The Boogeyman (wrestler) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Boogeyman |
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|---|---|
| Birth name | Martin Wright |
| Born | July 15, 1964 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Boogeyman Marty Wright The Nightcrawler Slither |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Billed from | The Bottomless Pit |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling Stevie Ray Booker T |
| Debut | October 15, 2004 |
Martin Wright (born July 15, 1964) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his wrestling name, The Boogeyman. He is also a fitness instructor. Martin Wright is currently signed to WWE under a special "legends contract". This means he makes occasional appearances.
Contents
The Boogeyman's Wrestling Journey
Starting in WWE (2004–2009)
Tough Enough and Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004–2005)
Martin Wright first joined the world of professional wrestling through a TV show. This show was called Tough Enough. It was a competition to find new wrestling stars. On October 15, 2004, he was chosen as one of eight finalists.
However, he had to leave the show. He told the producers that he was 40 years old. This was five years older than the age limit for the competition. Even though he left Tough Enough, WWE officials saw his potential. They invited him to train at their special wrestling school. This school was called Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
He trained there from January to June 2005. He made his first appearance in OVW on June 25, 2005. During a practice match, Wright came into the ring. He quickly defeated all three wrestlers. He then announced, "I am The Boogeyman!" before leaving. His character, or gimmick, became a scary "monster". He would appear when other wrestlers said his name. He would then attack them.
SmackDown! Appearances (2005–2007)
On July 11, 2005, scary video clips started playing on Raw. These videos were to introduce his new character, "The Boogeyman". He was a horror-themed, strange character who ate worms. The videos later moved to SmackDown!. His first planned appearance was delayed because he hurt his knees.
He finally made his debut on SmackDown! on October 14, 2005. He was introduced as part of a "new talent" plan. The Boogeyman then recited a scary rhyme. He also smashed a large alarm clock on his own head. For the next few weeks, he appeared in unexpected places. He would say rhymes and hold clocks. Then he would scream his famous line, "I'm The Boogeyman and I'm comin' to get'cha!" and laugh wildly.
At Survivor Series, The Boogeyman helped the SmackDown! manager, Theodore Long. He helped him defeat the Raw manager, Eric Bischoff. The Boogeyman had his first official match on December 2, 2005. He defeated Simon Dean very quickly. During this match, he took live worms from his pocket. He then put them in his mouth. In the following weeks, The Boogeyman often defeated his opponents quickly. He would sometimes leave worms in their mouths or spit on them.
His first big wrestling story, or feud, was with John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) and his assistant, Jillian Hall. The Boogeyman started following them around. On January 6, 2006, he put worms down Jillian Hall's skirt. On January 13, during a talk show segment, The Boogeyman licked a mark on Jillian's face. He then pretended to bite it off and eat it. The Boogeyman faced JBL at the Royal Rumble. He won the match in less than two minutes.
After a match on February 24, The Boogeyman poured worms on the announcers' table. This scared Booker T and his wife Sharmell. The Boogeyman then started to follow Booker T and Sharmell. They were supposed to wrestle on March 18. But the match was canceled because Booker T pretended to have a knee injury. The story ended at WrestleMania 22. The Boogeyman defeated Booker T and Sharmell in a special match. During the match, The Boogeyman kissed Sharmell. She was very surprised to find worms in his mouth! The match ended early because The Boogeyman got injured. To explain his absence, Booker T and Sharmell got a legal order to keep The Boogeyman away.
The Boogeyman returned to SmackDown! on October 27. He attacked The Miz and Kristal Marshall. He spit worms in their faces. He continued to scare his opponents. He ended The Miz's winning streak at the Armageddon event on December 17.
Wright then had a rivalry with Finlay. Finlay ended The Boogeyman's winning streak with help from Hornswoggle. On February 2, 2007, The Boogeyman took Hornswoggle during a match. This distracted Finlay. On February 16, The Boogeyman appeared with his own small helper, Little Boogeyman. The Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman lost to Finlay and Hornswoggle at No Way Out.
The Boogeyman's time on SmackDown! ended with a loss to Mark Henry. Mark Henry then attacked Little Boogeyman. This caused Little Boogeyman to be written off TV as "injured."
ECW and Leaving WWE (2007–2009)
On June 11, 2007, The Boogeyman moved to the ECW wrestling brand. He debuted the next day and defeated Matt Striker. This started a rivalry between them. On July 10, The Boogeyman was attacked by Striker's new helper, Big Daddy V. The Boogeyman returned on July 31 with new face paint. He scared Big Daddy V away after a match.
On August 14, The Boogeyman won a match against ECW Champion John Morrison. He teamed with CM Punk on August 18. They defeated Morrison and Big Daddy V. On September 18, The Boogeyman lost to Big Daddy V in their first one-on-one match.
The Boogeyman's return to wrestling was delayed. He had a torn calf muscle. He also had dental surgery to replace missing teeth.
The Boogeyman returned to ECW on November 25, 2008. He wrestled his first match back on December 9. He easily defeated Scott Reed. On December 30, he lost a special "No DQ match" with Finlay as his partner. His last appearance on WWE TV was on March 3, 2009. He lost a match against Kane. The next day, WWE announced that Martin Wright had left the company.
Independent Wrestling (2010–Present)
After leaving WWE, Wright continued to wrestle. He used his Boogeyman character in other wrestling promotions. In February 2012, he wrestled at an event for Millennium Wrestling Federation. He defeated Lukas Sharp there.
Return to WWE (2012–Present)
On December 16, 2012, The Boogeyman made a surprise return to Raw. He appeared during the Slammy Awards show. He snuck up on his old rival, Booker T.
The Boogeyman also appeared in Halloween videos on the WWE YouTube channel. This happened in November 2013 and October 2014. On December 22, 2014, he appeared in a special segment on the WWE App.
On January 25, 2015, The Boogeyman was a surprise entry in the Royal Rumble match. This was his first WWE match in almost six years. However, Bray Wyatt quickly eliminated him. On November 6, it was announced that Wright signed a "legends contract" with WWE. This means he makes occasional, non-wrestling appearances.
On January 22, 2018, The Boogeyman appeared on the Raw 25 Years special show. On July 22, 2019, he appeared at the Raw Reunion show. He scared Drake Maverick in the locker room. This helped Pat Patterson win the WWE 24/7 Championship.
On January 4, 2021, The Boogeyman appeared again on the Raw Legends Night special. He scared 24/7 Champion Angel Garza. This allowed R-Truth to win the title.
Martin Wright's Life Outside Wrestling
As of 2018, Martin Wright works as a fitness instructor. He lives in Denver, Colorado. He has his own training center in Boulder, Colorado. He often posts videos helping people get in shape and lose weight.
Other Appearances
In January 2013, Martin Wright appeared in some short videos. These videos promoted Bobby Lashley's family fitness center.
In 2015, Wright was in two episodes of the WWE Network show, Swerved. This was a hidden camera prank show. In 2018, he appeared on a Halloween special called "House Hardy Halloween". This show aired on WWE Network.
Wright has also been a character in several video games. He first appeared in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. He has also been in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE SuperCard, WWE Champions, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23 and WWE 2K24.
Awards and Achievements
- Alabama Wrestling Federation
- AWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Lashley
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Rookie of the Year (2006)
- Ranked No. 114 among the top 500 single wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
Images for kids
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In Spanish: The Boogeyman (luchador) for kids
