Earlier in May, we found out that a lot of the recent name changes in WWE were decreed by Vince McMahon. For legal and trademark reasons, a couple of stars who had full names became known by a single name.
For instance, Austin Theory just became Theory…which sounds like he should have a professor gimmick and explain the crowd how he has figured out the equation to defeat his next opponent. Others had their names changed entirely once they came up from the NXT system and still ended up with a single name.
Let’s look at some of the old-school examples of WWE talent that had full names but ended up known by either a single name or a nickname.
Rocky Maivia Became The Rock
This one is one of four World champions on the list as well as one of three well-known wrestlers that fans of all ages will know. Before he was just The Rock, Dwayne Johnson had another name in WWE. The Brahma Bull debuted on WWE television in 1996 as Rocky Maivia and was known as “The Blue Chipper”.
That nickname would come back around for Randy Orton six years later. Johnson wouldn’t become known as “The Rock” until late 1997 and it wouldn’t stick until well into 1998 when WWE stopped calling him “Rocky ‘The Rock’ Maivia”.
Kama Became The Godfather
Well, The Godfather is a light one. Before joining the Nation of Domination, The Godfather was Kama “The Supreme Fighting Machine”. It’s weird to see a nickname with just one name. The gimmick was getting in on the emerging no-holds-barred MMA sport in the 1990s.
When he joined the Nation of Domination, he became Kama Mustafa, “The Godfather of the Nation”. That became Kama the Godfather and eventually just The Godfather. Like The Rock, the man had a full name.
Yoshihiro Tajiri Just Dropped His First Name
Here’s an even lighter one. In ECW and Japan, Tajiri wrestled under his full name—Yoshihiro Tajiri—and in Mexico as Aquarius. Sure, he was always referred to as “Tajiri” in the same way that Ric Flair was often called “Flair” or Stone Cold Steve Austin was either called “Stone Cold” or “Austin” but rarely “Steve Austin” unless he was being introduced.
Once he got to WWE, he was just Tajiri—mainly because the first name wasn’t necessary for that audience. Plus, “Tajiri” is three syllables and easy to pronounce for any fan.
The Undertaker Dropped His First Name But Kane Picked It Up
For an extremely brief period, The Undertaker actually had a first name that was given to one of his career foes: Kane. He debuted in WWE as Kane the Undertaker before becoming The Undertaker. It was a great name change on WWE’s part as “Kane the Undertaker” leaned heavily towards an occupational gimmick that he wasn’t going to escape.
Let’s be real, The Undertaker is the greatest occupational gimmick ever because it avoided that bullet. He’s a large, morbid man who makes boxes to stuff people in when they’re a pack. Taker did extremely well for himself.
Triple H Because “Hunter Hearst Helmsley” Is A Mouthful
Let’s wrap this up with one that probably confused fans who came in towards the end of the Attitude Era to the present: Triple H. Debuting in WWE in early 1995, “The Game” was originally known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. It wouldn’t be until his association with D-Generation X that Hunter shortened all that to simply Triple H—and it has stuck for well over 20 years now.
There are other wrestlers who got this treatment over time from WWE, WCW, ECW, and beyond. Drop a few of them in the comments below!
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