and George ‘the Animal’ Steele were also members at one point or another. 

Initially presented as an exploitative “freak show” act under the guidance of the Jackyl (Don Callis), the Jackyl’s exit led to the Oddities becoming a group of free spirits who taught the people that you shouldn’t care what people think of you. This while utterly lame was astonishingly progressive for the WWF of 1998, and while the act wasn’t over, per se, they did get a pop when the college dudebros meerkatted their necks to get a load of Sable’s rack. God, the Oddities stunk. This was literally the case. 

According to Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun, who attended a Raw taping and wrote it up for the paper, the WWF production team “ignited a device” that emitted a sewage-like scent in order to convince ringside fans that the group did not bathe - a live-action Smell-O-Vision experience. This is nuts, isn’t it? Something that has never happened before or since? 

Maybe it didn’t actually happen, and the smell was simply the advancing waft of Vince McMahon crapping his pants in a bid to psychologically torture Gerald Brisco. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!