One of the greatest “dodged bullets” in wrestling was when Steve Austin was trying to remake his image in WWE in 1996. He was almost given a variety of names that included “Chilly McFreeze.” Thankfully, Austin hit upon the “Stone Cold” moniker to become a star. It shows how a good name does wonders for someone’s career. Too bad promoters enjoy some dumb ones.
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Many names are just amazingly stupid (Bastion Booger springs to mind) and not helped by how WWE and WCW were into guys having “occupation” gimmicks in the 1990s. Yet some names stood out as just funny. Not bad, not even stupid, but just funny for various reasons. Some guys actually used them to become stars, while others were stuck in the lower cards. Yet those names were fun to say and could even give a guy more of a following than a more serious moniker. Without further ado, here are 10 of the funniest names ever in wrestling, and the fact there are scores more to count says a lot about the business.
10 Porkchop Cash
Going old-school with a name that helped make a so-so worker into a hit. Bobby Cash was a good worker for the territories in the 1960s. Mike LaBelle hired Cash for his Los Angeles promotion but felt the wrestler needed a new name to catch on. They were at a diner tossing out ideas when Cash ordered a plate of pork chops.
Instantly, LaBelle said it was the perfect title. As offbeat as it sounded, it made Cash a star as a multiple tag team and NWA Americas Heavyweight Champion. It added to his vibe in other territories as that plate of pork chops earned Cash a lot of money over the years.
9 Irwin R. Schyster
It’s a testament to his skills that Mike Rotunda could make this character work so well. One of the many “occupational gimmicks” abounding in WWE in the early 1990s, IRS was an evil taxman who came to the ring in suspenders and a suit.
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He even insisted on wrestling with the bow tie, which was pretty cool. Despite how dumb it sounded ("schyster" actually fits a lawyer), Rotunda made it work as IRS. Irwin R. Schyster and Ted DiBiase became a very successful championship team in Money Inc. IRS became a top star in the tag team division as a result of his gimmick.
8 Terra Ryzing
The early 1990s could have some very odd names in wrestling and especially in WCW. One was for a typical jobber who was the usual blonde-haired handsome guy used to get others over. Terra Ryzing may have sounded good to someone in the office but just seemed pretty silly the way it was spelled.
It didn’t fit the jobber himself, who later adapted a play on his real name of “Frenchman” Jean-Paul Levesque. He then jumped to WWE to take a name most might know him better by, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Yes, the future Triple H had one of the most laughable names ever.
7 Jimmy Wang Yang
WWE’s mid-2000s Cruiserweight Division was pretty good with plenty of guys who could have become bigger stars. Among them was Jimmy Wang Yang, whose act was genius: a classic Japanese high-flyer who dressed, talked, and acted as an American redneck.
The name fit, rolling off the tongue and sounding more like the meal for a themed restaurant. Yang was good in the ring, and the goofy act won fans over but never got the big pushes needed to succeed. Still, that funny name made him stand out amid the Cruiserweight pack.
6 Sexton Hardcastle
Val Venis’ character of “adult film star turned wrestler” worked because many wrestling names can be applied to that industry. Among them was an early 1990s Canadian worker. Adam Copeland liked it, but you could tell the ring announcers were fighting back laughs when he came out to the ring.
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He wasn’t bad, but it was hard to take him seriously with a goofy name like that and his WCW moniker of "Damon Striker" wasn't much better. Thankfully, in WWE, he landed the much better title of Edge. No wonder he called himself The Rated-R Superstar.
5 Pez Whatley
One of the more famous goofy names in wrestling, Pez Whatley was one of those jobbers folks just love. He was best known for his work in the Mid-Atlantic region in the 1980s, not a top star but still going over well with his demeanor and a hair-vs-hair feud with Jimmy Valiant.
It was that name that got folks on his side, a play on the popular candy line and he could be funny with his dancing. If anyone owes what success he has in the business to a name, Pez is it.
4 Kung Fu Naki
Kai En Tai was one of those acts that should never have gotten over but became a hit. Funaki and Taka Michinoku had fans in laughter at their intros where Taka would “speak” to a badly dubbed English voice before Funaki would intone a deep “Indeed!” In 2008, after various gimmicks, Funaki changed to a martial arts character.
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Kung Fu Naki may have been silly but, like his other gimmicks, he went so over the top with it that it was hilarious. He would act like the Karate Kid while looking like a second-rate yellow belt. Plus, the moniker itself was a fun one and proved the guy was an underrated comedic talent.
3 Damien Demento
So many times in wrestling, the promoters give a guy what they think is a name striking and intimidating but has the opposite effect. Damien Demento is a great example. He made appearances in 1993 where he actually began as “Mondo Kleen.” Maybe WWE figured a name sounding like a kitchen product wasn’t the best, but Damien Demento wasn’t much better.
Believe it or not, this guy has the honor of being in the main event of the first-ever Monday Night RAW where he lost to The Undertaker. He vanished soon after, but the quirky name has allowed him to live on in the memories of fans.
2 Pineapple Pete/Sugar Dunkerton
No matter the name, this guy has a growing cult following in the indies. Sugar Dunkerton started his career in the 2000s, notable for his act of dressing like a refugee from a 1970s basketball team. He had a funny persona as Sugar Dunkerton and dribbled a ball in the middle of a match for some fun.
He changed it to Pineapple Pete, a fun “island” gimmick that’s gained more attention. He even showed his stuff in AEW and surprisingly he wasn’t signed on full time. Whatever his moniker, it’s a funny one to match a very entertaining worker who’s waiting on his big break.
1 Soultrain Jones
One of the more famous stories in wrestling is that WWE gave Ted DiBiase’s servant the name “Virgil” as a shot on Dusty Rhodes’ real name. Before that, Michael Jones had worked in Memphis as Soul Train Jones. It was based on the classic music TV show Soul Train with Jones coming out with some goofy dancing before, during, and after matches.
He toned that down when he joined WWE as The Million Dollar Man’s bodyguard in 1987. Virgil would turn on Ted DiBiase at the 1991 Royal Rumble. He later got the name “Vincent” in WCW as a shot on McMahon and might have been fun for him to break out the “Soul Train” line now and then.
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