Martin Wright (born July 15, 1964), better known by the ring name The Boogeyman, is an American professional wrestler and fitness instructor. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract.
Wright debuted into professional wrestling in 2004 through Tough Enough but not long after being cut due to his age, he was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory in 2005 where he would later debut as The Boogeyman, a horror-themed wrestler donning red face paint who consumes worms through his opponents. After his WWE run ended in 2009, Wright would continue to wrestle in the independent circuit before returning to the company for a one-off appearance in the 2015 Royal Rumble, and has made sporadic appearances since.
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Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–2009)
Wright first entered the world of professional wrestling to take part in the fourth season of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) produced reality television competition Tough Enough. On October 15, 2004, he attended the two-day event in Venice Beach, California, where he was among eight finalists chosen. After surviving the first day of eliminations he admitted that he was actually 40 years old—five years over the competition's cut off point—and not 30 as he had claimed. As a result, he was cut from the competition.
Though he had been cut from Tough Enough, WWE officials invited him to come to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for possible training. He trained between January and June 2005, making his OVW debut on June 25, 2005. During a dark match pitting the team of Seth Skyfire and Robert Fury against Robbie Dawber and his partner, Wright entered the ring and squashed all three men, no-selling the offense of Skyfire in the process. He then announced that he was "The Boogeyman" before leaving the building. The Boogeyman gimmick further evolved into a "monster" face who would appear when another wrestler said his name and attack him, while not selling any offense he received.
On the July 11, 2005 episode of Raw, horror movie-style vignettes began airing to promote the debut of his "The Boogeyman" gimmick, a horror-themed, disturbing, worm-devouring, Beetlejuice-like freak of nature. After a few weeks, the vignettes were moved from Raw to SmackDown!, but the planned debut was delayed when Wright hyperextended both knees and needed time to recover. He made his debut on the October 14, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, being brought in by network executive Palmer Canon as part of a "new talent initiative". The storyline referenced to vignettes months ago as promos for a television series on the network called "The Boogeyman". The show was cancelled before it could air, but they still had the actor under contract, so he was brought to SmackDown! to wrestle. The Boogeyman then proceeded to recite a modified version of the chant One, two, Freddy's coming for you from the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street before smashing an oversized alarm clock on his own head. For the next few weeks, The Boogeyman appeared in unexpected places backstage (closets, vans, et cetera), reciting different nursery rhymes and holding up clocks before screaming his catchphrase "I'm The Boogeyman and I'm comin' to get'cha!" and laughing maniacally.
At Survivor Series, The Boogeyman helped SmackDown! general manager Theodore Long defeat his Raw counterpart, Eric Bischoff. He made his official in-ring debut on the December 2 episode of SmackDown!, defeating Simon Dean in a squash. During this match, he took a handful of live worms from his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth. Over the next few weeks, The Boogeyman's opponents were generally "flattened" in the ring, left with worms in their mouths and/or spit on their faces. His official pay-per-view debut was at December's Armageddon when he came to the ring to confront Vito and Nunzio who were dressed as Santa Claus and an elf.
Independent circuit (2010–present)
After WWE, Wright returned to the Pro Wrestling Alliance using his Boogeyman gimmick. He wrestled at the Cyberstarz event of Millennium Wrestling Federation in February 2012, where he defeated Lukas Sharp.
Return to WWE (2012–present)
On the December 16, 2012 episode of Raw, Wright returned as The Boogeyman during the Slammy Awards, sneaking up on former rival Booker T.
Boogeyman appeared in Halloween themed videos on the WWE YouTube channel in both November 2013 and October 2014. On the December 22, 2014 episode of Raw, Boogeyman appeared in a segment on the WWE App.
On January 25, 2015, at the Royal Rumble, Boogeyman entered the Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant at number 7, marking his first WWE in–ring performance in almost six years, but he was quickly eliminated by Bray Wyatt. On November 6, it was announced that Wright has signed a legends contract (a long-term deal to make infrequent, non-wrestling appearances) with WWE. On January 22, 2018, Boogeyman made an appearance on Raw 25 Years. On July 22, 2019, Boogeyman appeared at the Raw Reunion show, and scared Drake Maverick in the locker room, helping Pat Patterson pin Maverick and win the WWE 24/7 Championship.
On January 4, 2021, Boogeyman once again appeared on the Raw Legends Night special and scared 24/7 Champion Angel Garza, allowing R-Truth to pin him and win the title.
Personal life
As of 2018, Wright was working as a fitness instructor in Denver, Colorado. Wright has his own training facility in Boulder, Colorado, from which he regularly posts videos of himself helping others lose weight and get in shape.
Other media
Video games
In January 2013, Wright appeared on two short promos featuring Bobby Lashley to promote Lashley's family fitness center in Aurora, Colorado, named American Top Team Altitude.
In 2015, Wright appeared in two episodes of the WWE Network series, Swerved, a hidden camera prank show by Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine. In 2018, he appeared on the House Hardy Halloween special that aired on WWE Network.
Championships and accomplishments
Alabama Wrestling Federation
AWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Lashley
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Rookie of the Year (2006)
Ranked No. 114 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007