A Brief History
On October 18, 2012, Marvin Lambert, known in professional wrestling as Brain Damage, was only 34 years old when he was found dead, his death believed to have been self-caused. While his passing was of course tragic, his ring name remains quite memorable as is the case with many pro wrestlers who have iconic professional names, and today we take a look at some of our favorites.
Digging Deeper
Andre the Giant, born André René Roussimoff, at 7 feet 4 inches and 520 pounds, he really lived up to his name by being simple, direct, and intimidating all at once.
Bobo Brazil, born Houston Harris in Arkansas and not of Brazilian descent, his name came about as a typo of “Boo Boo Brazil.”
Porkchop Cash, born Bobby Cash, received his nickname for having ordered pork chops for dinner.
Sputnik Monroe, born Roscoe Merrick, obviously had to change his name for wrestling!
Question for students (and subscribers): What is your favorite ring name for a professional wrestler? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Matysik, Larry. The 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time: The Definitive Shoot. ECW Press, 2013.
Solomon, Brian. Pro Wrestling FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the World’s Most Entertaining Spectacle. Backbeat, 2015.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Randy K Youmans of Brain Damage in 2008, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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