10 Origin Stories Of Awesome Wrestlers

8. Mankind

Dominik WWE
WWE

Mick Foley was offended when Vince McMahon expressed a desire to repackage him upon his WWF debut. He felt, as Cactus Jack, that he'd earned the right to debut with the character he'd made famous on the national scene. He had gained notoriety from his ultra-violent wars with Vader in WCW - to Foley, it was senseless not to take advantage of that.

He was even more offended by the character McMahon pitched - Mason The Mutilator. All but the most hardcore fans could not infer Mankind's aura, hidden as he was behind a mask. Meeting him halfway, he persuaded McMahon to break the habit of a lifetime by presenting a character with nuance and ambiguity.

Mankind The Mutilator - the suffix was soon jettisoned - was less of a mutilator and more of a tortured soul, with motives that were almost understandable. Foley also convinced McMahon to provide the Mankind character with separate entrance and exit themes, foreboding and cathartic respectively, thus proving that Foley's innovation extended well beyond creative self-destruction.

If a lesson can be learned from this origin story, it's that wrestling, at its best, is a collaborative enterprise.

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!