10 Wrestlers Who Ditched Their Terrible Ring Names

7. Sterling Golden - Hulk Hogan

The story goes that in 1979, Vince McMahon was looking to create a marquee star with a full-blown Irish gimmick - complete with the customary red hair as well as the Hogan surname. Though he drew the line at dying his blonde locks, a 26-year-old Terry Bollea was happy to embrace the Irish name. Thus, Hulk Hogan was born.

Not only did this kickstart the creation of the biggest star of the 1980s, it also signalled the end of the brief career of a certain Sterling Golden.

Hogan had been wrestling under the guise for a few short months in Georgia Championship Wrestling, but it’s one of those names that sounds far too contrived to ever be taken seriously. Then again, that kind of reasoning could easily be applied to the Hulk Hogan moniker as well…

But Sterling Golden wasn’t the only alias that Hogan ditched in his early days. The Terry Boulder persona preceded the arrival of Mr. Golden, which may not have been any better - but would certainly have given WrestleMania X8 an added geological subtext.