World Wrestling Entertainment has always been a hotbed for larger-than life characters, and so it stands to reason that millions of fans around the world celebrate their heroes with some awesome cosplay. Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Undertaker, and Sasha Banks make for great dress-up choices around Halloween, but when you dig deeper into WWE’s archives, you’ll find some pretty outlandish attire.
Muscle & Fitness takes a walk on the surreal side, as we lovingly observe some of the most absurd outfit choices ever to grace the squared circle. Since WWE owns the back catalogue of former rival wrestling group WCW, we can consider some of their atrocities for good measure, too.
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Making her first high-profile appearance at WrestleMania 9 in Caesars Palace as the valet of Shawn Michaels, it became clear that Luna was not your average manager. Growing up within a pro wrestling family (her father was “The Butcher” and her uncle was the “Mad Dog”), Luna quickly learned that larger-than-life characters connected better with fans, and this knowledge served her well in WWE.
Vachon was the complete antidote to women being used as trophies and ring girls, and much like Sensational Sherri, she could really wrestle. But some of her outfits were pretty risqué for pre-WWE Attitude Era TV screens, with the snarled leather get-ups and garish veins painted on her head. Despite this, Vachon still managed to turn her ghastly ring costumes up a notch when paired with Goldust in the late ‘90s, albeit in a ‘tongue in cheek’ way.
There was a time from 1992 –1997 that terrible ring gear seemed to be the order of the day in WWE. While they pumped out characters based on plumbers, race car drivers, and garbage men, their rivals at WCW started to win the ratings war with reality-based characters like Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.
With that in mind, it really is beyond belief that Ron Simmons—a celebrated defensive tackle at Florida State University and the first African-American World Heavyweight Champion in pro wrestling history—would be dressed up as a corny looking Gladiator (complete with dime store ‘helmet’) for Monday Night RAW. Thankfully it wasn’t long before WWE started to figure out this particular fashion faux pas, and Faarooq was soon repackaged and re-dressed as the fearless Leader of the Nation of Domination. He later found even more success with John “Bradshaw” Layfield as one half of the tag team known as the APA (Acolytes Protection Agency).
Before he double-crossed Farooq to become the new leader of the Nation of Domination, Rocky Maivia was anything but hip. His initial debut, at the 1996 Survivor Series, was met with eye-rolling rather than the fan hysteria that he enjoys today. There’s no doubt that this third-generation WWE Superstar was enthusiastic, but his exaggerated movements were overshadowed by a cartoonish, heavily tasselled outfit that seemed to be inspired by the fan favorites of the ’80s, rather than the edgier characters that were catching on in the late ‘90s.
There are some people in this world that can get away with wearing pretty much any outfit and still look better than most anyone else. Such is the case with veteran WWE Superstar, Alicia Fox, but at times this femme fatale really pushes the boundaries of good taste straight out of the window.
Alicia’s ego soured when she beat Sasha Banks and Bailey, winning the right to lead the Women’s RAW team at Survivor Series in 2017. Since then, her self-awareness issues have shown no signs of abating. Who can forget that comedic mirrored dress that fell apart during a backstage brawl, or the time she headed to the ring dressed as a sexy ship captain, complete with a fake parrot on her shoulder? Alicia is crazy like a fox, but we love her for it.
Sometimes a weirdly dressed pro wrestling character is the product of genius. Take Goldust, whose attire was fully intended to look bizarre in order to fit with his sexually ambiguous persona. Or the masked Mankind, a tortured and sadomasochistic soul who eventually became a fan favourite.
But when it comes to The Berzerker, he was quite simply a Viking, and that was the sum total of his deal. The idea that a rea-life Viking would be doing the rounds on the United States pro wrestling circuit in 1992, almost a thousand years after they were defeated in England, is outlandish enough, but aside from being a Viking, he was inexplicably paired with legendary manager Mr. Fuji, and given one catch phrase – “Huss!”
When the only WWE Superstar ever to be billed as hailing from “Outer Space” made his debut in 1992, he was initially named “The Comet Kid” but was soon re-introduced as Max Moon. This intergalactic grappling gimmick was originally intended for Konnan, but was ultimately bestowed on Paul Diamond. Long-time WWE fans will recall that Diamond also used the name Kato, as one half of the Orient Express tag team.
The premise of the Max Moon character made some sense as the world hurtled forward into the digital age, but the movie Tron had been released 10 years earlier, making WWE late to the sci-fi party. Unlike a great movie, there was no backstory or dialogue for Moon, and so he left the WWE Universe in 1993, presumably for a galaxy far, far away.
As WrestleMania 9 approached, WWE officials were keen to find an opponent that fans would see as tough competition for the Undertaker. To this end, they signed the late Jorge González and gave him the name “Giant Gonzales.” Standing almost 8 feet tall, González was a true giant, and as such, not much creative input was needed to make the big man look like a worthy rival for the Deadman.
However, instead of focusing on González’s NBA career or simply hyping him up as an intimidating big man (who had already established himself as a main event wrestler in WCW), they decided to dress him in a skin-tight full-body leotard, designed to make him look naked (except for some bushy hair which was attached to the suit). The caveman ring attire was a bone-headed idea, and so the character failed to reach the dizzying heights that were expected for this giant.
It’s hard to know where to start with this outfit. Bastion Booger’s ring character was not that of a world class athlete; he was presented instead as a fat slob who pummelled his opponents purely through a somewhat unhealthy weight advantage. Booger would be seen stuffing his face with junk food on countless occasions in the ring, and his dull grey ‘leotard’ seemed to be the result of food stains, sweat, and a distinct lack of laundry time.
The late Mike Shaw played the character, and he had a history of terrible ring personas during the ’80s and ’90s. He was known as the “Mad Monk” in WCW, but his short stint as Booger with WWE in the mid ’90s is still remembered to this day, if only for its ridiculousness.
From time to time, a pro wrestling character is bestowed on a performer, and it is just so bad that you assume it was given to them out of spite. Such is the case with the “Red Rooster” gimmick. To play the role of the Rooster, Terry Taylor, an established pro wrestler in his own right, had to cluck and strut to the ring. He even wore a red stripe down the centre of his head for good measure.
This poultry persona is a prime example of the fine line WWE treads when applying cartoonish gimmicks to their Superstars. WWE has always been high on characters that can sell T-shirts and action figures, but for every smash like the Undertaker… there’s a flop like the Red Rooster.
The more you look into some of the craziest characters in pro wrestling, the more you find that they are played by some of history’s greatest grapplers. The fact that Brad Armstrong, who belongs to one of pro wrestling’s most revered families, found himself playing Arachnaman makes this costume even more legendary.
Arachnaman was born as a result of a deal between WCW and Marvel Comics that was originally intended to bring the genuine Spider-Man character between the ropes, but when the project went south WCW simply ploughed on with their own version of one of the world’s most famous superheroes. Arachnaman made his debut in 1992, and in no way was he similar to Spider-Man (*cough*). In fact, his purple and gold masked outfit couldn’t have been any more different to the real Spidey (yeah, right). In the end, Marvel Comics defeated the mighty Arachnama by serving WCW with a cease and desist order.
When compiling a list of the worst dressed wrestlers of all time, the Gobbledy Gooker wins the crown with ease. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that having a WWE Superstar compete in a full Turkey suit is perhaps the most ridiculous concept ever, and the second reason is that the way this character was built up over the course of several weeks, only to end in bitter disappointment for the fans makes the Gobbledy Gooker idea as unforgiveable as it was inane.
As we headed towards the Survivor Series in 1990, an enormous egg was placed in arenas all over the country, with the promise that it would hatch on Thanksgiving, at the Survivor Series. Speculation was rampant with WWE fans in terms of which wrestler could be inside the egg. Some theorized that the hatching would mark the return of “Ravishing” Ric Rude, others thought it would be the unveiling of the next big Superstar. Instead, they quite literally got a turkey of an idea.
As the day of the event finally came around, fans were at fever pitch, desperate to know who would hatch from the egg. But when a man dressed as a turkey made a break from the egg, the crowd gave out a large jeer. Mean Gene Okerlund tried to sound excited as the Gobbledy Gooker arose and led him to the ring for an inexplicable dance session in the ring. Almost 30 years later, this segment goes down as one of the most non-sensical concepts in history, and is made all the more excruciating when you know that the turkey was played by Héctor Guerrero, one of wrestling’s absolute greats.
Thankfully, WWE is able to laugh at itself and has provided us with some great sendups of this moment over the years, like in 2014 when Maryse attacked Melina, disguised as The Gobbledy Gooker
