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A wrestler's name is a hugely important part of a superstar package. When people hear "The Rock", they immediately think of the jabroni-beating, pie-eating, eyebrow-raising "People's Champion", The Rock, a man who transcends the sport and is the epitome of cool.
Likewise, when people hear names such as The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and others, they think fearsome wrestling competitors.
However, for every credible wrestler name, there are plenty more duds, which do nothing for the athlete portraying the character.
Think Damian Demento. Think Max Moon. Ridiculous names only succeed in making the character look silly and thus, prevent the WWE Universe from developing a money making engagement with them.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin has one of the most memorable and famous character names in the history of the sport. However, had things worked out differently, it could have been a very different story. Austin had watched a television documentary on American serial killer, Richard Kuklinski who was famed for freezing his victims to mask their time of death. This modus operandi led to the media nicknaming him, the "Iceman."
This ruthlessly cold personality was a character trait Austin wanted to incorporate into his on-screen character, which at the time was the nondescript, Ringmaster. However, when he first pitched the character idea to the WWE creative team, he was met by ludicrous suggestions for ring names such as: "Otto van Ruthless", "Fang McFrost" and "Chilli McFreeze." Austin and his pal, Brian Pillman would roar with laughter when he received a series of faxes listing the suggested monikers.
When Austin's then-wife, Jeannie Clark, who was English and had begun converted Austin to drinking cups of tea, suggested he better start drinking his tea before it goes "stone cold"; only then was the most successful wrestler in history born.
It's debatable whether "Chilli McFreeze" Steve Austin would have become a six-time WWE Champion and the most famous wrestler of all time; which only highlights the importance of a ring name to a talent.
In this slideshow, we look at five WWE wrestlers who were saddled with unfortunate character names which devastated their careers.
#5 Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Brutus Beefcake debuted for WWE back in the early 1980's, but first competed under that character name in late 1984 as part of the famed tag team, The Dream Team with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. The team would become Tag Team Champions, before splitting and going their separate ways at Wrestlemania III.
In the very next match, Beefcake assisted Roddy Piper in defeating Adrian Adonis in a hair vs hair encounter. Beefcake did the honours in shaving Adonis's head, earning him the nickname of "The Barber."
Although the nickname may have made logical sense, it lacked menace and was pretty silly if you think about it. Does a barber have a place in a wrestling ring?
Brutus Beefcake is what passed for a macho ring name in the 1980s but in truth, it was about as dumb as they come, in terms of a moniker that could be taken seriously.
Beefcake, unsurprisingly, never progressed beyond the mid-card ranks anywhere over the course of his career. If it hadn't been for his close friendship with Hulk Hogan in the 1990s, it's likely that Beefcake would never have competed beyond his mid-1980s peak.
#4 The Berserker
The Berzerker was originally going to be called "The Viking", which was still ridiculous, but at least like the Nordic warriors of the same name, would have done more to instil fear into the watching WWE Universe.
However, for reasons unknown, WWE elected to change the name to The Berzerker. What exactly is a Berzerker??
In actuality, a Berzerker was a type of Viking, a champion Viking in fact. However, how many WWE fans back in the early 1990s would have known that?
Berzerk was the word most people closely associated with the character and as he marched around the ring shouting "huss" and throwing his opponents out of the ring as he was only interested in winning by countout, it seemed an apt description.
A ridiculous name for an even more ludicrous character. No surprises that the character was never more than an opening card act.
#3 Bastion Booger
Poor Mike Shaw. That man, perhaps more than any other had to withstand a flurry of bad gimmicks with ridiculous monikers.
Prior to Bastion Booger, Shaw portrayed Norman the Lunatic and Friar Ferguson to little fanfare. But it was his rechristening as the slovenly Bastion Booger, whose name is the Americanised word for snot was a repulsive character that ate huge amounts of food before, after and sometimes during his matches.
Booger debuted on the June 19, 1993, episode in a losing effort to Virgil. That's right! The debutant lost to a jobber in his first televised appearance.
It didn't bode well. The character lasted less than a year before it was scrapped and forgotten about. The irony is, that Booger, despite his size, could work and had success in the 1980s in the Stampede Wrestling promotion, run by Stu Hart.
Under the Booger gimmick though, he never had a chance.
#2 The Goon
Bill Irwin was best known for competing in Mid South and World Class Championship Wrestling in the early 1980s and in Jim Crockett Promotions at the end of the decade primarily in successful tag teams.
When he got his shot in WWE however, Irwin was saddled with the ridiculous moniker, "The Goon."
The character was supposed to be a Hockey player who had been kicked out of every league available to him. If that sounds ludicrous. That's because it was. The character was a massive failure and lasted a matter of months in 1996.
Goon in Hockey parlance is meant to refer to the "tough guy" on a team, the one player that would break up fights or enforce the rules.
However, WWE would have been wise to do some further research, as in other parts of the world, the word "goon" refers to a "silly or foolish" person. That sounds about right.
#1 Mabel
Why Nelson Frazier was given the ring name "Mabel" is a mystery. Originally debuting as part of a tag team with Mo, Mabel was largely comic relief in the Heavyweight tandem.
Mabel sounds like your gran's name, not a hulking 500 Ibs behemoth who is meant to be intimidating.
What is even more perplexing is that WWE always had high hopes for Mabel. In 1995, the company went all the way with his push, booking him to win the 1995 King of the Ring tournament; a competition that also included Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker as participants.
He main evented Summerslam 1995 with Diesel but after injuring the WWE Champion and not getting over with the fanbase, he was booted back down the card.
In 1999, Mabel resurfaced in WWE, but the promotion apparently recognising it's past mistake, rechristened Mabel as Viscera, a minion of the satanic Undertaker.
As Viscera, Frazier was still the same wrestler of course, but gained far more traction and respect from the WWE Universe. It's amazing what a change of name can do.
