A common type of pro wrestling match is a normal guy pitted against a savage beast. The hero, not much bigger than you or I, is forced to match strength and cunning with a huge, hairy monster. Much pain ensues for the boy-next-door as the savage animal tears him limb from limb.
The spectacle of a man vs. monster mismatch has always excited the crowd, going back to Gladiator days where they’d entertain the citizens by throwing some Jews or Christians in the arena with a bunch of hungry lions or bears. The blood-thirsty crowd seems to enjoy the primal violence of a man forced to fight a larger, more savage animal to the death.
During the Golden Age of pro wrestling, some brave grapplers would get in the ring — shirtless and vulnerable — and roll around with an actual 500 pound bear. It always seemed humiliating for the wrestler, forced to get up close and personal with a hairy, dirty, possibly dangerous animal. It was undignified — bestiality was implied. The crowd was sure attracted to the potential bloodshed, but you could never count on the bear: it might roll over and take a nap in the middle of the match, or it might decide to maul the annoying hairless nemesis who keeps trying to slap on a headlock. And following a good squash match, bears don’t strike a victory pose or offer a cocky interview to further enrage and entertain the viewers.
Throughout history, people have been fascinated by stories of a man, a civilized dude, forced to get all feral and dirty and beat down some big, savage beast. We expect our hero to slay a dragon before he can qualify as a hero. Even in the oldest story in the English language, Beowulf 
had to fight Grendl (and then wrestle a grudge match against Grendl’s mother). Tarzan has always been forced to get down and dirty with gorillas, lions, and alligators; so has Batman, Superman, and all the Superheroes. Do you recall flipping through those comic books and the raw, arousing thoughts triggered in your impressionable brain by those primal Man vs. Beast throw-downs?
Luke Skywalker had to fight and kill the Rancor in Jabba’s dungeon. The Mario Brothers have to destroy Bowser and numerous other Bosses. Every culture is into this. These stories are appealing because they tap into our more primitive instincts, those brutal urgings and blood-lust that modern, respectable society represses to keep men under wraps and minimize animal cruelty. The ubiquity of this theme — humans taking on wild, raging animals — in comic books, movies and other media shows that you can take the dude out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the dude.
Many bad guys in pro wrestling over the years have adopted the persona of the savage, the caveman, the barbarian, the wild beast. To pull off the Manimal gimmick, the wrestler should be larger than average, and grow long, unruly hair and whiskers. It also helps to have a hairy body/chest, to wear all black gear and a scary, savage demeanor. The most important part of working the savage beast gimmick is to utterly brutalize, destroy, and maim your opponent, savaging him like a wolf tearing mercilessly and hungrily into an injured baby gazelle on Animal Planet.
As mentioned in earlier posts, pro wrestling uses contrasts between the wrestlers to entertain. The Man vs. Beast match highlights the differences between the normal guy — the Everyman — and a monster. Even if he’s muscular, the good guy (who we all identify with) looks small and defenseless compared to the giant. Often in these matches, the hero will wear white or bright red gear to further highlight his weaker position relative to the beast in all black. The good guy’s smooth bare chest also makes him appear weaker — more vulnerable — especially if the monster is hairy. We can’t believe some sadistic promoter scheduled this mis-match: a nice guy getting his head ripped off by a man-eating beast.
Inevitably, the normal wrestler’s situation appears hopeless against the Monster, as if he could never pull off a victory against a ruthless creature twice his size. It is this contrast that makes the hero seem even braver (for agreeing to face off with the giant) and the match more dramatic (due to the potential for injury).
