Professional wrestling, at its basic level, is a choreographed match between two or more people who put on a story for the audience. And while that would seemingly be enough, there is much more to pro wrestling than that. Bizarre and controversial storylines have been used, including ones of the supernatural variety. Wrestlers like The Undertaker and Papa Shango helped to familiarize fans with the supernatural in wrestling.
The Undertaker as the Living Dead
The Undertaker is the most popular, well-known and obvious example of a supernatural character in wrestling. He is often referred to as the Deadman, and has been referred to as the living dead many times. At Royal Rumble 1994 he was defeated in a casket match against Yokozuna, and Undertaker declared that he would not rest in peace, indicating that he knew he could not be destroyed.
He returned clad in a new costume, and with more magical powers than ever. He continued to rely on the mysterious urn that his manager Paul Bearer carried with him. Whenever Taker was in trouble in the ring, Bearer would hold up the urn and the Phenom would seemingly draw strength from it and attack with renewed vigor.
The Undertaker has also returned seemingly from the dead many times, as he has been buried alive, set on fire, driven through a huge screen, and locked in a casket. Yet he always returned stronger and fiercer than ever. The Phenom cannot be defeated by ordinary means, it seems, and like a zombie he keeps coming back.
Papa Shango as a Voodoo Priest
Papa Shango was one of the characters of Charles Wright, the wrestler more popularly known as The Godfather. His perhaps most notorious moment came when he put a curse on The Ultimate Warrior, which caused the Warrior to vomit and bleed from his head. He was not a very successful wrestler, and only lasted about a year. He did make time for a match with his supernatural rival The Undertaker, however.
Gangrel as a Vampire
Gangrel was not officially called a vampire by the World Wrestling Federation, but was described as living a “gothic lifestyle”, along with the members of his Brood, Edge and Christian. However, before he would begin his matches he drank a mysterious red liquid from a goblet and constantly sported fangs. David Heath, who portrayed Gangrel, was previously known as Vampire Warrior. Therefore the implication is obvious.
The Boogeyman as a Bogeyman
In 2005, The Boogeyman became part of WWE. He would often sing demented nursery rhymes, cackle, and tell opponents that he was “coming to get” them. Before he began his matches, he ate live worms. What exactly The Boogeyman was besides a bogeyman is not clear, but his ability to frighten his opponents, and even John Cena implies that he is the ghostly, monstrous figure of childhood nightmares.
Kane as a Fire Starter
Although Kane is not strictly a zombie like his brother The Undertaker, he does appear to have some magical powers in that he is able to make fire shoot out of the ring posts when he makes his ring entrance. However, unlike the Phenom, Kane is acknowledged as being a living human.
The Zombie as a Zombie
This ECW wrestling character, which lasted only one night, was a supernatural creature made of real-life wrestler Tim Roberts. On June 13, 2006, Roberts wrestled as The Zombie against The Sandman. He did not even put up a fight as The Sandman defeated him after several shots to the head with a Singapore cane. The Zombie proved he was really a zombie because he walked with arms outstretched and groaned loudly like movie zombies.
Although only a few wrestlers have been the embodiment of the supernatural, wrestling has nevertheless tapped into the public’s love of horror and mystery and spooky things with these characters. There may not be much of a place for them in today’s WWE, but they will be remembered by fans.
Sources:
Profiles, Online World of Wrestling
Jillian Bost - Jillian Bost is an experienced writer with interests ranging from Victorian literature to 1980s pop and professional wrestling.
Join the Conversation