It's one thing when a superstar is introduced by their name and another when a nickname is attached to the name that sticks with them throughout their career. While some nicknames have originated from the characters they portrayed, some have come from outta nowhere, and while some have been inspired from other superstars, others have self-created. While some have been never used after a gimmick change, some are still in use even after multiple promotion changes.
Although every superstar nowadays has a nickname, only a few of these are fitting to that wrestler. Honourable mentions to Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and many more legends of the business.
10 Kurt Angle: The Wrestling Machine
One of the best technical amateur wrestlers of his generation, Kurt Angle is known famously for winning an Olympic gold medal with a "broken frickin' neck". In 2006, after being drafted to ECW, Angle adopted the 'Wrestling Machine' gimmick where he would put on a mouthguard and use his 'wrestling skills' to grapple and run through his opponents one after the other.
Although it was a gimmick, the fans really bought into this new character and it stuck with him even after leaving WWE during his original run. In all fairness, looking back at Kurt Angle in his prime, he is someone who never stops; a machine who keeps wrestling on and on.
9 Brock Lesnar: The Beast Incarnate
Very few professional wrestlers are as intimidating as Brock Lesnar. Similar to Angle, Brock also has a good history with amateur wrestling. During his initial run with WWE during the Attitude Era, he was touted as The Next Big Thing where he was portrayed as a powerhouse athlete who would maul his opponents; even opponents like The Big Show.
Because of his aggressive and beast-like nature inside the ring, he was nicknamed The Beast Incarnate or simply, The Beast. His record in UFC further adds to his testament. And what does a beast do? Eat. Sleep. Conquer. Repeat.
8 Triple H: The Game
Triple H had had numerous nicknames in his illustrious career like The Cerebral Assassin, The King Of Kings to name a few but none is as suited as 'The Game', a nickname he gave himself during the year 2000 in an unscripted promo. The nickname hints at how the current COO of the WWE saw himself as not a student of the game or not even the best in the game but as the game itself.
Triple H went on to have an amazing career where he successfully transitioned from a professional wrestler to an authority figure to changing the entire landscape of the WWE by handling NXT.
7 Jeff Hardy: The Charismatic Enigma
One of the best high flyers in the industry of all time, Jeff Hardy is a true daredevil. He has shown time and again that he is not afraid to take risks and up the ante every time he steps inside the squared circle. This makes him highly unpredictable as he is ready to climb any heights to crash onto his opponents.
At the same time, Hardy is an extremely likeable character - he was and is well received by the WWE fans. His likeability and extremely unpredictable nature earned him the nickname, The Charismatic Enigma.
6 Edge: The Rated 'R' Superstar
The R-Rating, in movie terms, stands for restricted which means the content is not suitable for certain audiences. WWE Hall Of Famer, Edge did not earn this nickname overnight as this was a culmination of his character work, in-ring skills and some risque storylines that clearly were not PG.
His run with The Brood, a cult faction where the members were portrayed as vampires (in a cool way), his fearless moves in the TLC matches with The Hardys and The Dudleys, his controversial love triangle storyline involving Lita and Matt Hardy and the eventual WWE Championship celebration on Raw where Lita and Edge made love. One of the most fitting nicknames indeed!
5 Shawn Michaels: Heartbreak Kid
Just like his DX and real-life best friend Triple H, WWE Hall Of Famer, Shawn Michaels had had many nicknames throughout his career including The Showstopper and Mr. Wrestlemania. But one nickname that always stood out was also the one that appears on the titantron when his music hits i.e. HBK; Heartbreak Kid.
Back in the early '90s, Shawn was in his heel run when he was managed by Miss Sherri, who was in love with the former. Shawn eventually turned on her thus, breaking her heart in the process. He was portrayed as this handsome guy who has broken the hearts of many girls and at the same time, the hearts of many fans by defeating the popular babyfaces.
4 Randy Orton: The Viper
A future Hall Of Famer, WWE's resident Apex Predator, Randy Orton has been compared to a viper for well over a decade, mainly due to how he slithers in the ring and stalks his opponents before catching them off guard when he hits them with the three most deadliest letters in history; RKO.
Just like how a viper attacks its prey from out of nowhere, Randy has built a reputation of hitting the RKO on his opponents from out of, nowhere and anywhere; in the most unexpected of times, his most recent one being a Uso Splash being converted into an RKO mid-air at the 2021 Survivor Series PPV.
3 AJ Styles: The Phenomenal One
The former leader of The Bullet Club and arguable one of the best professional wrestlers of all time, AJ Styles is often referred to as The Phenomenal One inside the ring and rightfully so. At 44, he still moves like a 20-year old and performs aerial and mat-based moves which put him at an elite level.
Based on Styles himself, he was given the nickname by one of the commentators when he was wrestling at a place called Wildside in 2000/2001 and the name stuck ever since.
2 Chris Jericho: Lionheart
Did you know Chris Jericho has more than 10 nicknames, including Y2J, The Ayatollah Of Rock 'n Rolla and Le Champion? But while all these highlighted his character at certain points during his career, one nickname which he always had that reflected his in-ring work and style was the Lionheart.
In Jericho's words, the Lionheart name was inspired by late WWE superstars Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, 2 of the best superstars to have stepped foot inside a WWE ring.
1 John Cena: The Doctor Of Thuganomics
Yes, John Cena has moved from dropping them bars to preaching Hustle, Loyalty and Respect but if observed carefully, the wordplay is still there whenever he grabs a microphone, albeit not as a rap. A few months after his debut on SmackDown, he debuted the Doctor Of Thuganomics gimmick which is him trash-talking about his opponents and it quickly got him over with the WWE Universe.
The gimmick is a funny take on Doctor of Economics and when fused with the word Thug, John Cena is officially a Doctorate or a PhD holder in Thuganomics. Although the gimmick is retired, he brings it back now and then, much to the delight of the audience.
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