WWE: Bizarre real-life stories of WWE wrestlers

Over the years, WWE has thrilled us, entertained us with various on-screen characters. Some of them were lovable characters, fan favourites. Then, there were some who were on the wrong end of our rants and chants. That is not where it ends though, there were some who shocked us, in a pleasant way or the other.

So, this characterization is something in which WWE has put in a lot of thoughts over the years.

However, everything is not as it seems. WWE has, more often than not, fooled us with characterization. Sometimes, they have picked up pointers from the a wrestler’s real life to make a gimmick, and other times, they have outright lied to us about the same.

In this article, we look at the real life stories of eight wrestlers, which may or may not have been accounted in the wrestler’s on-screen character. Nonetheless, these stories are bound to shock you.

Big Boss Man

Big Boss Man

For all the lies WWE has told us through their characterization and storylines, this one was actually not.

Big Boss Man, or Ray Traylor, was in reality a correctional officer in Cobb County, Georgia. When he told you that he dealt with prisoners all his life, he was not lying. He did really spent years working at a prison in Georgia.

This was possibly the only gimmick that WWE did not have the need to put much thought into as they were provided with a full-fledged script of the same when they hired the big man.

Nikolai Volkoff

Nikolai Volkoff

The pro-soviet Nikolai Volkoff whom we have seen on-screen is nowhere near as pro-soviet in his real life.

Born in Yugoslavia, Josip Nikolai Peruzovi was a man who was anti-soviet in every sense of the word. So much so that he stayed back in Canada after arriving in the country as a part of the Croatia weightlifting team. For all the promos that he delivered on communism, he was against the mere idea of it in real life.

It was not until the fall of Soviet Union that he was allowed to use a pro-west gimmick inside the ring, but by then, it was too late as crowd already recognised him as a communist due to his accurate impersonation of his gimmick.

George ‘The Animal’ Steele

George ‘The Animal’ Steele

Playing a crazy person on the screen, George ‘The Animal’ Steele, was not nearly as crazy in his real life. Why, you ask? For one, a crazy person cannot complete a Master’s degree from Central Michigan University.

William James Myers, real name of ‘The Animal’, was also inducted in the Coaches Hall of Fame of Michigan. Moreover, he wrestled with Crohn’s disease since 1988.

If you can somehow manage to look past his body hair, he won’t seem crazy to you too…

Nikita Koloff

Nikita Koloff

During the 1980s, Nikita Koloff was the voice of Soviet Union in WWF. Everyone loved to hate him as he was the typical foreign heel that WWE has shoved down our throats for years.

Named Nelson Scott Simpson, he hailed from Minnesota and dreamt about playing professional football. His uncle, Ivan Koloff was a Canadian named Oscar Pereas.

WWE surely pulled a trick out of their hats as they easily converted two perfectly normal North Americans into the voice of Soviet Union.

Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones

The man who was personally introduced to the WWE by none other than The Undertaker, Nathan Jones was actually a very dangerous man.

When WWE told spectators that the guy was just released from prison, many thought that they were back to their old tricks and were making stories yet again, however, this time around, WWE was serious.

He was in an Australian prison for about seven years, for various bank robberies and was one of country’s most wanted men. Besides the criminal life, he was a power lifter and has made appearances in movies like ‘Conan – The Barbarian’.

Jones is one of the few wrestlers who were known by their real name on-screen. Probably, WWE were too intimidated to change his name. Understandable, completely understandable.

Waldo Von Erich and Lance Von Erich

Waldo Von Erich

When you think about the Von Erich family, the first word that comes to your mind is ‘tragedy’. And why shouldn’t it, after all, not every family has three men who commit suicide in the span of six years.

Nonetheless, Von Erichs, Adkisson in real life, had been very successful inside the three ropes. WWE, sly that they are, decided to bank upon the name and fame of Von Erichs. WWE introduced a father and son duo of Waldo Von Erich and Lance Von Erich.

Both of these wrestlers were, obviously, not Von Erichs, but neither were they a real life father and son duo.

Waldo Von Erich was, in reality, Walt Siebler from Canada and Lance Von Erich was none other than William Kevin Vaughn of Dallas.

No wonder these two members of the Von Erich family were able to defy all tragedies their ‘so-called’ family faced.

Kamala

Kamala

Many spectators did not question WWE when they introduced Kamala as a beast from Uganda.

However, not a lot know that he was actually James Harris, who was born in Senatobia, Mississippi. He hailed from an economically backward family and hence, had to pick cotton as a child to make ends meet.

Much was talked about his meet with the President of Uganda, Idi Amin, but actually, the meet never happened. It was all a hoax created by WWE.

Also, another interesting fact about the big man is that he has a lovely singing voice and unlike his on-screen character, he actually sings and speaks in English. Since his retirement from WWE in 1993, he has produced over 100 songs of his own.

There is no such thing as monsters. WWE lied to us all along.

Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat

Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat

The man who dazzled the audience with his martial arts and in-ring abilities, Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat is not what he seems.

Hailing from West Point, New York, he was born nowhere near Hawaii. Also, while growing up, he was not a martial arts student, rather, he was a weightlifting disciple.

However, the most shocking revelation is not his hometown, but his name itself. He actually got his name officially changed because his real name, Richard Blood (that’s right), was way too brutal for the spectators.

Now that you think about it, Blood would have been a perfectly suitable name for his WWE gimmick.