At one time, WWE used to specialize in bringing in over-the-top characters but has relied mostly on just presenting wrestlers doing their craft for the last decade. With that said, the idea of a terrifying wrestler has a strong history in WWE.

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Managers like Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mr. Fuji brought in monster wrestlers to terrorize babyfaces. There are a lot of examples of the monsters that made babyface so heroic. Even in the Attitude Era, when Stone Cold and The Rock were on top, there were monsters around to terrorize the masses. In modern times, wrestlers like Aleister Black and Bray Wyatt held the torch high for monster characters.

UPDATE: 2023/09/24 07:30 EST BY ETHAN SCHLABAUGH

WWE has maintained its status as the biggest wrestling promotion in the United States, so, in turn, they have had countless names and different gimmicks come through. Some of these names and characters have attempted to be more on the scary side and mimic the feeling fans get when they see The Undertaker or Kane. Some of these superstars left a great legacy behind such as Bull Nakano and others left much to be desired like The Boogeyman. In addition to these names, there are still so many more that the WWE tried to make become something over the many years the promotion has existed.

17 The Boogeyman

The Boogeyman WWE

Something about a man who smashes a clock on his head and holds live worms in his mouth is pretty scary. The Boogeyman is one of WWE's most beloved supernatural characters and Martin Wright managed to do a lot more with the gimmick than a lesser wrestler could.

While championship wins were hard to come by, he spent most of his time terrorizing wrestlers - something he continues to do to this day in sporadic appearances for the promotion.

16 Luna Vachon

Luna Vachon Cropped

Luna Vachon made her WWE debut when she accompanied Shawn Michaels to the ring when he defended his Intercontinental Championship against Tatanka at WrestleMania 9. After the match, she attacked Sensational Sherri multiple times leading to the start of a feud between the two women.

Vachon also had a feud against Alundra Blayze over the WWE Women's Championship, a title she wouldn't ever get the chance to hold, before she left the promotion. Vachon also made history when she was the first woman to be included in a WWE video game with her appearance on WWF Raw in 1994.

15 Bull Nakano

Bull Nakano

Bull Nakano is a Japanese legend and her unfortunately short stint in WWE established her as one of the most intimidating and frightening women in the entire industry.

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It wasn't just that Nakano brought unrivaled intensity in the ring - everything about her character was built on striking fear in the hearts of opponents. Her face paint and hair made for an iconic look out of the gate, but her finisher is one of the most painful-looking submissions in wrestling history. Her move would later be adopted by Saraya as her own finisher the PTO (Paige Tap Out).

14 Viscera

Viscera WWE

Nelson Frazier Jr. played a few characters during his time in WWE, but the scariest was undoubtedly his run as Viscera. Viscera was introduced to fans as an enforcer of the Ministry of Darkness. He wore white-out lenses, bleached his hair, and sported a bodysuit. Coupled with Frazier's build and overall imposing presence, Viscera was a truly frightening sight to behold.

What made him so effective was that he was effortlessly scary, which is pretty rare in the business. Unfortunately, his in-ring work never matched his intimidating presence and his matches were often marred by very middling and botch-filled offense.

13 The Brood

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Starting with the arrival of Gangrel, who previously worked as The Vampire Warrior, the faction of The Brood started to take shape. Soon after both Edge and Christian debuted and aligned themselves with the vampiric character with all men portraying members of a vampire cult.

The original formation of the trio didn't last long and split in the summer of 1999. Another popular tag team at the time instead took Edge and Christian's roles in The Brood, those being Matt and Jeff Hardy, long-time rivals of Edge and Christian.

12 Kevin Thorn

Ariel And Kevin Thorn ecw

Kevin Fertig had multiple gimmicks during his time in WWE starting as a character named Seven while in Ohio Valley Wrestling, later becoming Mordecai, and eventually Kevin Thorn while in the WWE rebrand of ECW.

Mordecai and Kevin Thorn stand out as his most popular. After getting some more training in OVW and a short time away from the WWE, Fertig was rehired and brought in to work on ECW with a new vampire character alongside his valet Ariel. The original plan was to have them partner with Gangrel similar to a third version of The Brood but those plans never materialized.

11 Waylon Mercy

Waylon Mercy

Dan Spivey played Waylon Mercy in only a handful of matches but made a big impression in that time towards the end of his career. This character was inspired by Robert De Niro's portrayal of Max Cady in Cape Fear.

His work with this character eventually influenced the creation of Bray Wyatt's backwater cult-leader character, as both men worked closely to bring it to life. So even if fans didn't get a good look at Waylon Mercy, his spirit lived on in Bray Wyatt.

10 Bray Wyatt (The Fiend)

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Bray Wyatt's Fiend persona was the most frightening thing WWE had given fans in years. It was a callback to men like Mankind, who came to the ring in a mask, with ominous music, and only cared about hurting people. However, Bray Wyatt added something to his performance.

He was The Fiend, the scary monster who wants to hurt anyone and everyone who gets in his way. There was also Bray Wyatt, who acted as a rehabilitated children's show host who wanted people to follow him. It is similar to Mick Foley, who himself had multiple personalities. Bray Wyatt is a genius and one of the scariest wrestlers in WWE history. With his passing in 2023, he leaves behind a terrifying legacy in WWE.

9 The Undertaker

paul-bearer-the-undertaker-wwe

Undertaker is the number one example of WWE creating a scary character with a basis in horror movies and turning him into something special. When Undertaker was in WCW, he was just a big guy. When he came to WWE, he was the Deadman, a zombie-like character who came to the ring and put his opponents in body bags at the end of matches.

When the Attitude Era arrived, Undertaker morphed into more of a supernatural cult leader. He had superhuman powers, which included shooting electricity, and even ascended after his "death" in one match. He led a group called The Ministry where he was his scariest, and he became a true icon over time in WWE.

8 Kane

Kane - Debut In Your House Bad Blood 1997 Cropped

When Undertaker first appeared in WWE, he was Kaine the Undertaker. WWE dropped the name Kaine and Undertaker was all that remained. However, Paul Bearer turned on Undertaker and started to tell tales of a long-lost brother that Undertaker had named Kane.

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The story was that Undertaker burned down his family's mortuary as a child and killed them. His brother, though, survived and was burned and driven mad. That was Kane, who then returned to WWE and sought revenge against Undertaker. For years, Kane was even scarier than Undertaker and reigned hellfire and brimstone onto those he crossed paths with.

7 Doink The Clown

Doink The Clown Lays Down In WWE Ring

Looking back on Doink the Clown it is easy to see him as a stupid gimmick. However, the original booking for Doink was not what the character morphed into. See, when Matt Bourne came to WWE, he took on the role of Doink, and he was a terrifying WWE character.

Doink the Clown was not the lovable prank-pulling clown wrestler that others portrayed him as later. Doink was an evil clown. He was sinister and cheated to win, using dastardly tactics. When he saw kids in the audience, his goal was to scare them. The original Doink the Clown was brilliant and scary, and it only took WWE a short time to ruin him.

6 Papa Shango

Papa Shango

When Godfather received his WWE Hall of Fame induction, he spoke about the different gimmicks he had to portray before he found the one that clicked. He said playing the Godfather gave him a chance to be himself. However, before that, he was an MMA fighter, and after that, he was the Goodfather.

With that said his first character was a scary wrestler known as Papa Shango. His entire purpose was to come in and feud with Undertaker, giving one scary supernatural character an even scarier one to battle. He was a voodoo priest and could control Undertaker when he got the urn, but his time was short in WWE.

5 Mankind

Mankind Vs Undertaker Boiler Room Brawl Cropped

As mentioned, Bray Wyatt is a modern-day Mankind. Before Mick Foley came to WWE, he was Cactus Jack. He was a brawler and a hardcore wrestler in WCW, Japan, and ECW. When WWE signed him, they gave him a scary gimmick change — Mankind.

RELATED: 10 Things Mick Foley Never Accomplished In WrestlingMankind was a mentally unstable person with schizophrenia who came to the ring in a mask and would often sit in the corner, ripping his hair out, while screaming "Mommy." He lived in boiler rooms and destroyed everyone he got his hands on. This led to his feud with Undertaker and Foley becoming a legend.

4 The Wild Samoans

The Wild Samoans Cropped

Looking at the modern-day Samoan Dynasty in WWE, fans see the trash-talking Usos, The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, and the mega-successful Hollywood movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. However, at one time, the idea of the Samoans was scary — with even modern-day examples of Umaga showing monsters who destroyed their opponents.

In the '90s, the Samoan Swat Team was a scary duo that ran all over WCW and WWE. However, this all started back in the '70s with a tag team comprised of Afa and Sika — The Wild Samoans. They barely spoke and were two of the scariest wrestlers in the world, winning 21 tag team titles along the way.

3 Kamala

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In the '80s, there was a manager in the territories called General Skandar Akbar. He brought in monsters from all over wrestling to work for him in Devastation Incorporated. These men included Kamala, One Man Gang, Missing Link, and many more. Many of these wrestlers went on to WWE with different gimmicks.

Kamala kept his gimmick in WWE, as a Ugandan savage. He always had a handler in Devastation Incorporated known as Friday and kept it in WWE. He had Classy Freddie Blassie managing him when he arrived and was a scary monster who ran all over everyone until Hulk Hogan finally ended the threat. His final feud in WWE was against Andre the Giant.

2 Luke Harper & Erick Rowan

Harper and Rowan

There have always been scary tag teams in professional wrestling. Demolition was one of the most famous in the '80s, managed by Mr. Fuji before they had a face turn. Recently, two former members of the Wyatt Family reunited and formed a team known as The Bludgeon Brothers.

This team was Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, and they destroyed everyone. WWE pushed them hard, having them dominate even great tag teams like The Usos and New Day. It didn't look like anyone could beat them — until real-life injuries slowed them down.

1 Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Jake The Snake Roberts Blinded

Not all scary wrestlers in WWE look like monsters. This fact is true with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, someone who was just a regular guy, albeit a very evil man. Jake came to the ring with his snake, Damien and often laid him across an opponent after beating them.

Jake also was the master at psychological warfare and often had his opponents beaten before they ever stepped into the ring with him. It is something that Bray Wyatt is mastering right now in WWE as well. Jake took Undertaker to the brink of sanity and drove Macho Man Randy Savage completely nuts. He was evil and as scary as anyone.