The 30 Scariest WWE Superstars Ever

Wrestling is hands down the most frightening sport out there. When it comes to inducing fear, these wrestlers make blood run cold. Part human and part monster, they are just as frightening as any creature from legend, literature, or film. Here are the 30 scariest WWE superstars ever.

30. The Wild Samoans

The Polynesian Island country has a reputation for growing some big, bad boys, many of whom have had dominant careers in the NFL, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and sumo. Afa and Sika were huge and downright scary with their giant Afros and Fu Manchu mustaches. They sometimes bit their opponents. In their career, they held 20 tag-team championships around the world.

29. Bull Nakano

Japanese wrestler Bull Nakano debuted in the WWF in 1994 and emerged as a frightening, brutal diva with spiked green hair, and creepy, spider web-like designs painted on her face. She demonstrated freakish athleticism. She competed for the WWF Women’s Champion and lost against Alundra Blayze. She held the title for 134 days in 1995 before losing it to Blayze.

28. Nailz

Nailz (Kevin Wacholz) emerged in 1992 as an ex-convict who alleged he was abused by former prison guard Big Boss Man during his incarceration. In his prison-issued orange jumpsuit, Nailz was billed at six-foot-five and weighed 302 pounds. He spoke with an angry growl that frightened opponents and fans alike. He faced The Big Boss Man in a Nightstick Match.

27. Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon

Canadian wrestler Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon competed in the 1948 Olympic Games in London at age 18. Only 5′-7″, Vachon proved terrifying things come in small packages, reinventing himself as “Mad Dog” in the AWA in the late 1950s. With teeth like a picket fence and a voice like gargled sand, Vachon was as ferocious as a pit bull.

26. Kevin Thorn & Ariel

In 2006, the WWE re-launch of ECW saw the debut of vampire Kevin Thorn and his fanged female, Ariel. Thorn’s first match saw him defeat Little Guido Maritato, with Ariel acting as his valet. Thorn then began a feud with Balls Mahoney. Thorn & Ariel were poised to infest a vampire revolution in WWE, but they disappeared in 2007.

25. The Great Kabuki

Japanese Wrestler, “The Great Kabuki”, adopted the character created by his manager, Gary Hart, in 1981. He looked like an alien and painted his face, which was allegedly scarred in a bed of hot coals during a match. His mop-cut hairstyle hid most of his facial features. He intimidated opponents with a pre-match ritual that demonstrated his nunchaku skills.

24. Tor Johnson

Swedish strongman Tor Johnson stood six-foot-three and weighed 440 pounds at his heaviest. In the ring, he used the name Super Swedish Angel. Johnson shaved his head to look more villainous but had a full head of blond hair. He’s better known for his bit film roles, most notably those by Ed Wood.

23. Vampiro

Canadian wrestler Vampiro (Ian Hodgkinson) spent much of his career in Mexico. In the US, he held the WCW World Tag Team Championship with The Great Muta. He formed an alliance with Sting in early 2000 that degraded into a bitter rivalry. Vampiro became a frightening and reckless warrior who set Sting ablaze and tossed him from a balcony.

22. Pampero Firpo

Argentina-born Pampero Firpo (Juan Kachmanian) presented a frightening visage with his disheveled, unruly hair, shaggy beard, and beastly, growling voice. For three decades, his unpredictable and extremely unorthodox behavior in the ring kept competitors off balance. The animal-like superstar would do anything to win. His bear hugs and claw hold, which he called “El Garfio,” were savage.

21. Doink the Clown

Doink the Clown played tricks on fans at ringside and wrestlers, terrorizing them with his mad cackle. He wasn’t your funny circus clown, but rather terrifying like Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s novel It. In true clown fashion, Doink was a bit of a goof for WWE, and it lasted about four years. However, he continued to make surprise appearances.

20. Ox Baker

For over three decades, with his shaved head and black, bushy mustache, Ox Baker terrified opponents, and for good reason. The catchphrase of this six-foot-six, 320-pound beast was: “I love to hurt people!” His famous finishing move was the “heart punch,” also called the “hurt punch.” According to lore, Ox’s heart punch had ended the lives of two opponents.

19. Sycho Sid

At six-foot-nine and 317 pounds, Sycho Sid (Sidney Eudy) had one of the most physically imposing statures in wrestling. True to his psychotic handle, this sadistic competitor was bent on destruction. Equally maniacal were his deception and mind games. Eudy was a six-time world champion who also wrestled under the names Sid Justice and Sid Vicious.

18. The Missing Link

Discovered from “parts unknown,” The Missing Link wore wild green and blue face paint and shaved parts of his head. This crazy, out-of-control wild man was the bridge between human and beast. The Missing Link gave new meaning to the term “use your head” and was known for busting chairs and wreaking havoc in and out of the ring.

17. Vader

Big Van Vader, or simply Vader, was a monster at six-foot-five and 450 pounds. He sometimes wore a terrifying mask that consisted of a web of straps. The “Rocky Mountain Mastodon” set new brutality levels by severing Cactus Jack’s ear. Vader is regarded as one of the greatest super-heavyweight wrestlers ever and is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

16. Scary Sherri

Sherri Martel, Scary Sherri, was a pioneer in women’s sports entertainment. She made her debut in 1987, defeating The Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women’s Championship. As girlfriend or manager to male wrestlers, Sherri was a tough-as-nails diva who wouldn’t hesitate to inject herself into the fray. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

15. “King” Curtis Iaukea

Hawaiian-born Curtis Iaukea was an imposing figure at six foot three and 290 pounds. From his many battles, this fearless warrior had accumulated a roadmap of multiple permanent scars on his forehead that only increased his frightening image. For more than thirty years, his vicious style intimidated opponents. In the WCW, he was “The Master” of the “Dungeon Of Doom.”

14. Gangrel

Gangrel had one of the most frightening entrances in WWE, setting the stage ablaze and rising from below, carrying a goblet full of red liquid. Then, Gangrel would drink from the cup and spray crimson blood into the air. After all, he was a vampire. He formed an equally terrifying Gothic faction called The Brood with Edge and Christian.

13. The Wyatt Family

Straight out of Deliverance or the Manson Family is the tag team known as The Wyatt Family. Bray Wyatt was an evil cult leader, viewing himself as more monster than human. This villainous family slinked out of the Deep South’s bayous, where they maintained a haunting backwoods compound. Wyatt’s walking on his hands remains one of his most disturbing moments.

12. Andre the Giant

Making even Hulk Hogan look small, French wrestler Andre the Giant stood seven-foot-four and weighed 520 pounds. Literally larger-than-life, Andre was called “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” Though his size was terrifying, he is nonetheless one of the most beloved wrestling superstars of all time. He’s generally regarded as undefeated.

11. The Original Sheik

The Original Sheik, or simply The Sheik, is considered one of the originators of hard-core wrestling. From that standpoint, he’s scary because of the fact that he’d do anything to decimate his opponent. For example, he pulled a sharpened pencil from his trunks and stabbed it into his foe’s forehead, drawing blood. Worse, he threw fireballs seemingly out of nowhere.

10. Paul Bearer

Paul Bearer was, in fact, a licensed funeral director. His name was a play on the term pallbearer. He represented several superstars, such as The Undertaker. Bearer had a ghoulish, ghostly persona, and a trademark quivering, high-pitched voice. His famous mantra, the “power of the urn,” was where he used his spooky powers to help his wrestlers revive their strength.

9. Luna Vachon

Luna Vachon came from a family of wrestlers, including her father, “Butcher,” her uncle, “Mad Dog,” and her mother. She covered her body and face with scary-looking vein-like markings and terrified fans with her wild Mohawk and bloodcurdling screams. A sneer never left her face. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019.

8. Papa Shango

Papa Shango was the scariest persona of Charles Wright, based on Haitian voodoo Iwa Baron Samedi, as depicted in the film Live and Let Die. His face was painted like a skeletal demon. He wore a top hat with a bloodied feather and a necklace made of bones. This six-foot-six-inch and 330-pound witch doctor frightened any opponent who faced him.

7. “The French Angel” Maurice Tillet

Maurice Tillet looked like The Hunchback of Notre Dame without the hump. “The French Angel” was billed as “the freak ogre of wrestling.” In the 1930s and 40s, wrestling fans lined up to see this bald Frenchman with an abnormally sized head and feet. In truth, Tillet had acromegaly, a glandular syndrome that can cause disfigurement and gigantism.

6. Kevin Sullivan

Wearing different makeup variations, some of which brought to mind the rock group KISS, Kevin Sullivan dubbed himself “The Prince of Darkness” long before Ozzy Osbourne. He evolved into a cult leader and led his “Army of Darkness” down the aisles, each of them carrying snakes. In the ring, his cronies covered him with reptiles in a strange ritual.

5. Kane

A monster of a man at seven feet and 323 pounds, Spanish wrestler Kane wore terrifying red and black masks. He was touted as The Devil’s Favorite Demon. His fighting style was horrifying, setting men on fire or burying them alive. He dominated nearly every competitor he ever faced. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.

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4. Abdullah the Butcher

Canadian wrestler Abdullah the Butcher lived up to his name with a reputation for being in some of the most violent and bloodied hard-core matches ever. This earned him the nickname of the “Madman from Sudan.” He jabbed opponents with a rusty fork. His forehead bears deep slots. Abdullah also employed his knowledge of judo and karate.

3. The Boogeyman

The Boogeyman lives up to his name by being one of the most frightening-looking wrestlers ever. His face was a ghoulish combination of black, red, and yellow, almost resembling a snake’s head with vampire-like eyes. He emerged from The Bottomless Pit, holding the staff that spewed red smoke. After a match, he liked to engorge himself with live worms.

2. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Jake “The Snake” Roberts mesmerized audiences with his dark charisma and earned his nickname by bringing snakes into the ring, most famously a Python. He once locked The Undertaker in a crypt full of poisonous snakes. Another time, he tied Randy Savage in the ropes and allowed a king cobra to sink its teeth into “Macho Man’s” arm.

1. The Undertaker

No other wrestler has been more frightening than The Undertaker for myriad reasons. First, his imposing size of six-foot-ten and 309 pounds. The “Graveyard Symphony” theme song sent chills throughout the arena. The unmistakable “funeral bell toll” signaled his arrival and sent shivers down opponents’ spines. The Undertaker is one of the most respected and feared superstars ever.