10 of the most bizarre WWE Superstars

Unusual, controversial, or just plain strange, these WWE superstars certainly deserve to be called bizarre.

Professional Wrestling is, by its very nature, a reflection of society at large. The various characters and story lines are often ripped directly from real life. For example, during the Cold War numerous 'Russian' wrestlers popped up to garner cheap heel heat, including but not limited to Ivan Koloff and Krusher Krushnev. Krushnev would later become Smash in Demolition.

Other examples of wrestlers reflecting society include Farooq and the Nation of Domination, who are based on Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, and the Million Dollar Man, who pokes at the Oligarch wealthy of America.

But then there are those wrestlers who are a reflection of parts of society we'd rather not discuss. These characters can be disturbing, hilarious, frightening, or a combination of all three.

Here are ten of the most bizarre WWE superstars to ever lace up a pair of boots, counting down from least to most outrageous.

#10. The Red Rooster.

When Terry Taylor joined the WWE in 1988, he was already an established star in other promotions. Taylor was regarded as one of the top talents of the mid south region, and once even challenged Nature Boy Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

After flitting around between the southern promotions, Taylor signed what must have seemed like a dream contract with the WWE. He had a few matches under the name "Scary" Terry Taylor, but then WWE decided to run an extended program where Taylor would transition to babyface and a new gimmick.

He was assigned Bobby Heenan as a manager. Heenan immediately began to belittle Taylor, poking fun at him for not being as large as Andre, as muscular as Rick Rude, or as technically sound as Mr. Perfect. Heenan also gave Taylor a new name; The Red Rooster.

The Rooster would rankle against Heenan's despotism, and eventually turned on his manager. He declared he would keep the Red Rooster name as a way of rubbing Heenan's nose in the whole situation.

Then, Taylor morphed into an actual anthropomorphic rooster, complete with dyed red cocks comb and a barn yard strut. Rooster feuded with the Brooklyn Brawler Steve Lombardi and Mr. Perfect before disappearing from WWE.

Unfortunately, the Rooster gimmick haunted Taylor for the rest of his career, even when he headed to different federations.

#9. The Mountie

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are one of the most respected law enforcement organizations in all of the world. They are known as much for their polite kindness as their propensity to nab the bad guy. As the saying goes, "The Mountie always gets his man."

So, of course the WWE decided to create a villain based on the Mounties. Jacques Rougeau had been part of WWE for some time, teaming with his brother Raymond as the Fabulous Rougeau brothers. They enjoyed a long feud against the Hart Foundation and would wave teeny, tiny American flags to prove they were "All American Boys."

Raymond departed the company, leaving Jacques behind. He was assigned the Mountie gimmick, and even sang his own theme song. The Mountie used a cattle prod on his opponents, joining the ranks of New Generation stars based around a prop.

Believe it or not, the Mountie actually holds a victory over Bret Hart, whom he defeated for the Intercontinental championship.

#8. Tekno Team 2000

When it comes to tag team gimmicks, there's nothing wrong with declaring yourself the Tag Team of the Future. That indicates that you're a team of blue chippers destined for greatness and legendary status.

However, if you call yourself the tag team FROM the future, that's when the problems start.

Indie stars Chad Fortune and Erik Watts--the son of Cowboy Bill Watts, who was a writer for WWE during this era--were renamed Troy and Travis, and they dressed...well, they dressed in what people living in 1996 probably thought the future would look like.

Tekno Team 2000 was supposed to appeal to Generation X, who were rejecting traditionally modeled wrestlers. Instead, they appealed to exactly no one.

Bizarre in appearance, gimmick, and demeanor--Troy and Travis seemed to channeling the Terminator--Tekno Team 2000 was soon confined to the scrap heap of history. Where they probably belong.

#7. Xanta Claus

Xanta Claus. He's the evil Santa Claus. He wears black and red instead of white and red. Get it?

Yes, Virginia, there WAS a Xanta Claus in WWE.

You might recognize Xanta Claus from his much later, and far more successful, time as Balls Mahoney, an ECW original. The chair swinging freak would first be assigned the Xanta Claus gimmick by the WWE in 1995.

During an In Your House--WWE's generic name for all pay per views which weren't Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series--Savio Vega and "Santa Claus" were handing out presents to young fans at ringside. Then the Million Dollar Man's music hit, and he claimed that everyone had a price, even Santa Claus.

At that point, 'Santa' attacked Savio Vega and Ted Dibiase revealed that he was Xanta Claus, Santa's evil twin brother who lived at the South Pole and stole presents rather than gave them.

Xanta Claus would sort of feud with Vega before being phased off of WWE television. It should be noted that this bizarre gimmick was never meant to last past the holiday season.

#6. Phantasio

Phantasio only appeared once on WWE television, but became a bizarre legend in the process.

Harry Del Rios was a former competitive body builder who turned to pro wrestling, much like Sting and the Ultimate Warrior did before him.

Del Rios adopted the gimmick Spellbinder, who was something akin to a cross between a clown and a street magician. The gimmick wasn't great, but Del Rios had a magnificent build and was surprisingly agile for his size.

He came onto WWE's radar, and was signed to a contract. However, upon his debut he didn't really wrestle. Now called Phantasio, his 'tricks' included taking off a mask to reveal another mask made of face paint, and removing the underwear of both his opponent AND referee Earl Hebner while they remained fully clothed. Hebner's underwear was even black and white just like his referee shirt.

Then Phantasio did the ultimate trick; He disappeared without a trace from WWE forever. He would return to the indie scene as Spellbinder and retired in the early 2000s.

#5. Bastion Booger

At six feet tall and weighing in at well over three hundred pounds, Mike Shaw seemed destined for a career in pro wrestling.

In Stu Hart's Stampede promotion in Canada, he wrestled under his real name. After Stampede folded, Shawn joined Ted Turner's new WCW promotion.

Shaw wrestled first as Norman the Lunatic, a gimmick which caused some controversy due to being a poor depiction of mental health. Since Shaw was a big man who could spring from the top rope, WCW kept him under contract and renamed him Trucker Norm.

Shaw left WCW for WWE, and wrestled one match as Friar Ferguson--a pretty bizarre gimmick in its own right. However, the Catholic Church complained to WWE, and the gimmick was dropped immediately. Then Shaw became the gluttonous and gross Bastion Booger.

Booger didn't accomplish much in the WWE, but he was a highly visible low card talent during his tenure. He even did 'commentary' with Vince McMahon on an episode of Raw, where Booger mostly just ate.

#4. Dr. Issac Yankem, DDS.

Issac Yankem was Jerry Lawler's personal Dentist. For some reason, this made him join the WWE.

Our number four most bizarre WWE superstar is, believe it or not, a former WWE World Champion and a shoo in for the hall of fame.

Glen Jacobs, the man who would eventually strike gold as Undertaker's disfigured brother Kane, was initially given the Issac Yankem gimmick when he debuted with WWE. Story line wise, he was Jerry Lawler's personal Dentist, and Lawler brought in the behemoth Yankem to help against Bret Hart, with whom the King was feuding at the time.

Issac Yankem was a dentist with stained, misshapen teeth. Whether this was an attempt at irony, or just meant to make him look more menacing, is unknown. What is known is that WWE dropped the Issac Yankem gimmick shortly. After a stint as New Diesel, Jacobs was turned into the masked Kane and the rest is history.

#3. The Gobbledy Gooker

When it comes to bizarre WWE superstars, the Gobbledy Gooker takes the cake.

The idea of a man wrestling in a giant turkey suit might seem odd to us in the modern era, but...actually, it was pretty much a head scratcher even back in 1990.

For months ahead of Survivor Series 1990, which the WWE was pushing as a Thanksgiving tradition, there was a gigantic egg seen at WWE events. Mean Gene indicated that the egg would hatch at Survivor Series, and many fans speculated that it would crack open to reveal a major star, such as Sting or Vader.

Instead, a man in a stuffed turkey suit broke out. Beneath the costume was Mexican wrestling legend Hector Guerrero, the older brother of Eddie Guerrero. In a painfully long segment, Gobbledy Gooker danced with Mean Gene while the audience stared in silent misery.

Gooker only made one other appearance, at Wrestlemania 17 during the gimmick battle royal, but a different wrestler was under the mask.

#2. Goldust

The many faces of....INHALE...Goldust. — The many faces of

When you're a second generation wrestler, it can be a real challenge to escape your father's shadow.

It's even worse when your father is none other than the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. Dustin Runnels is the biological son of the Dream, and wrestled under the name Dustin Rhodes for WCW before following his father to WWE.

Once Dusty left WWE, Dustin remained under contract. He and Vince McMahon developed the Goldust character based on the Academy Award 'oscar' statuette. Goldust morphed from a man who played on homophobia to an actor who imitated his opponents before settling on the still bizarre character he would use for the rest of his WWE career.

Goldust's name is the Bizarre One, so it's only fitting that he be on our list. However, there is one wrestler who is just a little bit more bizarre than even Goldust.

#1. The Boogeyman.

Martin Wright was a former body builder who, despite being ten years too old, tried out for WWE's Tough Enough reality show.

Wright lied about his age, claiming to be thirty when he was really in his forties. Even though he made the first grueling cut, he was fired for lying about his age. But WWE saw potential in Wright, and signed him to a developmental contract in Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Boogeyman would make his main roster debut on Smackdown, and his gimmick was nothing short of brilliant. From the smoke, the worms, to Wright's prominent cleft palette, the character was designed to creep fans out.

Boogeyman would do such revolting acts as eat live worms, drop worms on his opponents, and smash a clock over his head. He ate a 'tumor' off of the face of Jillian Hall at one point, which might be his most infamous incident in WWE.

Unfortunately, Wright's age caught up to him and his career was ended by a leg injury. He has been signed to a Legends contract, however, so you never know when or where Boogeyman might pop up again.

There you have it; The ten most bizarre WWE superstars ever. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article, and as always thanks for reading!

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Edited by Porush Jain