Welcome, WWE Universe, to the list that may just make you hold your nose: the 15 grossest Superstars of all time! Rest assured that entrants on this list were put under the microscope in an effort to produce a definitive record of the grungiest, smelliest, most disgusting grapplers ever to (not exactly) grace the ring.
We’ve raided dumpsters, looked behind toilets and trolled the backwoods on our search, and now, without further ado, we present the gross underbelly of the squared circle.
Eccentric. Unorthodox. Off-kilter. Uncouth. Any of these descriptors perfectly painted the picture of what George “The Animal” Steele brought to sports-entertainment during his legendary in-ring career. But here’s another adjective to toss out there about the WWE Hall of Famer: gross.
From his obscene body hair to his trademark green tongue to his turnbuckle-tearing ways, Steele lived up to his moniker and was, at times, more animal than man. And because he was truly never afraid to show his disgusting side to the WWE Universe, George is the perfect Superstar to kick off our list.
Sporting the classic (and classy) combination of wild and bushy pork chop (or is that mutton chop?) sideburns with a trucker’s cap that looked like it was run through whatever the polar opposite of a washing machine is, Trevor Murdoch had a memorable stint in WWE a few years back.
While he may have been an angry hayseed of a Superstar with an ever-present scowl, Murdoch did have a pretty decent singing voice. So at least there’s that.
He was still gross, though, and earned his place in this feature.
Rikishi may be a beloved Superstar, but with a signature move called the Stink Face, he was also one of the grossest grapplers to ever grace the ring. Now, let’s be clear here: Using one’s size as an advantage is nothing new in squared circle history, and it’s a tactic administered by some of the truly legendary Superstars of all time. But using one’s (more-than-a-little-dimpled) posterior as a weapon of mass destruction takes that to a whole new level.
And that level is gross, plain and simple.
Flinging opponents into the corner and then backing that … well, you know what … up, the enormous Superstar would knock foes out with a face full of … well, you know.
Yikes …
A one-time member of Al Snow’s J.O.B. Squad (which should tell you something right off the bat about this former Superstar), The Blue Meanie possessed a badly dyed coral reef–like beard, blue hair and adorned himself with a blue T-shirt that was tragically tiny considering the Superstar’s substantial heft.
What might one expect from a Blue Meanie match? Well, lots of jiggling for starters.
Once you’ve stopped shuddering … well, shudder a little more, because The Meanie’s here to stay. (On this list, at least.)
Mick Foley may be the eminently lovable Hardcore Legend, but his sick and twisted alter ego Mankind was something else entirely. An enigma from day one in WWE, what was never in question when it came to the bulging Bizarre One was that he looked, and more than likely smelled, like he was continually in need of a shower.
Deranged is another good word to describe Mankind, who upon debuting in WWE, infamously pulled out clumps of his own straggly brown hair, shrieked to no one in particular and, at one point, conversed with a sewer rat named George. Also, he used to stick a filthy sock into opponents' mouths.
If that doesn’t say “gross,” we’re not sure what does.
We’re gonna preface this entry by saying that this one’s going to be pretty mean-spirited, from an exclusively aesthetic point of view. But with a list like this, feelings are going to be hurt, and that’s just the way of things.
Now, Big Daddy V may have been awesome in the ring, but he was also a … large … man, and he had a tendency to wear ring attire that wasn’t so large (certainly not so large as to properly cover his considerable girth). What we’re trying to say here is there were … well, let’s just come right out and say it like it is: There were ripples of man flesh. He had ripples of man flesh literally spilling out over his trademark black singlet.
We’ll leave it at that in our argument for Big Daddy V to consume the No. 10 spot on the list.
Pig-farming cousins Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn didn’t have much time or need for black tie affairs. Or, you know, basic human hygiene. The duo that made overalls stylish also introduced one of the most vile foreign objects in sports-entertainment history to the ring: the slop bucket. The Godwinns were nasty, there’s just no denying that.
Case in point? Henry once faced Hunter Hearst Helmsley in an “Arkansas Hog Pen Match.” And yep, it was exactly what you’re thinking it was. With Hillbilly Jim acting as special referee, Godwinn literally dragged the blue-blooded Helmsley through the mud during what was unquestionably one of the dirtiest matches of all time.
Sporting ratty blue jeans and even rattier blond hair and beards, The Moondogs looked like every bit of the vicious, brutal brawlers they were. Armed with animal bones that they would use alternately as grimy chew toys or clumsy bludgeons, the revolting chair shot specialists caused a wave of terror — and nausea — during their time in independent wrestling promotions and WWE. Winning the World Tag Team Championships in 1981, these were opponents no Superstars wanted to face.
Despite their obvious canine-inspired moniker and unkempt appearance, The Moondogs managed to be even more wild, uninhibited and feral competitors than any WWE fan could have expected. Safety, foresight and hygiene certainly never crossed a Moondog’s mind, as they often appeared animalistic and obsessed in their quest to batter the competition.
The Moondogs may have been gross and disgusting, but these unforgettable competitors were also undoubtedly bad to the bone, and they certainly left their own unique stain on WWE. Bad Moondogs!
“Gross” is one word for Abdullah the Butcher … “terrifying” is another. Possessing a visage that was truly frightening to gaze upon, Abdullah was not what you’d call a handsome man. More often than not seen sporting a bloodied forehead, The Madman from the Sudan was one of sports-entertainment’s most brutal competitors.
Wild-eyed and bloodthirsty, The Butcher’s forehead and its deep, disturbing crevices from years of fierce in-ring warring tell the story of a legendarily vicious career.
Whether you want to call him grossly terrifying or terrifyingly gross, Abdullah unquestionably belongs among the grossest players in the game.
When a man carries a garbage pail with him to the ring, you know he’s gonna be packing some muscle in the odor department. Duke “The Dumpster” Droese was a man who was as grimy as he was gritty, toting his token receptacle with him at all times and in some cases employing it as a foreign object in his matches (one such instance the can was used against him was at the hands of one Jerry “The King” Lawler). Droese was a mainstay in WWE during the mid-90s and even earned the right to enter the 1996 Royal Rumble Match at the coveted No. 30 in a heavily hyped contest against … Triple H?
Yep. Triple H. Droese’s most enduring WWE rivalry was against The Game himself, then known as “The Connecticut Blueblood” Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The Dumpster managed to hand The King of Kings his first WWE loss and took his hated, highfalutin rival to the limit in early 1996, although Droese departed WWE soon thereafter. Fare thee well, Duke. You may have gone, but your stench still lingers.
Just look at that image. Really, really look at it. It’s like the basketball game in “Along Came Polly” come to horrible, hideous life, and for any Superstar who faced the notorious Nasty Boys, stomach-churning maneuvers such as this were the norm. Aside from The Nasty Boys’ skeezy looks (though those magnificent mullets deserve the utmost respect), the tandem was known to be as nasty physically as they were hygienically. Tales of their brutal, unforgiving tendencies in the ring are the stuff of sports-entertainment legend.
Another shoe-in for this list, TL Hopper embodied what it means to be a gross Superstar. But before we get into it, let’s get one thing straight here — we are in no way insinuating that plumbers are gross. What we ARE insinuating is that THIS plumber — this evil, plunger-wielding maniac — was gross.
Known to stick “Betsy,” his trusty plunger, in the faces of felled opponents, the low-riding pants and stained undershirt–wearing Hopper would continually elicit wails of disgust from the announce table.
Because, really, who knows where Betsy had been?
Dirty? Check. Smelly? Assuredly. Armpit-licking? Yes, and that’s what puts it over the top, really.
No list of grossest anything can be complete without cousins Butch and Luke, the missing teethed, tattooed, backwoods tag team that arrived in WWE in the late 1980s.
Unlike others on this list, though, The Bushwhackers were a beloved duo, managing to endear themselves to the WWE Universe in a way few teams in history have. While they may well be loved, though, there’s just no denying their grossness. Known to lick fans en route to the ring, the whacko cousins were — ya know what? Do we really need to finish that sentence?
They used to lick fans. Argument over.
You knew he’d be on here somewhere, but there’s a pretty good chance you were figuring that Boogeyman would run away with the top spot on the list. If that was, indeed, what you were thinking, you’d be wrong. But you wouldn’t be wrong by all that much.
Coming in strongly — and, more importantly, grossly — in the No. 2 spot, Boogeyman was unquestionably one of the most disgusting Superstars ever to compete in a WWE ring. While it may be considered a delicacy in certain parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, live, wriggling, nasty, dirty earthworm meals are generally frowned upon in the WWE Universe. For Boogeyman, however, consuming them such was commonplace.
We’re not sure what was more disturbing, though — the spooky Superstar devouring piles of worms at a time, or the thought of him traveling with the creatures between shows.
OK, it’s the eating part. That’s more disturbing, for sure.
Poor Bastion Booger. Smelly, disgusting Bastion Booger.
Of all the Superstars who could have made this list — and believe us, there was plenty of debate among the WWE.com staffers over who deserved such “distinction” — Bastion Booger was the one name that seemed to be beyond argument. (And deoderant, it seems.) What's more, appearing as a guest commentator on Raw back in 1994, Booger infamously chowed down on a can of Alpo and some Milk Bones, a fact that puts the big man over the top on this list.
The silver singlet–clad Booger cleaned up on pretty much everyone’s short list, and that sentiment wasn’t limited to WWE.com staffers. Current Superstars also made quite a stink about the hygienically-challenged heavyweight.
“He represents the typical American: overweight and obese, and he can’t even clean himself in certain places,” according to United States Champion Antonio Cesaro.
Jinder Mahal emphatically agreed. “Whenever Booger came on television," he explained, "it became like ‘Smell-O-Vision.’ I could imagine just how bad he stunk, and his clothes were filthy.”
And so it’s unanimous, then: Bastion Booger is officially the grossest Superstar of all time. Or, is it? Sound off about who you think is WWE's all-time grossest Superstar in this poll!