10 of the most polarizing wrestlers of all time

3. The Fabulous Freebirds

The Fabulous Freebirds: Jimmy "Jam" Garvin, Michael "PS" Hayes, and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy. Also in the group but not pictured is Buddy Jack Roberts.

Real Names: James Williams (Garvin,) Michael Seitz (Hayes,) Terry Gordy (Gordy,) and Dale Hey (Buddy Roberts.)

Years in the sport as a group: 20

Finishing Move: DDT (Hayes and Garvin,) Gordbuster (Gordy,) Spinning Elbow Drop (Roberts.)

The Fabulous Freebirds were a legendary trio of wrestlers from the deep south. They are the progenitors of the much ballyhooed in recent years "Freebird Rule" whereby any of the three men can defend the tag team titles. This, of course, provided an advantage, since opponents never knew which line up they would be facing.

Michael Hayes is credited with developing the gimmick based on their real-life personas. The reason the Freebirds were polarizing had to do with where they were from, and where they performed.

In the deep south promotions, the Freebirds were usually greeted with cheers. In other promotions, like the Texas territories, they were full on heels and were booed viciously. In fact, fans used to rush the ring to attack the hated Freebirds. It usually fell to Terry Gordy, a mammoth of a man, to knock the would be attackers down and hold them until security arrived.

The Freebirds are still somewhat polarizing today, with fans arguing over whether they deserve their legendary status.