10 Bad WCW Nicknames Fans Completely Forgot About

In wrestling, many things can seemingly kill a wrestler. Whether it be an unfortunate gimmick, bad booking, or even a nickname, it can sometimes be hard to take a wrestler seriously with what they have been given. While some nicknames, like Stone Cold, work out to be masterful strokes of creative genius, not everyone gets the best nicknames. Some wrestlers have to make to with nicknames that have been given to them by other wrestlers, or something that creative has given them in the hope that it sticks.

However, other wrestlers have been given horrible nicknames that potentially cripple their careers. Sometimes it's hard to come back when everyone remembers that your nickname was stinky, or adorable, not precisely names that strike fear into your opponent. While most wrestling nicknames can go either way, these WCW nicknames were pretty bad.

10 Das Wunderkind

Being called "Das Wunderkind" is sure to add a lot of pressure to someone, especially when they haven't done much in their career. That was the pressure heaped upon German talent Alex Wright in World Championship Wrestling. When WCW signed Wright he was still a teenager and reportedly was discovered while the promotion toured through Germany in the mid-90s. After making his debut, Wright would go on a winning streak before losing his first match to Arn Anderson at Slamboree in 1995.

It may be a bit harsh to say that the nickname was the reason that Wright didn't succeed after showing so much promise. Wright would hold the WCW Cruiserweight, Television, and Tag Team Titles before WCW was sold to WWE. Wright was one of the wrestlers that were signed to a contract with AOL Time Warner and his contract was not included in the sale.

9 Mean Mark

Imagine having talents like The Undertaker, Steve Austin, and Triple H on your roster and failing to capitalize on any of them. That was the case when it came to WCW, and perhaps it's no wonder the promotion would go bust. All three wrestlers would eventually be signed by WWE and repackaged into the biggest stars of the late 90s and early 2000s. The Undertaker, especially, would have a mammoth career in WWE lasting from 1990 until his retirement in 2020.

While many fans are unaware that the Undertaker wrestled in WCW, those that do will remember "Mean" Mark Callous, who was managed by Paul E Dangerously and a part of the Dangerous Alliance. WCW say the 6'10 Mark Calaway and decided to give him "mean" as a nickname. Thankfully for wrestling fans, he would eventually become the Phenom that wrestled in WWE for 30 years.

8 The Laughing Man

If the name Hugh Morrus isn't enough to kill a wrestler from being taken seriously, adding a nickname like "The Laughing Man" is sure to land the killer blow. Morrus wrestled for WCW from 1995 to 2001 and was a member of The Dungeon of Doom, The First Family, and Misfits in Action before WCW went bust. Morrus would then wrestle in WWE under the Morrus name where he was completely buried by Stone Cold Steve Austin. After his in-ring career ended, Morrus returned to be WWE's head trainer and worked for the promotion when they revived the Tough Enough reality series. Morrus lasted in the position until he stepped down in 2015 following several allegations of misconduct by former trainees.

7 The Rapmaster

Several years before John Cena would rap and cut freestyle promos as the Doctor of Thuganomics, WCW had "The Rapmaster" P. N. News. While John Cena had some rapping talent, and undeniably was able to cut at least a half-decent freestyle. However, P.N News had none of Cena's talent, ability, or charisma. Even with his lack of talent or cohesive rhymes, "The Rapmaster" still managed to get fans in arenas to respond.

If his pre-fight raps weren't bad enough, a completely blown up News would rap again after his matches as well. Heyman summed up P.N News best by saying "the funny thing about him is that his raps don't rhyme". Not exactly a great start when you can't get the basics of rap down pat.

6 Dog-faced Gremlin

This is perhaps the only nickname on this that didn't have any ill effect on the wrestler in question. During his WCW career, Rick Steiner was given the nickname "Dog-faced Gremlin". When you first hear the nickname, it sounds aggressive and intimidating which was undoubtedly the intention. However, if you think about it for more than a second, the nickname sounds worse and worse. Instead of it being a dog, it's simply "Dog-faced" which implies not being pretty, which again isn't the worst thing.

Then you reach "Gremlin", and it doesn't encourage the most threatening of creatures. Gremlins, at least the ones introduced in the 1984 movie of the same name, were furry little creatures that mean no harm. Sure, they did turn into feral little reptiles if you didn't follow the rules, but they weren't exactly the most vicious of creatures, and despite multiplying, they were reasonably easy to kill. Probably not exactly the intention they had in mind when they came up with the nickname in the first place.

5 Lil Naitch

In general, two surefire ways to have a bad nickname are to utilize the term "little" or to copy another wrestler. WCW broke both of those rules when it came to coming up with a nickname for Charles Robinson. Robinson was a referee who looked a bit like WCW main eventer Ric Flair and often favored Flair and the Four Horsemen in their match, frequently turning a blind eye to their shenanigans and making sure that the odds were in the Horsemen's favor when he was officiating one of their matches.

Thankfully, Robinson would recover from the nickname and become one of the best referees in professional wrestling. Robinson is now a senior WWE referee and was called upon to referee the Edge and Randy Orton's "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" at Backlash 2020, where he wore an old-school wrestling referee shirt to mark the occasion.

4 Sarge

Before WWE had the Performance Center in Orlando, WCW had the Powerplant in Atlanta Georgia, and the head trainer was wrestler Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. As a result, Parker was given the nickname "Sarge". While many wrestlers had been in the army before becoming wrestlers, like Jesse Ventura or Lacey Evans, Parker was not one of them. It was also revealed that "Sarge" was largely a failure as a coach and often used abuse as a way of training. Given the nickname and the terrible gimmick, it isn't surprising that Parker never held a title in World Championship Wrestling despite his many years of service to the company.

3 Above Average

Mike Sanders as WCW Cruiserweight Champion.

In general, wrestling nicknames should be somewhat complimentary even if they are vague. Some classic nicknames like "the Beast", "The Animal" or even "The Demon" are examples of great nicknames that give the wrestler an air of intimidation. Nothing is complimentary or intimidating about the nickname "Above Average" yet that is what "Above Average" Mike Sanders was given to work with during his run in WCW. Despite the nickname, Sanders won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, which had previously been held by the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, and Dean Malenko.

Sanders would wrestle in WCW from 1998 until the company was purchased by WWE in 2001. Sanders was one of the many contracts WWE acquired in the purchase and he was sent to WWE developmental territory Heartland Wrestling Association. Sanders continued to use the "Above Average" nickname in his comedy shows

2 The Stuff

How was Buff Bagwell ever treated seriously in WCW, the man was saddled with terrible names, gimmicks, and storyline ideas. Bagwell was given a stripper gimmick and forced involved in a match where his mother was placed on a forklift at ringside. Of all the terrible things that WCW did to Bagwell over his career, his nickname of "the Stuff" rates amongst the worst. After his wrestling career ended, Bagwell reportedly went to work as a male prostitute or gigolo. A line of work where the "stuff" nickname was undoubtedly more apt.

1 Fat Chick Thriller

It's hard to say exactly what Mike Awesome did to make WCW creative hate him so much, but given that his nickname while working there was Fat Chick Thriller, someone in management or the creative team didn't want him to be a star. Awesome was signed by WCW in 2000 while still ECW Champion. Upon arrival, Awesome was pushed to the top of the card and feuded with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. Things seemed to be going well for Awesome in WCW until Bash at the Beach 2000.

Until that point, Awesome had been working with the nickname Career Killer. Following the event where Awesome defeated Scott Steiner, by disqualification, for the United States Title, Awesome would begin to come to the ring accompanied by larger women and was referred to as the Fat Chick Thriller. Bear in mind that the Monday Night Wars wasn't great towards women in general, this specifically felt like it was in bad taste and killed any potential momentum that Awesome had going into the promotion.