Rhyno Was Almost Named Mary In WWE
That is not a typo.
There's something about.... Mary?
Snorting ECW 'Man Beast' Rhino was later tweaked to Rhyno for copyright purposes when he first joined the then World Wrestling Federation in early 2001. However, that subtle name change wasn't the original plan WWF creative had in mind for the final recognised ECW Heayweight Champion.
Instead, they were torn between calling their new hire 'Juggernaut' or... Mary'.
Yes, Mary, like the guy was a middle-aged woman from Little House On The Prairie.
Rhyno told Chris Jericho on the AEW World Champ's podcast this week that he was distraught when he first heard of WWE's potential name change for his character. It'd be like WWE signing Wardlow from AEW and saying, 'Yeah, we're gonna' call you Barbara'. All hopes of being anything other than a laughing stock were shot.
Joe E. Legend saved the day by suggesting that WWE change the 'i' to a 'y' and trademark the Rhyno name for use. Company higher-ups loved that idea, and they quickly moved on from the thought of turning the wrestler into a Cameron Diaz movie character.