Origins of wrestler names

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Every so often, a well-known star debuts in the WWE with a ridiculous or dull name. It is really a shame because some ring names have unique backstories of their own. A lot of the time, if the name is different from the performer’s ring name, it was just something the company thought sounded good. So let’s look at some other classics.

1. 8-Ball – An 8-Ball is the last ball you must pot to win a traditional game of pool. But the ‘8-Ball’ and ‘Cue Ball’ are used as derogatory terms for men who are completely bald.
2. Adam Bomb – It sounds like “atom bomb”. Some of these are going to be really simple.
3. Adam Rose – It is a reference to the Guns ‘N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose.
4. Bam Bam Bigelow – ‘Bam Bam’ is a nickname he had since childhood.
5. Batista – This is only one letter different from his real surname, Bautista.
6. Big Show – This was originally going to be a nickname, as in “The Big Show” Paul Wight. Vince later shortened it because he thought Big Show sounded better.
7. Booker T – While his real name is Booker, his ring name is based on African-American civil rights leader Booker T. Washington.
8. British Bulldog – This was taken from the name of his famous tag team, the British Bulldogs.
9. Brooklyn Brawler – He is a brawler from Brooklyn, New York. Like I said, some of these really are not complicated at all.
10. Bubba Ray Dudley – The surname is a reference to the original Dudley body, Big Dick Dudley. His first name was given to him by Paul Heyman to make the character sound like a redneck.
11. Cactus Jack – This was the nickname of Mick Foley’s father, Jack Foley.
12. Charlotte – Charlotte is named after the city which her father Ric Flair is most commonly associated with; Charlotte, NC.
13. Christian – Before joining the WWE, his ring name was Christian Cage, named after the actors Christian Slater and Nicholas Cage.
14. CM Punk – What C.M. stands for is unknown because the only people who know tend to give different answers every time they are asked. The most likely is ‘Chick Magnet’. The WWE later changed it to just CM so that it didn’t mean anything.
15. Curtis Axel – The name is a tribute to his father (Curt Hennig) and grandfather (Larry ‘The Ax’ Hennig).
16. Daniel Bryan – Bryan Danielson was given a list of approved names to choose from. He felt that this was the only good one on that list.
17. David Hart Smith – David Smith is the name of his father, the British Bulldog. His middle name is a tribute to his mother’s family, the Harts.
18. Disco Inferno – This is the title of a highly popular song of the disco error.
19. D’Lo Brown – This name was a tribute to a friend who passed away while A.C. Connor was training to become a wrestler.
20. D-Von Dudley – D-Von is a corruption of his real name, Devon.
21. El Torito – The name translates as “a bull”.
22. Faarooq – Faarooq is a traditional Muslim name, meaning “distinguisher”.
23. Fandango – This is a very well-known form of ballroom dance.
24. Finn Balor – Both parts of his name are references to warrior kings in Irish mythology; Fionn ‘Finn’ mac Cumhaill and Balor Balcbiemnech.
25. Gillberg – This was a parody of Goldberg using Duane Gill’s real surname.
26. Goldust – The ‘Dust’ part of this name doesn’t refer to his real first name (Dustin), but rather to his father’s ring name (Dusty Rhodes). The ‘Gold’ part is a reference to the colour and metal used in the Academy Award trophies. His original appearance was based on the awards.
27. Hakushi – The name means “White Angel”. This is the name of a theme song that Jim Johnston recorded long before Hakushi joined the company.
28. Henry O. Godwinn – He was a pig farmer whose initials spelled H.O.G.
29. Hercules – This is a reference to the character from Greek mythology who was known for his mighty strength.
30. Hornswoggle – An Irish slang term meaning to trick or confuse someone.
31. Hugh Morrus – According to Bill DeMott, he was asked in a WCW locker room what he wanted to use as his ring name. DeMott noticed a colleague in the shower and commented on the man’s erection. This lead to him being called Hugh G. Rection (“huge erection”). It was later changed to the more family friendly Hugh Morrus (“humorous”).
32. Hulk Hogan – ‘Hulk’ was a nickname colleagues gave to him because of his large, muscular physique. It was a reference to the ‘Incredible Hulk’.
33. The Hurricane – Helms originally took on the nickname “The Hurricane” as part of his boxer gimmick because he was quick and it began with the letter ‘H’ too. It was later used as the name of his superhero gimmick.
34. Irwin R. Schyster – His initials spell out I.R.S. (Inland Revenue Service).
35. Ivan Koloff – Like a lot of Canadians and Americans who took on Russian gimmicks, they just compiled traditional Russian names that “sounded Russian”.
36. JBL – The ‘J’ and ‘L’ are his genuine initials. The ‘B’ refers to the name Bradshaw, which formed part of his ring name throughout his WWE tenure.
37. Jean Pierre LaFitte – This was the name of a genuine pirate.
38. John Morrison – The name is a tribute to The Doors lead singer, Jim Morrison.
39. JTG – The initials either stand for ‘Just that great’ or ‘Just too good’.
40. Junkyard Dog – This was a nickname he had before he became a wrestler.
41. Justin Credible – The name was a joke, and sounds like “Just incredible”.
42. Kane – This was originally part of The Undertaker’s ring name when he made his first official appearance.
43. Kelly Kelly – This was a joke by Vince McMahon. He believed that Kelly was a better name for a young, blonde girl. As the name worked as a first name and a surname, he joked that it should be used for both.
44. Mr. Kennedy – Kennedy is Vince McMahon’s middle name. This is no coincidence as the character was originally planned to be McMahon’s son in story line.
45. Kevin Owens – Contrary to popular belief, the surname is not a reference to Owen Hart, but to his own son, Owen Steen. However, his son is named after Hart.
46. Kizarny – This is supposed to be the word “Carny” in “Carny language”, but with a hard ‘k’.
47. Kofi Kingston – Kingston is a major city in Jamaica, which is where is character was originally billed from.
48. Konnor – This is simply a respelling of his previous ring name, Conor O’Brian.
49. Kung Fu Naki – This name and gimmick was devised by Shoichi Funaki himself. He pitched it for years before the WWE decided to use it.
50. Luna Vachon – Luna is short for ‘lunatic’, a nickname she had during childhood because of her apparent mood swings. She later publically admitted that she had dealt with a bipolar disorder throughout her life.
51. Mankind – This was a suggestion Mick Foley pitched to Vince McMahon after disliking McMahon’s original idea. The name was ironic because the character was a negative portrayal of mankind.
52. Meat – This was a derogatory name for Shawn Stasiak’s character. He was referred to as a “piece of meat”, which is a term women use when they feel like they are only appreciated for their appearance.
53. Mil Mascaras – The name means “A thousand masks”.
54. The Miz – When Mike Mizanan was younger, he would often mimic The Rock around others, referring to himself as The Miz.
55. Mosh – A type of dance common within alternative rock shows.
56. MVP – MVP was a name he created and copyrighted before joining the main WWE roster.
57. Nikki Bella – Nikki’s real name is Stephanie Nicole Garcia. Performers are not allowed to use the name Stephanie because it is the name of Vince McMahon’s daughter. Nikki’s twin sister Brianna was always commonly known as Brie.
58. Paul Bearer – The name sounds like “pallbearer”, who is someone who helps carry the casket at funerals.
59. Perry Saturn – His surname is taken from the Greek god; Saturn.
60. Phineas I. Godwinn – He was a pig farmer whose initials spelled P.I.G.
61. Raven – This is taken from the titular character of the Edgar Allen Poe novel, ‘The Raven’.
62. Razor Ramon – With his gimmick being based on the titular character from the movie ‘Scarface’, Vince McMahon wanted a name that sounded Cuban that also sounded dangerous, but not quite as sinister.
63. Rey Mysterio – This is a re-spelling of Rey Misterio, which means “Mysterious king”. He adopted the ring name from his uncle.
64. Rhyno – This is yet another re-spelling to secure copyright. Paul Heyman originally called him ‘Rhino’ because a rhinoceros was a powerful beast, even if it wasn’t the largest one.
65. Ric Flair – Flair sounds like his real surname, Fliehr, but is easier for promoters to spell and sounded more prestigious.
66. Rick Steiner – This sounds like his real surname, Rechsteiner.
67. Ricky Steamboat – One of his original promoter’s felt that he would never make it as a babyface with his real name, Dick Blood. So the promoter pretended that he was the son of a local hero.
68. Rikishi – A rikishi is a sumo wrestler.
69. Roddy Piper – Roderick once played the bagpipes while making his way to the ring for one of his earliest matches. The ring announcer got confused and called him “Roddy the Piper”. The name stuck.
70. R-Truth – This is a combination of three different sources. The layout refers to his first WWE gimmick, when he was called K-Kwik. The initial ‘R’ is for his real first name, Ron. The word ‘Truth’ refers to his nickname outside of WWE, which was ‘The Truth’.
71. Ryback – Management felt that Ryan Reeves has a great name, but they couldn’t copyright it. They kept using parts of his name to create a name that would suit a character from the Terminator movie franchise. They eventually stuck with ‘Ryback’ because it was the least worst idea.
72. The Rock – He originally performed as Rocky Maivia, a tribute to his father and grandfather. Jim Ross felt that he would be more marketable if he shortened his name to just The Rock.
73. Sami Zayn – When said quickly, it sounds a little like “I’m insane”.
74. Scott Steiner – This is a shortened version of Scott Rechsteiner’s real name.
75. Sergeant Slaughter – This was a nickname he picked up in the military. It was taken from a movie that was popular with his cadets.
76. Shawn Michaels – This is a variation of his real name, Michael Shawn Hickenbottom.
77. Sheamus – Seamus is a traditional Irish name, with an added ‘h’ so that Americans would understand how it is pronounced.
78. Simon Dean – This was a joke on Dean Malenko, whose real name is Dean Simon.
79. Sin Cara – The name means “no face”.
80. Skull – This is the main bone that protects all the inner parts of your head. It is sometimes used as a derogatory term for a man who has no hair.
81. Spike Dudley – His full name is Little Spike Dudley, so his initials spelled L.S.D.
82. Stardust – This was a short-lived ring name used by his father, Dusty Rhodes.
83. Stevie Richards – This name is a parody of Shawn Michaels.
84. Sting – The people who came up with the gimmick realised that ‘The Scorpion’ was a rubbish ring name, but were keen to keep something on that theme.
85. Tatanka – Tatanka is his genuine Indian name. It means “buffalo”.
86. Tazz – This is another re-spelling to allow WWE to claim copyright. He was originally called Tazmaniac, which was based on the cartoon character ‘Taz, the Tazmanian Devil’. He had the character tattooed on his arm. It was later shortened to Taz.
87. Thrasher – An informal name for fans of grunge metal.
88. Triple H – Triple H refers to the initials of his previous ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (the initials were HHH). How did you not know this?
89. Ultimate Warrior – Before joining the WWE, he had the name Dingo Warrior. Vince McMahon was keen to keep the word ‘warrior’, but Bruce Pritchard tried to make him drop it because they already had 3 other ‘warriors’. Then Vince told him that he was better than the other warriors because he was the ultimate… the Ultimate Warrior.
90. Ultimo Dragon – The name means “The Last Dragon”. A Dragon was a name given to graduates of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do training.
91. Umaga – This is the final stage in getting a Samoan tribal tattoo. It literally means “the end”.
92. Val Venis – The WWE wanted a name that sounded like a clichéd porn actor screen name… and Venis sounds like “penis”… that was the logic here.
93. William Regal – Regal was already well-known internationally as Lord Stephen Regal. William is a common boy’s name in England.
94. Yokozuna – A yokozuna is a championship level in sumo wrestling.
95. Zeb Colter – The surname is a reference to John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The fact that his gimmick is similar to a parody of Ann Coulter and the Tea Party Movement is not likely a coincidence.