15 WWE Wrestlers Who Lost A Name
7. (Canadian) Earthquake
Now this is a different (and fun) one.
Plucked out of the audience (in storyline) during a 1989 pushup competition, the Canadian Earthquake assisted Jimmy Hart and Dino Bravo as part of a plot against the Ultimate Warrior. Quake sat on Bravo’s back for some pushups, but when Warrior tried the same, “John from West Virginia” jumped on his back and helped Dino beat Warrior down.
The name Canadian Earthquake didn’t really strike fear into men’s hearts – although he sent several jobbers to the hospital during his first few months on the roster. By WrestleMania VI, he lost his geographic title and became simply Earthquake, which is what the vast majority of fans remember.
As Earthquake, he feuded with Hulk Hogan and would go on to capture the WWF Tag Team Championships with Typhoon as the Natural Disasters. Looking back, this name shortening was a no-brainer and definitely worked out very well for the character.