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Most people are proud of their hometowns. The place where they grew up is familiar, old stomping grounds, and they know it like the back of their hand.
But if you're a WWE Superstar, sometimes your hometown just won't cut the mustard. You need to be from a place more exotic, more heat-generating, than just Hoboken, New Jersey.
What to do? Pretend to be from somewhere else, of course!
Here are ten wrestlers and factions that claimed to be from one place, but are really from another.
#10 Sabu - Saudi Arabia, originally from New York City
The nephew of wrestling's original Sheik, Terry Brunk at least has Arabian heritage in his genealogy. However, his hometown is not Saudi Arabia, but Staten Island, New York!
In order to prevent confusion, Sabu couldn't go by the name Terry Brunk -- it sounds too similar to Terry Funk! Drawing on his heritage, he originally was called Sabu, the Elephant Boy, until he started competing in FMW.
From there, Sabu would show his true hardcore tendencies and become the Homicidal, Genocidal, Suicidal icon we all have come to love. The scars on his chest are totally real, but you know what's not? His hometown.
#9 Akeem - Deepest, Darkest Africa, originally from South Carolina
It really needs to be said; recasting the One Man Gang, a white man from America, as 'Akeem the African Dream' was tasteless. At best, it's cultural appropriation. At worst, it's mildly racist.
As Akeem, George Gray -- the man behind the gimmick -- did receive a much bigger push than he had as his One Man Gang character. He formed the Twin Towers with Big Boss Man and the pair feuded with no less luminaries than the Mega Powers (Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.) They would also challenge -- unsuccessfully -- for the tag team titles held by Demolition.
Curiously, Gray's One Man Gang gimmick had a fake hometown too -- he was billed as being from Halsted Street, Chicago. George Gray is mostly retired but the 57-year-old still takes the occasional booking.
#8 Million Dollar Man - Many seasonal residences, originally from Miami
In order to sell his Million Dollar Man character, the WWE went all in with Ted DiBiase. They aired numerous vignettes of his posh manor and fancy cars. He even starred in an episode of 1980s hit syndicated series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Going the extra mile, Ted DiBiase's hometown changed depending on the season. In winter, he made his residence in the Netherlands, Antilles, but during the fall he would be billed as making his residence in Bel Air, California.
In reality, Ted was born in Florida, but spent a lot of time in the St. Louis territories. He even sponsors a church across the river in the Metro East city of Belleville, Illinois. Now living in Mississippi, Ted DiBiase is enjoying a well-earned retirement, though he does have a WWE Legends contract.
#7 The Headbangers - The Outer Reaches of your mind, originally Jersey
Remember the Headbangers, the mid-90s tag team that wore kilts, goatees, and wore heavy metal t-shirts as part of their gimmick? No? You're probably not alone.
Still, the Headbangers were a minor sensation when they joined the WWE in 1996. They even captured the tag team championship by defeating three other teams, including the Legion of Doom/Road Warriors.
Eventually, the Headbangers split up and were rarely seen on television again. They mostly wrestle on the independent circuit, though they've shown up for special WWE broadcasts in recent years.
#6 Yokozuna - Tokyo, Japan, originally from San Franci
In the early 1990s, there was a groundswell of resentment in America toward the country of Japan. It was believed -- erroneously -- and hyped up on right-wing media that Japanese corporations were 'buying all the land' and gobbling up businesses in America.
Seeking to capitalise on this unfortunate cultural phenomenon to gain cheap heel heat, the WWE debuted Yokozuna, a mock-sumo who was really a member of the famous Anoa'i clan of Samoan wrestlers.
Yokozuna even became WWE champion, and feuded with such legends as Bret Hart and Lex Luger. He died in 2000 from heart failure, but he remains alive as a legend in wrestling.
#5 Nikita and Ivan Koloff - Moscow, Russia, originally from Canada
The Cold War was a gold mine for heel gimmicks. During the 1980s, you had Krusher Krushnev, Nikolai Volkoff, Boris Zhukov, and of course Ivan and Nikita Koloff.
Of all these men, only Nikolai was actually from Russia, while the rest were North Americans who pretended to be Russian to gain heel heat.
The most successful and famous of these faux-Russians were the Koloffs -- Ivan and Nikita. While both men had convincing Russian accents, they both hailed from the great white north of Canada.
Both men are still alive, and there is a petition to get Ivan into WWE's Hall of Fame.
#4 Jinder Mahal - Punjab, India, originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
A much more powerfully built Jinder Mahal made his return to the WWE in 2017, and managed to climb the mountain to the highest peak, winning the Smackdown championship from Randy Orton.
The Modern Day Maharaja is of Indian descent, but he was born in Canada and has Canadian citizenship. Still, it's not distasteful for him to be billed from Punjab when it's actually his heritage -- unlike Akeem the African Dream.
Jinder is still at the top of the card and recently challenged AJ Styles for the Smackdown championship.
#3 Ultimate Warrior - Parts Unknown, originally from Crawfordsville, Indiana
Upon his debut in the WWE, legendary commentator Gorilla Monsoon said, "Wow, look at this guy!" Jim Hellwig's ripped physique was even more impressive than that of other powerhouses at the time, like Hercules Hernandez and Ravishing Rick Rude.
The Ultimate Warrior was billed as being from Parts Unknown, a common refrain for monster heels characters but rarely used for a babyface like Hellwig. His origins were kept mysterious to further enhance his enigmatic aura.
The Warrior passed away in 2014, but will remain forever in the hearts of wrestling fans around the world.
#2 Hulk Hogan - Venice Beach, California, originally from Augusta, Georgia
During the 1980s, California cool was all the buzz. Everyone wanted to emulate the so-cal way of life, especially the exploits of the Muscle Beach crowd.
Venice Beach, California was renown for having weightlifting equipment right next to the ocean, free for any citizen to use. Many locals took advantage of this, resulting in a large population of jacked to the max dudes.
So when Hulk Hogan debuted for the WWE, his hometown was tweaked to be Venice Beach. A look at Hogan even in his late fifties, you can see that he would fit right in at a place called Muscle Beach.
Hogan is a wealthy man thanks to a lawsuit settlement with tabloid website Gawker, and rumours abound that he may return to the WWE in some capacity in 2018.
#1 Sid Vicious - From anywhere he damn well pleases, originally Arkansas
Softball enthusiast and wrestling legend Sid Eudy -- better known to the world as Sid Vicious -- was one of the most massively jacked men of the late 1980s/early 1990s wrestling scene.
Sid feuded with Sting and even joined the Four Horsemen at one point in his career. As Sid began to get more cheers than boos, his hometown was re-christened to the wonderfully evocative "From Anywhere he damn well pleases."
It's the perfect hometown for someone like Sid.
