Any pro wrestling fan worth their toy belts has played a pro wrestling video game at some point in their life. Those fans also, at some point, must have created an original character using their game's Create a Wrestler feature. I personally have created Spider-Man in Raw vs Smackdown 2008, but not even the most insane of fans could have created some of the oddities (not the stable from 1998).

With all the federations, decades, and systems, there have been a whole lot of wrestling video games. Nowadays, the market has been trimmed down to essentially just WWE games. Most of them try to focus on having the best rosters of real-life performers with numbers that go past 100. But back in the old days, there would always be a few playable characters that were just bizarre.

When you think of wrestlers, you think of people who have spent much of their lives training in a 20x20 feet squared circle. That hasn't stopped actors, athletes from other sports. and musicians from appearing in these titles. You would also expect them to be human beings and of this world, but that isn't always the case. As I'm going to get into on this list, we're going to see all matter of fantastic creatures. This is including spirits, aliens, robots, and pure works of fiction. Gather round, my friends as I give to you the 20 secret characters you didn't know were in wrestling games. Hang on to your Austin 3:16 shirts, this is gonna get weird.

20 Springfield's Finest (Simpsons Wrestling)

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"Hiddly ho readerinos! Oh well, I'm not much of a fighter, but if my vengeful God wants me to do it well then I positively oblige!" -Ned Flanders (probably).

Simpsons Wrestling on the PlayStation is an atrocious title that should be banished from everyone's memories to ensure it can't harm another soul. But while it's here, we might as well acknowledge the hilarity that is Ned Flanders as an unlockable character in this "wrestling" game.  Off the path, he can instantly recover to full health once he's depleted. While his standard attacks are nothing special, Flanders' signature attack is hilariously overpowered. Get this: he calls down lightning from God himself to smite his enemies.  Using this, the final bosses Kodos and Kang become much easier to defeat. We'd like to see The Undertaker sit up from that one.

19 Venturing Into The Unknown (Smackdown 2)

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The best wrestling game on the PlayStation, Smackdown! 2Know Your Role's flaws included LONG loading times, a very basic submission system, and that's it. Everything else about this game from the roster, feature set, and gameplay was awesome. The roster would have been improved if we knew who all these unknown characters were!

In season mode, you will randomly encounter characters like Unknown X. They will usually injure your scheduled opponent and take their place. After defeating them in a match, you will unlock new parts and moves for Create A Wrestler. This system is a work-around for the game to include legends like Andre The Giant and Jerry Lawler. A clever system for the developers to include more characters than the roster allows.

18 Color Me Surprised (Raw Vs Smackdown 2010)

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We know hardcore wrestling fans know of the beloved Vacant, an entity who has won so many titles over his eternal career that nobody can ever break his records. While we never were able to play as him in a game, we were able to play as primary colours.

In the Raw versus Smackdown series, the developer Yuke's would enlist the services of these two men to demonstrate whatever moves you wanted to use in the create a wrestler mode. For some reason, Yuke's was certain that we wanted to pit these colours against each other in mortal combat. Thus, they were unlockable playable characters in the 2010 installment. Personally, I'm just hoping for an entire rainbow of random guys to form the Power Rangers in wrestling video game form.

17 The Ring Girls (WWF War Zone)

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When discussing the Attitude Era, you can't ignore the contributions of Sable and Sunny. Using their feminine wiles and assets they were the desires of every man in the audience. They opened the door for several women after them. But forget them; make way instead for Sue and Pamela!

In WWF's first 3D wrestling game War Zone, if you defeat single player campaign as either Bret Hart or Owen Hart you will unlock Sue. Then you must win as Sue to unlock Pamela. Who are these two chicks? They're the "ring girls" of this game, despite the fact that you don't see them until you unlock them. Their roles were cut from the final game, but they still exist as wrestlers. Yup, there certainly was no way to get Sable and Sunny into the game. Gotta give their slots to Pam and Sue!

16 Men At Work (WWE WrestleMania 19)

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As cool as a wrestler as Black Warrior might be, he unfortunately is just a created wrestler by the person playing the game. What isn't a Create a Wrestler is Builder, Dock Worker, and a host of other random jobbers. Those characters are actually unlockable characters from the GameCube's WWE WrestleMania 19 revenge mode.

For those who never played it, this game's single player campaign shows your selected character being fired by Vince McMahon and then Stephanie McMahon directing you to take revenge on her father. To complete your quest, you have to go to random buildings owned by Mr. McMahon and beat up the workers. Beating up on blue collar workers instead of the rich promoter? That'll show him! Did we mention there's also platforming in that mode?

15 Feeling A Little Limp (WWF Raw, WWF Smackdown Just Bring It)

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Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit might be seen as a pathetic remnant of the early 2000s who everybody can laugh at now (to be honest, they are), but we bet you didn't know that he could do a 450 splash off a merchandise booth!

When The Undertaker returned from an injury in 2000, he returned with a new character and with a new theme song, courtesy of Limp Bizkit. Obviously, this was enough for their singer Fred Durst to be included as an unlockable character in both the Xbox's WWF Raw and the PS2's Smackdown Just Bring It. If that wasn't enough, Durst's move set in the PS2 game is full of high-flying attacks and fancy strikes that we're 99% sure the real person cannot perform. Oh well, at least you can finally beat up Fred Durst.

14 The Caretakers (Smackdown Vs Raw 2011)

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Speaking of the Undertaker's entrance, how can we forget about the countless druids who accompany the Phenom for his special occasions? The literal torchbearers of the legend, the druids are just another topping on the delicious appetizer that is the entrance of The Undertaker.

But if you ever wanted to actually play as these guys, you're in luck. In Smackdown Vs Raw 2011, one of the story mode campaigns pits you against the Undertaker on the road to WrestleMania. In this campaign, you will come across several of these beings. But to unlock them, you must play through all five campaigns and complete every challenge. All this for a character with the weakest stats in the game. What a reward.

13 The Dinosaur Hunter (WWF War Zone)

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Alright, we'll let the Undertaker go for now. Instead, let's talk about a dinosaur hunter who probably has never even seen a wrestling ring as he's too busy shooting t-rexes with a cerebral bore (a weapon which plants an explosive in your brain). I'm of course talking about Turok.

Through the use of a Game Shark device (for you young readers, that was a cheat device that let you do all sorts of crazy things), you could play as this destroyer. Fortunately for all the wrestlers in this game, he doesn't bring his arsenal and instead steals The Rock's move set. We're pretty certain that a lot of fans would love to use guns on some of the wrestlers in that game.

12 Playing As A... Head? (WWF Attitude)

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Sometimes when writing an article, you just have to stop and wonder to yourself what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into. For myself, it was about here when I have to explain to you dear reader what you're looking at.

Non-wrestling fans might not know that former WWE performer Al Snow used to carry around a mannequin head he would speak to. He appropriately called it Head, because you wouldn't call it foot. Now, Head never sprung to life and attack wrestlers, but it certainly did just that in WWF Attitude for the Dreamcast, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64. To unlock this being, you must win the WWE Championship in the career mode. Once you do, you're able to defeat foes with just feet, hands, and a head.

11 Cruisin' For A Bruisin' (WCW Vs NWO: World Tour)

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When Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali back in 1964, several groups of people refused to call him by his new name and that just sucks. We wonder, though, if things would have been smoother if Ali changed from Cassius Clay to Joe Bruiser...

No, this isn't a long lost brother of Nick and Rick Bruiser from the Punch Out! series. This is actually an unlockable character in the legendary WCW vs. nWo: World Tour on the Nintendo 64. Obviously meant to be a copycat of the Greatest of All Time, Bruiser says screw the revolutionary grappling system introduced in this game; I want to just fight with strikes. That's right, it is literally impossible to do any grapples with this character inside of a wrestling game. Jesus, even Simpsons Wrestling had grapples.

10 ...What? (WCW Thunder)

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Oh ho ho, you thought we were done with the bizarre characters after Head? Well, compared to these guys... okay, Head is still weirder, but the vast amount of characters I've sandwiched into this entry is simply damaging to the senses.

In the duo of awful WCW games called WCW Nitro and WCW/nWo Thunder, there was a roster that would actually surpass some modern wrestling games in terms of sheer number. Now, in terms of actual wrestlers on the roster it doesn't come close to something like WWE 2k18. But who needs human beings when you have robots, aliens, horses, and wireframes? Those were all unlockable characters in this poor excuse of a game. It may be a horrendous game, but at least a robot with a giant box head can piledrive Hulk Hogan.

9 The Tool Box (WWF Smackdown 2 Know Your Role!)

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The year 2000 was a different time in the WWE. The F was still in, Triple H was only married to the boss' daughter on screen and Michael Cole wasn't the despised corporate tool that he is now. Having said that, we doubt that many people were itching to pick up the latest WWF game for the PS1 to play as a B-tier announcer.

If you were to complete about one year of the game's season mode, you are able to play as Michael Cole. Not only is this Michael Cole playable, but he is also wrestling in a complete denim outfit. Fans thought that John Cena wrestling in jorts might be weird, but at least he wasn't covered from top to bottom in denim. I would not want to be Michael Cole's chest while he gets a chop in that. I apologize for that image.

8 The Man, The Voice, The Wrestler (WWF WrestleMania 2000)

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I, and every other wrestling fan from my generation, love Jim Ross to bits. His iconic voice accompanied tons of legendary moments throughout the Attitude Era and beyond. But never were we chomping at the bit to play as him in a video game. Leave it to WWF WrestleMania 2000 to fulfill that non-existent wish by including good ole J.R. as a playable character.

To unlock him, all you have to is make it to WrestleMania in the game's single player campaign and Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler will make themselves playable for your amusement. I'm just wishing that J.R. was able to wrestle with his hat staying on his head the whole time, but alas he takes it off in the ring.

7 Best Friends Forever (Raw Vs Smackdown 2009)

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If this looks like a random character that somebody spent five minutes on in create a wrestler before calling it a day, you would probably be right. But despite this laziness, WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 decided to include this military figure whose only purpose is to serve as John Cena's buddy inside his single player campaign mode.

Speaking of John Cena's single player campaign, we might as well discuss it since there's not much to Tony. In that Road to WrestleMania, John Cena comes into conflict with MVP and his cohorts over their creation of a new country called "Better Than Youtopia." Pretty clever, I must say. In the first cutscene, Cena wants to dedicate his performance in a match to "Tony" (last name not needed) and the rest of the troops. Goes to show how much he cares about his friend if he doesn't give a last name.

6 Don't Trust Him To Save The World (WCW/World Tour)

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You know, I've seen a mannequin head with hands and feet beat up human beings and aliens wrestle inside a ring, yet this is still the scariest thing I've seen so far. Just what is up with that smile on this horrifying super hero?

Oh, my bad, this isn't a super hero, but in fact that is AKI man (no capital on the man for some reason). AKI was the developer of the legendary N64 WCW and WWE wrestling games, so obviously they had to create a character to market themselves. His move set is also full of flashy strikes and high flying techniques. AKI man would never make an official return, but that hasn't stopped fans from carrying on his legacy in create a wrestler for years to come.

5 No Kwangs About It (WWF Raw)

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Oh, hey, look, an actual wrestler! My god has it been a while since we've seen one of those. I almost forgot what they looked like. Even if this guy was a real wrestler, this Puerto Rican was playing a character of a ninja, so it's still pretty weird.

The final WWF game in the 16 bit era by LJN, WWF Raw was also ported over to the short lived Sega 32X expansion module for the Sega Genesis. With slightly better graphics and a smoother framerate, there wasn't much new to this version except for Kwang. By inputting a code, you could unlock this terrifying martial arts master. We bet in a game that features legends like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels players were chomping at the bit to play as this guy.

4 Ho...ld On A Second (WWF No Mercy)

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Only in the Attitude Era were you able to have a wrestler with the gimmick of a... business man. Not only that, but that same era was the only one where you could unlock one of his associates as a playable character. What is this character's name? Why, what else would it be, except for Ho?

Not only is this nameless girl an unlockable character in this game's shop section, but she doesn't come cheap. For $500,000 of in-game currency (good lord, imagine that in the era of microtransactions), you could play as this object of desire. By comparison, Shawn Michaels only costs one tenth of that cost. So what's it gonna be, fans? Do you want the boy toy or the services of Godfather's worker? You make the call!

3 No Meanie (WCW Nitro, WCW/nWo Thunder, WCW Mayhem)

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Despite what his name might imply, there isn't really anything mean about this Gene. This is doubled by the fact that by the late 90s Okerlund was in his mid 50s and was never an active wrestler. But darnit, that isn't going to stop Mean Gene Mania from running wild over the virtual competition brother!

In three of the five WCW games released on the PlayStation, this backstage interviewer was a playable character. For anyone who's watched the hilarious WWE Legends' House on the WWE Network (don't forget, it's only $9.99 a month), you may be surprised that Okerlund doesn't attack his opponents with martinis or Okerlund cocktails. Alas, you can still punch, kick and suplex as him in this trio of awful wrestling games.

2 Unknown... Again (WWF Smackdown 2)

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WELLLLLLLL... WELL IT'S UNKNOWN!!! Wait a minute, that doesn't sound quite right. And hold on a second, doesn't that guy who's slamming Shawn Michaels look familiar? Why, of course that's the Big Show, but why is he named Unknown?

Time for some real world wrestling history. Around the time that WWF Smackdown 2 came out, Big Show had gotten too overweight for the WWE's liking and was sent to their developmental promotion OVW. To reflect this roster change, he was pulled from the game's final roster. However, he can still randomly appear in the Royal Rumble match as Unknown, and you can control him complete with an updated move set. It appears that the Big Show got too big for this game to handle.

P.S.: the same thing can happen for Ken Shamrock, so there.

1 Managing Mania (ECW Anarchy Rulz)

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Paul Heyman is at least the second greatest manager of all time. Unlike Bobby The Brain Heenan, though, he was never actually an active performer. I mean, take one look at his pudgy physique and that shouldn't come as a surprise to you in the least.

But in their final wrestling game to ever be licensed by a promotion, Acclaim's ECW Anarchy Rulz for the PlayStation and Dreamcast, Heyman can step in the the ring and take on all of ECW's most violent misfits. Judging by the way some of ECW's former stars talk about their paychecks bouncing on a monthly basis, we're sure it would be some form of justice for Heyman to get smacked in the face with a chair in video game form. Too bad the game itself is way outdated, even by 2000s standards.