10 Unbelievable Origins Of Wrestler Names

Allow me to reintroduce myself...

Stone Cold Tea
WWE

A wrestler's name is what defines them; Kane is a far more terrifying title than Glenn Jacobs, CM Punk is cooler than Phillip Brooks, and I sincerely doubt Paul Michael Levesque would have been able to achieve what Triple H has.

There are some great stories behind how performers decided on what they wanted fans to call them. We recently found out that Steffanie Newell (aka Tegan Nox) got her in-ring name by combining her Welsh heritage with a wand-extinguishing spell from Harry Potter, which also brings a whole new meaning to her Shiniest Wizard finisher.

Kevin Steen became Kevin Owens upon joining WWE as a nod to his son, who was named after the former Universal Champion's favourite wrestler, Owen Hart. Hornswoggle was so called because it means "to get the better of someone by cheating or deception" and fit his character perfectly...plus it's far better than 'Little Bastard'.

Finally, Finn Balor (Fergal Devitt before NXT) got his title by combining two Irish mythological creations; the fabled hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill (often given the alias Finn MacCool) and the one-eyed demon king Balor. With all that in mind, here are ten unbelievable origins of wrestler names...

10. Bayley

Stone Cold Tea
WWE.com

Like many wrestlers who make the jump to WWE from the indies, Bayley wasn't allowed to use her name from the independent circuit, Davina Rose. Instead she submitted a selection of alternative names and got three approved names back to pick her WWE moniker from.

Bayley didn't want to be called something "super girly" and had suggested unisex names like Bobby Or Jordan. However, when they were rejected she was stuck between Davia (like Davina but minus the 'n'?) and Bailey.

Speaking on an episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast, the inaugural women's grand slam champion revealed she was ready to turn down these options until she was told to pick one as it would be her NXT debut the following week.

The rest is history; she chose Bayley, tweaking the name ever so slightly to reflect her bay area roots, and went on to be one of the biggest stars NXT has produced.

Contributor
Contributor

Lanky, specky, ginger bloke who loves all things wrestling, football and quiz related. The man who invented the #BloodyGoodQuiz.