The Great Eight: The Top 8 Horror Wrestling Gimmicks

It’s October, and that means Halloween is near and the spooky season is in full swing. This is my favorite time of year, it’s my favorite weather, and I love horror. I’ve always been drawn to the weird, spooky, monster-type gimmicks in wrestling. I know that times have changed, and people aren’t as invested in them as they used to be, but they will always hold a special place in my heart.

Whether we are talking deranged psychopaths like Abyss or Mankind, the supernatural elements of The Undertaker and Kane, or weird cult leaders like Bray Wyatt, I am here for them all. So, with Samhaim almost upon us, let’s discuss the best horror-inspired gimmicks in wrestling!

Disclaimer: This is my list; if you don’t like it or have a different list, awesome! Please share your own list and opinions in the comments section. I welcome open discourse about this wacky art we all love. It is an art form, so it is subjective; we all have our opinions on it, and all of them are valid. So, if you want to share your thoughts and opinions, refrain from insulting others for their opinions. There is enough negativity in the world right now; let’s not add to it. And with that, on to the list!

Honorable Mentions: James Mitchell, Doink the Clown, and Luna Vachon.

8: Rosemary

Rosemary has been a TNA mainstay for almost a decade now. She started as part of Decay and has been a part of every weird and spooky thing in TNA since.

Rosemary has been able to hold down the Knockouts’ division since she first showed up. While many women have come and gone from the company, Rosemary and her creepy world have helped to keep it going through the years. Her angles with James Mitchell, Su Yung, and Allie Catch have all been weird, creepy, and delightful to watch.

7: Kevin Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan would take inspiration from the ongoing Satan Panic and would debut in the CWF with an occultist cult leader. He would lead his Army of Darkness against the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, and Mike Graham.

It didn’t matter that Sullivan was only 5’9. His character work made him a believable threat to the top stars of Florida. His five-year run inspired many on this list and should be required homework for anyone wanting to do any sort of horror gimmick.

6: Matanza Cueto

Lucha Underground was a fantastic fever dream of a wrestling promotion. Jeff Cobb would debut as “The Monster” Matanza Cueto in March of 2016, winning the Lucha Underground Championship in his first match. He would stay a dominant force in the promotion until he was killed off in season 4.

Cobb’s size allowed him to look huge against many of the members of the LU roster. He legit looked like he could tear most of the wrestlers apart, and backed up his look with great in-skills as well. While the character and promotion didn’t last long, Cueto was one of the many parts of the promotion that set it apart from everything else around it.

5: Kane

Fans first heard about Kane in April of 1997, but he wouldn’t debut until Bad Blood in October. From the moment we heard “That’s got to be Kane!” to his retirement 23 years later, Kane struck awe and fear into the hearts of fans. His initial run as the half-brother of The Undertaker would play out like a horror soap opera, filled with betrayal, arson, attempted murder, and disfigurement. From there, Kane and The Undertaker would spend the rest of their careers as enemies and partners.

Kane would slowly become more humanized as time went on, and as the character was losing it’s appeal, he was forced to unmask, and that unleashed a whole new monster version of Kane. Gone was the humanized Kane, and the monster returned. He set Jim Ross on fire, hooked a car battery up to Shane McMahon’s testicles, and starred in a slasher film. Kane will forever be remembered for his runs as a vicious monster. Even if those runs were divided between things like Team Hell No and cutting comedy promos with Hulk Hogan and The Rock.

4: Abyss

For 16 years, The Monster of Abyss ran roughshod over the TNA roster. Abyss had a unique look. When he first showed up as a masked man, dressed in his denim pants and shirt, he looked like something out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While he would change his look up a bit over the next 16 years, and even play his own brother for a while, Abyss always looked like a killer. He would be involved in most of the more hardcore and bloody matches in TNA, which added to his aura as a monster.

My favorite run of his was with Decay; Crazzy Steve added a nice contrast to Abyss’s style. Highly underrated, Abyss provided a monster for others to overcome. And while he unselfishly put others over, he never struggled to regain his own heat. Of course, carrying around a spiked 2×4 named Janice probably helped with that.

3: Bray Wyatt

During his time on the original iteration of NXT and as a member of The Nexus, I doubt anyone thought Husky Harris would amount to much. But a repackage in 2012 would birth the character of Bray Wyatt. Taking inspiration from Dan Spivey’s Waylon Mercy gimmick as well as Robert De Niro’s portrayal of Max Cady in Cape Fear, Rotunda would go on to craft a legacy of horror that continues on to this day.

The first iteration of Bray Wyatt would be that of the backwoods cult leader, leading his family on a path of destruction through NXT and the main roster. While the booking of the Wyatt Family wasn’t always the best, losing more feuds than winning. Thanks to Wyatt’s intensity, cryptic promos, and the menacing presence of Luke Harper, Erik Rowan, and later Braun Strowman, The Family was able to stay over and be a constant threat to whomever they set their sights on.

After a hiatus, Bray Wyatt would return with his Firefly Fun House vignettes. The creepy take on the Saturday morning kids’ show would give birth to The Fiend, a character that, like most horror franchises, had both amazing and awful moments. Unfortunately, Rotunda would pass away at the age of 36, but as I said, his legacy lives on with The Wyatt Sicks, who have carved their own path of horror in the mid-card of the WWE.

2: Mankind

The chances of Cactus Jack getting signed to the WWF in the mid-1990s were slim. Thankfully, Jim Ross was persistent and was able to convince Vince McMahon to give him a shot as someone to feud with The Undertaker. Given a new gimmick, fans would be introduced to Mankind on April 1st, 1996. His entire presentation was so unlike anything else in the WWF at the time. Having both an entrance music and a separate melodic piece play when he won, showed the contrast of the unrestrained monster before inflicting violence and the peace he felt after. He would tear out his own hair, hit himself, and use a lilting voice to showcase his derangement.

The crowning piece of his first year with the WWF was his sit-down interview with Jim Ross, shown in multiple parts. We got to see not just Mankind, but for the first time, Mick Foley. Not the Foley we would come to love, but one that seemed just as deranged and broken as the character he portrayed. Those promos showed a man driven to insanity by his desire for love and acceptance. These were groundbreaking in wrestling for the time period. And while Mankind would soon morph and change into something less horrific. The first year and a change of his run will always be remembered for the terrifying presence he brought to the show.

1: The Undertaker

I don’t think the number one was in any doubt. From his debut at the 1990 Survivor Series to the Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, Undertaker was one of the scariest presences on the WWE roster. Others were bigger physically, but it was rare for someone to match the mystique and aura of The Undertaker. Starting as an old west style Undertaker meets Zombie, we would see many different iterations of the character in the three decades that would follow.

It would be during the Attitude Era that we would see the most horror-esque version. The Ministry of Darkness, led by The Undertaker, would add in both Satanic and cult leader vibes to The Undertaker’s character. We would see the group kidnap other wrestlers, brainwash some, and attempt to murder others. Their promo videos would be filled with Satanic-sounding messages calling for an era of tribulation in the WWF. Unfortunately, the end of the angle wasn’t great, with McMahon being revealed as the Higher Power controlling the group. But up until that point? The Ministry Undertaker was able to provide fans with a taste of religious horror not seen on that scale before.

After his American Badass and Big Evil runs, The Undertaker would return to his roots and bring back the old west undead style, just updated for the 2000s. Over the next 16 years, The Undertaker would grow to mythic proportions, using the horror trappings to get inside the head of his opponents. It is during this time that he would also have his best matches and become, almost, bigger than the World Championship matches at Wrestlemania.