10 Dumbest Wrestling Name Changes

5. Ed Leslie (Various)

Steve Austin Ringmaster
WWE.com

Ed Leslie underwent no less than fifteen name changes throughout his nepotistic-tastic wrestling career. Brilliantly, one such name was the 'Man With No Name'.

He's a figure of ridicule nowadays, given that he polluted WCW entirely because he was pals with the guy who bent it to his whim - but as Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake in the Golden Age of the WWF, he was very much over. His gimmick just worked, distressing attire notwithstanding; watching him shear the hair off his rivals was a gloriously dumb dose of wrestling catharsis in an era in which the good guys got to win regularly. That period was also massively popular, but let's not depress ourselves with the obviousness of that correlation.

Unfortunately, as a result of pesky copyright law, he was unable to exhume the character in WCW, wherein he debuted as 'Brother Bruti', using Gorilla Monsoon's affectionate nickname to hammer home the resemblance. That run was cut short (sorry), for a heel turn at the expense of Hulk Hogan necessitated a run as 'The Butcher'. The prospect of Leslie giving you a bad haircut was nowhere near as terrifying as the notion that he headlined he company's biggest show of the year in 1994.

Ed Leslie also achieved the impossible, and did something worse after an association with the Dungeon of Doom; his post-Zodiac Booty Man bit was a love letter to his own arse - as opposed to his career, which was a love letter to Hogan's.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!