18 Most Intimidating Wrestler Nicknames

9. Dr. Death

The sadly deceased Steve Williams is another renowned for being a legit tough guy. Whereas Williams' hard-as-nails reputation often proceeded him, the nickname of Dr. Death only further added to his intimidation factor. Williams was a no-nonsense brawler with incredible strength, but the moniker of Dr. Death made it seems as if he was coming for an opponent's very life and soul. The nickname of Dr. Death actually goes back to Williams' high school days, given to him by a coach after he had to wrestle in a hockey mask. An All-American collegiate football player and an NCAA finalist (losing to future Olympic medalist Bruce Baumgartner), Williams was, to paraphrase Jim Ross, "a legitimate stud." Dr. Death would go on to become one of the most successful foreign wrestlers that Japan has ever seen, and he'd even have a decade-long unbeaten run at one point, although a brief 2004 foray into MMA, at the age of 43 years of age, saw him lose his one and only professional mixed martial arts match. With suplexes aplenty and a smash-mouth, hard-hitting style, anybody stepping into the ring with Dr. Death needed to up their game otherwise this Colorado native would take them to school. Williams passed away in 2009 after a battle with throat cancer.
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.