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WWE Superstars may be instantly recognizable by fans around the world, but that isn't always the case.
On occasion though, some Superstars have even been able to hide their appearance, with all the fans being made fools of.
Here are seven times even hardcore WWE fans were fooled.
#7 Eric Bischoff as the Priest
There are very few people in wrestling who can say they stuck it to Vince McMahon, but for 83 weeks, Eric Bischoff did exactly that.
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Leading WCW during the Monday Night Wars, Bischoff would eventually join the WWE in 2002 after WCW’s demise and was appointed the General Manager of RAW.
As the head of the red brand, Bischoff found himself at odds with SmackDown’s Stephanie McMahon and decided to mess with the daughter of his old rival with his role in the Billy and Chuck wedding ceremony.
The climax of a long-running love angle between the pair, the duo were convinced by their manager Rico to marry live on SmackDown on the September 12th, 2002 episode.
After revealing that they weren’t actually gay, and the story was just a publicity stunt by Rico, it was the old, stuttering priest who seemed to be the voice of reason.
In a true stroke of booking genius though, the priest was revealed to be Bischoff, who ripped off the geriatric Latex mask to the shock of everyone.
Calling in his cronies Rosie and Jamal of Three Minute Warning, the RAW invaders decimated the stars of SmackDown, including Stephanie who was leveled with a Samoan Drop.
A genius ploy by Bischoff, this moment has lived with fans all these years after it happened, as a reminder of Bischoff’s motto, that Controversy creates cash
#6 Chris Jericho as Sin Cara
When rumors started appearing that Chris Jericho had been knocked out by Sin Cara in England in late 2016, Y2J was quick to debunk them.
Despite Jericho’s efforts though, the rumors gained a lot of traction, as both men had been involved in backstage altercations that year, with Sin Cara laying out Simon Gotch not long before, and Jericho standing up to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam after the beast had bloodied Randy Orton.
Whilst what actually happened remains a mystery to the fans, Jericho’s response to the rumor is fondly remembered.
When Owens defended his Universal title against Seth Rollins on the November 21st 2016 edition of RAW, both men gave it their all for the gold.
Ultimately, the difference maker was a man from the crowd in a Sin Cara mask, who cost Rollins the match, and was very quickly revealed to be Jericho who had been banned from ringside earlier that night.
Though brief, Jericho’s donning of the mask was Y2J at his very best, being a subtle nod to smart fans, a shocking moment for casual fans and a big screw you to those fuelling rumors, all of this done in mere minutes.
#5 The Undertaker as Kane
The Undertaker is one of WWE’s most tenured and respected Superstars, so many fans were shocked when the Phenom no-showed a handicap match on RAW in 1998, against his brother Kane and Mankind.
Though the odds were not in his favor, the Phenom had plenty going for him, as the winner of the match would receive a shot at Stone Cold’s WWF title.
With the Deadman nowhere in sight, Vince McMahon ordered Kane and Mankind to go after each other, something Foley was very hesitant to do so.
On the other hand, Kane had no problem attacking his tag team partner, viciously teeing off on Foley with a steel chair.
Pinning Mankind after a demonic beatdown, Kane’s hand was raised, but the monstrous victor quickly unmasked himself, revealing it to be The Undertaker in disguise, who was now the number one contender for Austin’s title.
An effective ploy, the Phenom would pull a similar stunt less than a year later, dressing as his not-so-little brother on the eve of WrestleMania 15 to attack Triple H, before returning to the shadows.
#4 Chris Jericho as Doink the Clown
When William Regal vowed to take everything Chris Jericho cared about in early 2001, that included Y2J’s Intercontinental Championship.
Booking himself into a title match at WrestleMania 17, Regal seemed the favorite to win and aimed to prove himself the RAW before the pay per view when he took on Crash Holly.
A standard match, the bout was interrupted by Doink the Clown, who appeared from the crowd, attacking the British Brawler with a flurry of offense.
As the assault continued, many fans wondered how the aging jobber had suddenly become an incredible athlete, until the clown prince of WWE revealed it was actually Jericho.
Locking Regal in the Walls of Jericho, the Fozzy frontman clearly had the psychological advantage going into their title match, after weeks of being forced into handicap matches by the Commissioner.
This attack clearly paid off, as Jericho was able to retain the title against Regal in the show’s opener, whilst Doink, the real Doink, would later appear in the Gimmick Battle Royal when he lost to the Iron Sheik.
#4 Eric Angle as Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle may go down in history as having the greatest rookie year in WWE history.
Debuting at the 1999 Survivor Series, the Olympian would have a meteoric rise to the top, and by Survivor Series 2000, was riding high as WWF Champion.
Unfortunately for Kurt, it seemed his reign was going to be a short one, as he was scheduled to face The Undertaker, who had recently returned as the American Biker.
Facing in the ring, nobody gave Kurt a chance and though Angle crawled under the ring, there was no escaping the Phenom.
Retrieving Angle from under the ring, Taker hit the last ride, though he and everyone watching was shocked when the referee refused to pin.
It turned out during his escapade beneath the ring, Kurt had switched with real-life brother Eric Angle, who had taken the last ride for him.
Off his game, the Deadman fell victim to a roll-up by the real Kurt, who was able to retain the title.
A genius plan the pair pulled it off 3 years later, when Angle defended the gold against Brock Lesnar on SmackDown.
Again, it was Eric who took the bullet, being hit with an F5, before Brock was rolled-up by the Olympic Gold medallist.
#2 Edge and Christian as Los Conquistadors
When Los Conquistadors returned to the WWF in 2000, no-one was that impressed.
The two hadn’t been seen in the company in over a decade and had been nothing more than Jobbers during their initial run.
However, these Conquistadors were very different to the ones before, and after attacking the Hardys with a series of tag team moves, it was clear that the pair were really Edge and Christian, who had been banned from facing the Hardys for the tag team gold.
Denying the obvious allegations, the Canadians tried to hide their tracks by having two unknown stars dress as the Conquistadors backstage, so the four characters could be seen at the same time.
When Edge and Christian as the Conquistadors captured the tag titles from the Hardy Boys, their master plan was put into action, as the pair aimed for two jobbers to don the costumes and defend the titles against E&C in what should have been an easy title win.
However, Los Conquistadors showed to be much tougher against Edge and Christian and retained the titles, before revealing themselves as Matt and Jeff.
#1 Ric Flair as the Black Scorpion
This may not have taken place in WWE, but is worthy of a mention for just how ludicrous it was.
After Ric Flair and Sting had battled dozens of times for the NWA Championship, everyone involved knew they needed something fresh.
Thus entered the Black Scorpion, a mysterious masked figure who was hell-bent on defeating the Stinger in WCW and claiming the title for his own.
The only problem was that no-one, including those backstage, knew who the Black Scorpion was supposed to be.
Billed as someone from Sting’s past, many thought it could’ve been a Horseman, perhaps Ole Anderson, who was giving the Black Scorpion his haunting voice.
Unfortunately, Ole broke his arm not long after the Scorpion’s debut, meaning he couldn’t be the man behind the mask.
After bringing in WCCW worker Al Perez, it seemed things were going to be okay, until Perez said he wouldn’t face Sting, and the company was once again without a Scorpion.
As the feud built to a climax at Starrcade 1990, the company were desperate, and eventually turned to reliable Ric Flair to don the mask, the same man who the Scorpion was supposed to replace as the Stinger’s new nemesis.
After a nearly 20-minute bout, it was clear that the Scorpion was Flair, leaving the fans watching underwhelmed.
