Top 10 Scariest Wrestlers in History

10. Boogeyman     
Marty Wright is best known as the Boogeyman. While the Boogeyman has a rather innocuous real name, his in-ring persona is anything but. Known best for his days in WWE’s version of the hardcore ECW, Wright would paint his face like the demon in the famous horror movie Insidious, except Boogeyman was first, an obvious inspiration for the character. Boogeyman used his terrifying looks to strike the fear of God in his opponents. He often carried a clock to remind his victims that their time was short and the Boogeyman would be the inevitable reason for their untimely demise. Often times Wright would chew on worms (yes, actual worms) and then like a mother bird, spit them into the mouths of his unconscious and highly victimized opponent, leaving him humiliated and often unconscious in the center of the ring.

9. Waylon Mercy
Waylon Mercy, played by Dan Spivey, is arguably the most unknown wrestler on this list; but, his slow southern drawl, Hawaiian shirts, white pants, and tattooed forehead scared the be Jesus out of children who watched Saturday morning wrestling in the early 1990s. Spivey’s character never got over with that era’s WWE audience; but, would have fit in better with today’s audience more in tune with extremely disturbing gimmicks. Mercy modeled his character off Max Cady, a brutal murderer and rapist from the movie Cape Fear, who once bit one of his victim's face off. Mercy, believe it or not, is an inspiration for Bray Wyatt, who also plays a creepy southern character clad in white pants and Hawaiian shirts. Kids that had the displeasure of watching Mercy on Saturday mornings are still haunted by his nobody home gaze and his mantra, “You know what I mean.”

8. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt is this generations Undertaker, minus the big wins. Debuting beside his Wyatt family, Bray plays demonic swamp man extremely well, so well in fact that every time his Duck Dynasty looking brood come together, you can just hear the banjo music from Deliverance playing before you tighten your belt. Whether it is his invisible Sister Abigail or demonic friend little Johnny, or the way Bray spider walks toward his terrified opponent, Bray has the fear factor that makes you want to swear off the Florida Everglades forever. At the very least, you will take your Grandma more seriously the next time she tells you not to wear white after Labor Day. If he had the win factor, he would rank higher on this list; but, he loses fear points by losing as much as Barry Horowitz did.

 

 

7. Kevin Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan claimed to be the devil himself and we all believed him. Whether it was as the henchman to the macabre inspired Dungeon of Doom or as one of ECW’s most violent competitors, Sullivan was a force to be reckoned with inside the squared circle. How scary was Sullivan? His character was so over that people believed Sullivan to sincerely be a devil worshiper. Conspiracy wing-dings event fantasized that Sullivan’s alleged dabbling into the occult had something to do with the tragic murder of his ex girlfriend Nancy Benoit (Woman). These days a smart internet savvy sports entertainment crowd knows (and hopes) that isn’t true. Sullivan loses points for being a genius. As he was parading on television as the devil himself, Sullivan was actually the mad genius pulling strings backstage as a WCW booker.

 

 

6. Papa Shango

People want you to believe that Papa Shango was a failed gimmick and while that may be true to an extent, there is no denying that Papa Shango has withstood the test of time and implanted himself deep into the psyche of wrestling fans the world over. There is no denying that to a young kid watching in the early 1990s, Shango and the Voodoo powers he was allegedly able to tap into were absolutely mind jarring. The Voodoo man clad in Hollywood inspired Voodoo garb came to the ring with a skull painted face that made Shango look like he had just crawled out of a New Orleans cemetery. Shango interfered in the main event of WrestleMania VIII costing everybody's hero Hulk Hogan a clean finish over Sid Justice; but, his feud with the Ultimate Warrior is what gave children nightmares, a feud in which he used his Voodoo powers to cause Warrior intense pain and to bleed green blood.

 

 

5. Kane

Kane came back from the dead as the Undertaker’s baby brother and made his way to the ring to challenge the Deadman time and time again in some of the most deranged and brutal matches in wrestling history. Managed by the creepy Paul Bearer, Kane had to adorn a mask due to his face being so disfigured from the fire that originally claimed his life. Often fighting in inferno matches, the only thing more terrifying than Kane’s massive seven foot tall physique is when he unmasked to reveal a bald head, a burnt face, and two different color eyeballs. When Kane comes to the ring, all the fires of hell seem to cooperate, beckoning his direction. Kane was so terrifying that he was cast as the serial killing villain in the film See No Evil and many argue that the demon in the film Sinister was based on Kane’s evil persona and image. Kane loses paint for going corporate and being able to articulate the Libertarian political platform.

 

4. Abdullah the Butcher

The 400 pound bald Abdullah the Butcher was terrifying just walking into the ring. Being billed as the “Madman from Sudan,” Butcher lived up to that billing in every way. He walked to the ring wearing spiked wrestling boots, which he would often use as a weapon against his opponents. Abdullah has a giant forehead filled with humongous; fault like line crevices, forever deeply entrenched into his skin, from blading himself over and over again. He would often blade himself and others with….a fork. Once Abdullah was fried on an electric chair by his own teammate Cactus Jack, before a shocked (no pun intended) WCW pay-per-view audience. Abdullah would rank higher on this list; but, loses points for going into the restaurant business, post wrestling. It’s hard to be too terrified of a guy that says, “Welcome to Abby’s Ribs!”

 

 

3. Cactus Jack/Mankind

Mick Foley is arguably the most violent wrestler in the history of the business. Whether it was running into explosive ring ropes, or falling on broken glass and thumbtacks, or losing his own ear in a match with Vader, or falling from the top of the cell against the Undertaker (twice), Foley was the ambassador of wrestling violence. His unpredictability and willingness to take his body to limits never before seen in the history of professional wrestling made him uniquely terrifying. The squeals that came from his mouth as the Hannibal Lecter Mandible Claw wielding masked Mankind character certainly adds to his fright appeal as does his ability to convert from maniacal madman to all around great family guy outside of the ring. Foley is unique to this list in that he could have made it twice, as both Cactus Jack and Mankind.

 

2. Jake "the Snake" Roberts

Jake Roberts stared into the camera like he could read your very soul and then move it around like a master puppeteer. He carried around a plethora of deadly snakes, including a King Cobra named Lucifer. This same King Cobra attacked both Macho Man Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior, forever scarring a Saturday morning audience made up of mostly children. The second most hideously terrifying thing about Jake was that he spoke with a whisper, beckoning you to, “Trust him,” as you leaned into your television screen, where he would manipulate you into a world of frightening darkness. The most hideously terrifying thing about Jake was how comfortable he was in his own character, as if it were never a character at all.

 

 

1. Undertaker

Undertaker’s moniker is the “Dead man,” for a reason. Taker revolutionized the macabre in wrestling, being the first person to successfully bring a full-on gothic persona to the world between the ropes. Introduced to the WWE Universe by the mercurial and aptly named Paul Bearer, Undertaker’s power seemed at first, connected to the urn that Bearer carried. The DeadMan would regain life as the urn was hoisted high and seemingly lose his life, if the urn were threatened. Undertaker would perfect the casket match and once when he was unfairly beaten by Yokozuna in such a match, his spirit hovered above the arena and promised to return. Taker is the most frightening performer in WrestleMania history, going on to have a terrifying 21-0 unbeaten record at wrestling’s Super Bowl. It was at WrestleMania that Undertaker destroyed monster after monster, giant after giant at record pace. When Undertaker was hurt in the middle of the ring, he would pop back up like a Zombie and roll his eyes into the back of his head and his long lizard like tongue would probe the outside of his mouth, like a man possessed by an unseen demonic force. No one will ever forget when he nearly killed the Ultimate Warrior by locking him in a casket depriving him of his life’s oxygen, after a surprise attack on Paul Bearer’s Funeral Parlor. No one will ever forget the brutal way in which he disposed of Mankind (#3 on our list) at WWE’s most violent match, Hell in a Cell. No one will forget his Satanic Ministry of Darkness and the crucified Big Bossman, who was lain prone to its evil ways. For nearly thirty years, the WWE Universe has viewed the Undertaker’s career, wide-eyed at the edge of their seats, like a child listening to a night-time scary story, afraid to open our eyes, but still always wanting more.