Wrestling fans of the 1990s had plenty of bad guys to hate – some far more than others.While Ted DiBiase was buying loyalty with his Million Dollar smile and Yokozuna was flattening heroes beneath the Bonsai Drop, there were villains who preferred mischief to muscle.Few managers in WWE history ruffled feathers the way Harvey WipplemandidWWEFew pulled it off better than the deceptively mild-mannered Bruno Lauer – the man millions booed as Harvey Wippleman.On screen, Wippleman was the typical pest: a sharp-tongued manager forever blabbing on behalf of Sid Justice, Kwang, Adam Bomb or the towering Giant González.Off camera, though, Lauer was one of WWE’s longest-serving and most liked backstage hands – a go-between for referees, a fixer of live-event logistics and, by every account, one of wrestling’s genuine good guys.His most infamous act of villainy, however, came not under his own name, but beneath a fake beard, wig and hat.Major Hulk Hogan controversy defined a wrestling eraAt King of the Ring 1993, Hulk Hogan’s fifth spell as WWE champion ended in chaos when a mysterious ringside photographer climbed the apron, raised his camera and blasted a fireball straight into Hogan’s face.Moments later, Yokozuna delivered his a leg drop of his own and took the title – nailing Hogan with a splash for good measure after the bell.Decades later, most fans now know Lauer was the man behind it, but the “photographer” was never identified on television, and for decades the moment has lived in fan folklore – one of those gloriously absurd WWF finishes that could only have existed in the early 1990s.Now, thanks to a Facebook post, fans have been given a nudge down memory lane – and a reminder of who all those crying Hulkamaniacs had to blame for that night in Ohio.Book Pro Wrestlers shared what it called “the only known backstage photo of Harvey Wippleman in full disguise” before the match – a shot later signed by Lauer himself and taken from the private collection of promoter Joseph Bruen.The picture shows him moments before showtime, camera in hand, beard hanging askew, ready to help Yokozuna steal wrestling’s richest prize.Hulk Hogan left WWE after the controversial defeat and returned over a decade laterWWEWWEThe ‘exploding’ camera was to blame for Hogan’s loss, as was the man behind it[/caption]wweCommentators roared Hogan had been ‘blinded’ by the attack[/caption]“Crazy – I was in the crowd that night and asked my friend why that cameraman’s camera wasn’t flashing like the others,” wrote one fan beneath the post, having seen it all unfold back in ’93.Another joked: “Harvey getting his revenge for WrestleMania 8,” in reference to Hogan seeing off Justice and Wippleman the prior year, another jesting: “Hogan just got too close. Not Harvey’s fault.”Others marvelled at Lauer’s reputation away from the spotlight. “It was revealed that every month he would send money to Jorge González when he fell on hard times so he could support his family and eat. Absolutely amazing.”The photo, originally circulated via Bruen’s Promo Photo Mania archive, quickly spread across social platforms and nostalgia forums, rekindling debate about one of wrestling’s strangest swerves.Away from the chaos of that night, Lauer’s real-life WWE career carried on long after he vanished from television.Forgotten WWE star helped stricken star before deathHe worked behind the scenes as a road agent and liaison, popped up occasionally in comedy skits and in 2003 even became the first – and still only – male WWE Women’s Champion, courtesy of an infamous ‘feud’ with The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young.Wippleman remained close to star Gonzalez, who died in 2010WWEThe rare backstage snap is now a piece of memorabilia coveted by fansFacebook: Joseph BruenIn later years he was employed in WWE’s production office, quietly helping the company that had once cast him as its sneakiest villain tick along from town to town.For a man whose screen persona lived to cause trouble, the real Bruno Lauer has become something close to wrestling’s conscience.In interviews he has spoken with pride about helping struggling colleagues, including González, and staying loyal to the company that gave him his break, telling WrestlingInc of his current role: “I’m a washed-up guy that runs errands for everybody, but I love what I do now more than I ever loved managing. I get to help the boys, I get to help the company, I get to stay around the business I love.”The rediscovered photograph doesn’t just solve a thirty-year mystery – it captures an era when wrestling was gloriously over the top and wonderfully daft.A cameraman firing a fireball, Hulk Hogan writhing on the mat – and one small manager in a beard pulling off the biggest steal of his career.