Titus O’Neil explains how he came up with his ring name. The former WWE Tag Team Champion explains how he went from Thaddeus Bullard to “The Real Deal.”
Titus O’Neil has all the size and presence that any promoter could want in a major professional wrestler. Now, he is explaining how he came up with his ring name, revealing he took inspiration from another great athlete with a ton of size and presence, Shaquille O’Neal.
Titus O’Neil Wanted To Be Known As More Than A Professional Wrestler
Speaking on The Dad Edge podcast, Titus O’Neil explains that he took his name from Shaquille O’Neal and it was his goal to hopefully be more than a professional wrestler, something that he would eventually accomplish.
“My youngest son’s name is Titus and Shaquille O’Neal is my fraternity brother, and he’s also one of my favorite all-time sports entertainers, he did more than just play basketball. He was rapping, he was in movies, in every other commercial you could name, pushing every product you could name. I felt that I wanted to be the Shaquille O’Neal of WWE where I didn’t want to just be known as a professional wrestler, I wanted to be a superstar that could do anything and everything. Put me in a movie, put me on the red carpet, put me at a football game, commentate, do whatever and I’d be just fine. That’s how I came up with Titus O’Neil. Of course, somebody thought that I should be Irish so they took the A out and put an I in.”
Ultimately, Titus O’Neil may have never had the legendary run between the ropes that he was looking for, but he has carved a path for himself as a global ambassador for WWE. In 2020, his charity work earned him The Warrior Award which he was presented with at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
Shaquille O’Neal has gotten in the wrestling ring. Shaq wrestled in a mixed tag match for AEW alongside Jade Cargill opposite Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.