How Wrestler Lanny Poffo Got His Unique Moniker 'The Genius'

Posted by Martina Birk on Friday, May 3, 2024

As TMZ goes on to note, Lanny Poffo debuted in the mid-1970s in the All-South Wrestling Alliance, but by 1985, he had transitioned to the WWE and premiered on TV, per the Sportster. While there, Poffo picked up his first in-ring nickname, "Leaping Lanny Poffo," based in part on the fact he was the first WWE wrestler to pull off a moonsault, an aerial move considered among the most difficult in the sport, as Bleacher Report explains.

Even as "Leaping Lanny," Poffo was known for reciting taunting poems he wrote in the ring while spouting other kinds of lofty rhetoric at his opponents and the audience. (Poffo reading a poem dedicated to Hulk Hogan, pictured above, is posted on YouTube.) By 1989, it was time for Poffo to consider a rebrand — and who is typically thought of as the kind of person who writes poetry? A genius, that's who. The only thing left to decide was the costume in which Poffo, with his new name, would compete.

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