From Raven’s Nest to the Dark Order, pro wrestling has never had a shortage of misfits banding together to be stronger as a group than they are alone. In the Attitude Era in WWE, the promotion had one of the most outrageous bands of outcasts in the Oddities.
Composed of monster heels and other performers who didn’t totally fit the mold of what the average pro wrestler should be, the Oddities lasted less than a year, so fans might not be as aware of them compared to bigger groups of the day like D-Generation X. Let’s take a look at what fans should know about the Oddities, from their origins to their interactions with bigger-name stars.
10 Managed By The Jackyl
Originally managing the Oddities was Don Callis, who adopted the persona of the Jackyl in 1997, becoming the messianic leader of the militaristic faction known as the Truth Commission. During his time with the Commission he’d align with the Interrogator, and their relationship would lead to Jackyl ordering Interrogator to eliminate teammates Recon and Sniper from the group. From there, Interrogator would eventually adopt the name Kurrgan and the two would be the foundation of the Oddities stable.
9 Started Out As Heels
Initially introduced by the Jackyl as “the Parade of Human Oddities,” the Oddities — despite being persecuted outcasts — were first presented as a group of villains. Due to their sheer size, Golga, Kurrgan, and Giant Silva being obvious monster heel type wrestlers, while the group’s sole female member Luna Vachon was a regular terror in WWE’s women’s division. In their early days, Golga and Kurrgan wrestled the most, often in tag team matches, while Giant Silva only occasionally stepped into the ring.
8 Golga Was John Tenta, a.k.a. Earthquake
The Oddities didn’t just look like monster heels — one of them actually had experience in taking on a top babyface. Former sumo wrestler John Tenta signed to WWE in 1989, adopting the gimmick of Earthquake and putting on a pretty big feud with Hulk Hogan going into SummerSlam 1990. He even held the Tag Team Championship as one half of the Natural Disasters.
After returning to WWE from WCW, reportedly Tenta had lost too much weight for the Earthquake gimmick to still seem credible. Instead, he was incorporated into the Oddities as a new character, Golga, who wore a mask to cover up a kayfabe disfigurement.
7 Inspired By Howard Stern
While carnival freak shows were an obvious touchstone for the Oddities gimmick, there was also one explicit influence on the concept: radio shock jock Howard Stern, who was incredibly popular at the time. WWE creative writer Vince Russo was a huge fan of The Howard Stern Show, which was known for featuring a cadre of misfits known as “the Wack Pack,” and sought to bring some of that energy into wrestling. Several Wack Pack member even appeared with the Oddities on an episode of Raw, a moment that Vince Russo thinks changed wrestling forever for some reason.
6 Quickly Turned Babyface
In WWE, it feels inevitable that an imposing monster heel eventually becomes a loveable goofball, but such a fate befell the Oddities with a quickness. With Jackyl moving on to manage the Acolytes, the Oddities were recast as babyfaces after only a couple of months, re-debuting as fun-loving freaks in late July of 1998. Suddenly Kurrgan became known for his dancing — which the Jackyl admittedly warned him about — while Golga started wearing South Park T-shirts and carrying around a plush Eric Cartman doll.
5 Grouped With Sable
A crucial part of the Oddities’ babyface reinvention was an alignment with Sable, who was at the time one of WWE’s top female stars and was credited in kayfabe for causing them to turn over a new leaf. Notably, Sable and Luna Vachon had feuded before this, leading to WWE’s first Evening Gown Match. As part of their new direction, the Oddities allied with Sable against her husband turned kayfabe rival, Marc Mero, with Golga beating him on the same episode of Raw where they returned as faces.
4 The Insane Clown Posse Joined The Group
The Oddities weren’t just bolstered by the presence of Sable — they also found themselves aligned with the Insane Clown Posse, a duo of misfit rappers who were also huge wrestling fans. Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J didn’t just accompany the Oddities to the ring — they also recorded new theme music for the group.
The Oddities’ big in-ring debut as a heroic team would happen at SummerSlam 1998 as Kurrgan, Golga, and Giant Silva took on Kai En Tai in a poorly received three-on-four handicap match, which the Oddities won after 10 grueling minutes.
3 Feuded With The Headbangers
However, not every other misfit in WWE ended up befriending the Oddities. The Headbangers were another outcast type act on the roster, but their attempt to align with the Oddities wasn’t entirely honest, as Mosh and Thrasher ended up attacking the group when they least expected it. A feud between the two parties ensued, with Insane Clown Posse regularly getting involved in the action until Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent Jay ended up turning on the Oddities to side with the Headbangers instead.
2 Brought George “The Animal” Steele Back
To aid the Oddities in their rivalry with the Headbangers, the group found a legend who had previously done the “monster heel to goofy babyface” transition: George “The Animal” Steele. Debuting in 1965, Steele spent over two decades performing for WWE, becoming iconic for his excessive body hair, blue tongue, and tendency to eat turnbuckle pads. Steele would join the Oddities in two matches, taking on Disciples of Apocalypse and Too Much twice in eight-man tag matches, and losing both times.
1 Released In 1999
However, by this point, the Oddities were clearly on a downslide. Not only did they lose those two above matches with DOA and Too Much in unceremonious fashion, but Luna Vachon ditched the group, turning heel and rekindling her feud with Sable, this time for the Women’s Championship. After a poor showing at the 1999 Royal Rumble for both Golga and Kurrgan, whatever Oddities were still in the group were all released from the company in February of that same year.