10 Unbelievable Origins Of Wrestler Names

Most wrestling fans are aware of the origins of Mick Foley's 'Mankind' personality, who debuted in the WWF in 1996 as a mentally deranged schizophrenic, complete with a mask, hardcore in-ring style, and eventually Mr Socko.

Mankind was originally to be 'Mason the Mutilator' before thankfully cooler heads prevailed and Foley became his most legendary iteration, with the name being a "subtle castigation on humanity" courtesy of the double meaning.

Regardless, whilst many know where that sobriquet came from, 'Cactus Jack' is a persona with far more mystery surrounding his genesis, and arguably a more intriguing explanation.

Unbelievably, it was inspired by a character played by Kirk Douglas in a favourite film of Foley's childhood, 'The Villain'. Cactus Jack was a cowboy outlaw, and when Mick was starting out in the business he decided to use it to pay homage to a hero of his youth and as a tribute to the name given to his father's wrestling board game character!