Nicknames are an important part of wrestling. They help the crowd have a better chance of connecting with the wrestlers. The essence of a good nickname is to give the crowd a window into the personality of a particular wrestler.
Good nicknames roll off the tongue. They’re short and sweet.
Sometimes nicknames don’t stick, and sometimes they’re forever intertwined with the wrestlers they portray. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best wrestling nicknames of all time.
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10: The Mouth of the South – Jimmy Hart
There are many types of nicknames in wrestling. When it came to Jimmy Hart, he has a location-based nickname, and it was pure gold. The Mouth of the South moniker fits Jimmy Hart’s character like a custom designed glove, especially during his time in WCW.
Jimmy Hart is one of the most decorated managers in pro wrestling history having managed the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Hart Foundation, Ted DiBiasie, The Giant (Big Show in WCW), Jerry Lawler and The Honky Tonk Man amongst others. A lesser known fact for hardcore fans, Jimmy Hart even managed AJ Styles for a little bit in TNA.
The Mouth of the South is also a WWE Hall of Famer, being inducted into the HOF in 2005 by Jerry Lawler.
9: King of Strong Style – Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the best wrestlers in the world today by all accounts. He was one of the most popular wrestlers of all time in Japan during his time there with NJPW where he is a former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion amongst other accolades.
His distinct martial arts inspired style of stiff shots and hard kicks led him to christen himself the ‘King of Strong Style’, a nickname that’s more than apt for Nakamura.
Nakamura has hit the ground running in WWE since finally signing with the kings of sports entertainment earlier this year. His debut match against Samy Zayn at NXT Takeover: Dallas was one of the best matches of WrestleMania weekend.
8: The Man of a 1000 Holds – Dean Malenko
No nickname in wrestling has ever been more apt than Dean Malenko’s moniker, The Man of a 1,000 holds. Malenko is one of the best technical wrestlers of all time and got his nickname based on his vast knowledge of holds, submissions and reversals. His time in WCW even got him to No.1 on the Wrestling Observer’s annual PWI 500 list.
Although his time in the WWE wasn’t nearly as successful as his time in WCW’s Cruiserweight division, he remains a valuable part of the WWE even today, working as a road agent and helping Superstars put together the best matches possible.
7: The 8th Wonder of the World – Andre The Giant
According to wrestling legend, Andre The Giant hadn’t lost a match for 15 straight years at one point in his career. Dubbed The 8th Wonder of the World due to his monstrous size and presence, Andre was one of the most protected superstars in the history of the WWE.
A former WWE World Champion, Andre is most famous for his feud with Hulk Hogan, culminating at Wrestlemania III with Hogan bodyslamming Andre. Andre is also remembered for portraying Fezzik, the giant in The Princess Bride.
6: The Face of Terror – Haku
Haku was one of the most genuinely intimidating wrestlers ever to step into the squared circle. Tales of Haku’s legendary toughness have encircled wrestling since the beginning of his career. Although Haku isn’t the most famous wrestler in this list, he has often been referred to as the most badass man to ever enter the wrestling industry.
Tales of Haku’s badassdom include fighting off 8 police officers in a bar even though he’d been tazed and biting a piece out of a man’s back, yes his back, for racially abusing him. With all this being said, Haku was indeed the Face of Terror.
5: The Deadman – The Undertaker
Since his debut at Survivor Series more than a quarter of a century ago, The Undertaker has gone one to become an icon and a living legend. His career is full of legendary moments that fans will never forget - the time he threw Mankind off the roof of the Hell In A Cell and sent him crashing through the announce table, the match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania and losing the streak to Brock Lesnar. The Undertaker has had a lot of nicknames over his career but the one that epitomizes him is ‘The Deadman’ moniker.
Both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, there’s no one quite like The Undertaker. Although he’s in the twilight of his career right now, The Undertaker still has one marquee match left in him, which will hopefully take place at WrestleMania 33.
4: The Ayatollah of Rock ’N’ Rolla — Chris Jericho
Leave it to Chris Jericho to come up with a nickname like ‘The Ayatollah of Rock ’N’ Rolla’ for himself. And, only someone as talented as Jericho could pull it off. Jericho has a number of nicknames, but this Mad Max-inspired nickname stuck with him throughout his career. Jericho rose in WCW’s Cruiserweight division where he made a name for himself before debuting in WWE with his equally famous Y2J moniker.
Jericho is one of the most decorated WWE Superstars of all time and a surefire future Hall of Famer. He was the first WWE Undisputed Champion, a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, a 9-time Intercontinental Champion and a multiple time tag team champion. He was also the fourth person to complete the Grand Slam, the first being Shawn Michaels.
3: The Heartbreak Kid – Shawn Michaels
The Shawn Michaels of today is nothing like the brash, young out of control man who was one of the faces of WWE’s New Generation Era in the early and mid 90’s. He adopted the HBK moniker soon after splitting from his tag team partner Marty Jannetty and going solo. A little-known fact is that it was actually the late Mr. Perfect, Curt Henning, who first suggested the Heartbreak Kid nickname for Michaels.
Michaels has won almost every title in the WWE during his career and is the first ever Grand Slam Champion in WWE (He was the first to win the WWE World Championship, the tag team championships and the Intercontinental and European championships).
2: The Game – Triple H
Triple H started calling himself the game soon after the beginning of the McMahon-Helmsley Era to indicate that he was that he was at the top of the WWE, owing to his kayfabe marriage to Stephanie at the time and signifying that he was at the heights of his ability at the time. A little know fact is that ‘The Game’ nickname was originally assigned to Owen Hart, with Triple H adopting it after his death as a way of honouring him.
Since then The Game moniker has become closely intertwined with Triple H although he has other nicknames like ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ and ‘The King of Kings’ and who can forget, his iconic theme music produced by Motorhead.
1: The People’s Champion – The Rock
Fans tend to forget that The Rock was almost universally hated upon his debut as the smiling, bland Rocky Maivia. It was his run in the Nation of Domination and The Corporation that finally made him a fan favourite. In 1999, he adopted the nickname The People’s Champion, which would propel him to the top of the WWE card and cement his as one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.
This led to a feud with Mr. McMahon, who said he had "a problem with the people" and would thus target "The People's Champion" establishing the relationship between The Rock and ‘the people’.
The genius of the nickname was that The Rock didn’t have to hold a belt to be a champion, he was always The People’s Champion.
