5 WWE Superstars who were 'guitar players'

In a little over two weeks, WWE SummerSlam will take place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Considering the promotion's past history, it's almost fitting that it is holding this premium live event in Music City, USA.

There have been plenty of WWE Superstars in the past who have had fire in their bellies and songs in their souls. They are the rock stars and country singers of the promotion: The guitar players.

Many a wrestling performer has carried a signature accessory to the ring. Jim Duggan's 2x4 and Jimmy Hart's megaphone, for example, are signature items that are identified with these colorful characters. WWE musicians are no different. Their weapons of choice just happen to feature Les Paul's signature.

Those who walk into the ring with a loaded six-string on their backs clearly deserve recognition. So in honor of SummerSlam taking place in Nashville, here are five WWE Superstars who carried a guitar with them into battle.

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#5 - Man Mountain Rock

Formerly known as Maxx Payne in WCW, Rock was a professional wrestler who literally rocked. Unfortunately, he never quite made it to the top of the charts in World Wrestling Entertainment, and didn't last long with the promotion.

Man Mountain Rock was with the WWF for less than a year

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of Man Mountain Rock was his ax of choice, which was shaped like the old WWF logo. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the crowd to ask for any encores.

Before his WWE tenure, Man Mountain Rock had found success teaming with Mick Foley in World Championship Wrestling as Maxx Payne. Unfortunately, he never reached those kind of heights again in his career.

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#4 - Rick Boogs

The newest name on this list is Rick Boogs, who began his career on the main roster as a sidekick to more established WWE Superstars, most notably Happy Corbin.

However, during this time, fans took notice of his rock star persona, strange ring gear and tendency to tell bad jokes.

For whatever reason, he struck the right note with the audience. Eventually, Boogs turned babyface before suffering a torn quad at WrestleMania 38 that put him out of action.

Unlike some of the names on this list, Boogs appears to be musically trained. Meaning he knows how to play the guitar, not just pretend to. If not, he at least does a good enough job covering it with his antics.

At just 34, the promotion still has high hopes for this string-plucking prospect. Hopefully the injury is just a setback, and Boogs will be rocking the WWE Universe for years to come.

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#3 - Elias

Elias is also a legit guitarist and musician. In an interview last year with Sportskeeda, he said that he first became a wrestling fan as a youngster. When he discovered Eric Clapton as a teenager, he added music to his reportoire.

He eventually shed the guitar and the persona, transforming into his 'younger brother', Ezekiel. He has even alternated back and forth between the two characters.

Elias recorded a mainstream album entitled The Universal Truth in 2020. It was his second studio effort following 2018's Walk with Elias.

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#2 - WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett

Nashville's very own Jeff Jarrett was a guitar-swinging, trash-talking heel that handed out plenty of El Kabongs on his way to a decorated career.

A multi-time world champion, no one has ever seen Double J play any tunes on his six-string. However, he has become synonymous with the instrument more than any other modern figure in sports entertainment.

'Double J' Jeff Jarrett was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018

After nearly nine years away from the promotion, Jarrett returned for his Hall of Fame induction in 2018. He was introduced by his former 'Roadie', the Road Dogg Jesse James.

Things came full circle for Jarrett earlier this year, when he returned to take on a backstage role with WWE. Today, he serves as Senior Vice President of Live Events for the company.

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#1 - WWE Hall of Famer The Honky Tonk Man

The self-proclaimed 'Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time' is probably the one WWE Superstar most associated with the six-string. In fact, it's hard to picture the Hall of Famer without one.

The Honky Tonk Man made smashing a guitar over his opponent's head a trademark

HTM would infuriate the audience by imitating Elvis and pretending to strum the guitar when it looked like he couldn't really play a note.

His character was originally intended to be a good-natured ally of Hulk Hogan. But when fans rejected this fake King of Rock 'n' Roll, he turned heel. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Honky Tonk Man was never scared to play a tune on a rival's cranium. It carried him to a historic title run and the Hall of Fame... and he was pickin' his guitar the whole way.