10 Unbelievable Wrestling Coincidences

2. Two Weirdly Coincidental Name "Changes"

Seth Rollins Logan Paul
WWE.com

This wasn't the intention - Mick Foley, as most wrestlers after him did, simply wished to avoid a bad Vince McMahon creative decision - but his WWE name is very similar to the name with which he chased notoriety.

Foley's first self-created character was of course named 'Dude Love', and he got to perform under it and live every young fan's dream in 1997. That name is at least adjacent to a synonym of Mankind. Now, this wasn't some "almost the same, just slightly different for trademarking purposes" name change, à la Daniel Bryan, The Boss, or Rhyno: it was by complete coincidence that Mankind was so similar to Dude Love. Foley pitched the name Mankind - as in, he embodied the worst of and threatened the future of it - because he was appalled by the idea of being 'Mason The Mutilator'.

Along similar lines, Papa Shango and the Godfather almost mean the same thing, not that there was meant to be any correlation between the two performers. You were meant to think of Godfather as a completely different person because Shango - much to Bruce Prichard's chagrin - was consigned to history as a failed gimmick.

Papa obviously means father, while Shango is a deity in the religion of Yoruba.

 
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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!