Steve McMichael now can be called the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame player from the vaunted Bears Super Bowl-winning defense of 1985, but for many, he will always simply be known as “Mongo.”
McMichael joins former Chicago front-seven teammates Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, and Dan Hampton in Canton. He is also attached to the offense, choosing Jarrett Payton, son of former Bears running back legend Walter Payton, to present him into the Hall.
There no doubt will be some stories shared that recall “Mongo” or McMichael’s other nickname, “Ming,” shortened from “Ming the Merciless.”
For the uninitiated, both nicknames refer to popular culture around the time of McMichael’s early NFL playing days with the Patriots and Bears. McMichael entered the league in 1980 as a third-round pick of New England and finished his career with Chicago’s archrival Green Bay in 1994.
He’s looking at how McMichael got two nicknames, with his “Mongo” persona serving him well in his post-football career as a professional wrestler”
Why is Steve McMichael nicknamed “Mongo”?
McMichael’s moniker is tied to another former defensive tackle from the current NFC North. Late Lions legend Alex Karras also ended up in the Hall of Fame while also dabbling in pro wrestling.
In 1974, in retirement, Karras co-starred in the Mel Brooks comedy classic “Blazing Saddles” as part of a zany ensemble cast. Karras’ character was the strongman “Mongo.” The nickname was right for McMichael as a powerful tackle who played and looked like “Mongo” in real life.
Why is Steve McMichael also nicknamed “Ming the Merciless”?
Apart from “Ming” sounding a lot like “Mongo,” that character also became part of the zeitgeist because of a movie. The space-opera film adaptation of throwback comic book superhero “Flash Gordon” came out in 1980, the year McMichael was drafted.
The main villain menacing Gordon was “Ming the Merciless,” also known as the vile Emperor of a planet called … “Mongo.” Both nicknames alluded to McMichael’s strong, intimidating, relentless defensive play.
Did Steve McMichael have another nickname for his wrestling days?
McMichael went by his real first name as a wrestler, but he was often still referred to as “Mongo.” He made his World Wrestling Federation debut at Wrestlemania XI in 1995, playing a brawling ringside protector for a match involving now fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.
McMichael’s first real match was a tag-team World Championship Wrestling affair with another Hall of Fame defensive player, the late Kevin Greene, in action vs. Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen at The Great American Bash in 1996. At his peak, McMichael would briefly hold the title of WCW United States Heavyweight champion after defeating Jeff Jarrett at Clash of the Champions XXXV.
