10 Real Wrestler Names 100% Cooler Than Their Ring Names
Who looks at a smiling baby and says, 'Yeah, let's call him DICK BLOOD'?!
The importance of a good ring name should never be overlooked.
For example, Roman Reigns. Not only does that roll off the tongue nicely, but it also has this badass vibe that's unshakeable. It would not have been an improvement had Roman rocked out onto WWE telly as Leati Anoa'i, put it that way. That's the man's real name, but it pales in comparison to his stage one.
Other current examples include Finn Bálor (Fergal Devitt), LA Knight (Shaun Ricker) and IYO SKY (Masami Odate). Exactly none of those real-life monikers match the titles pro wrestling handed them. What about wrestlers with seriously cool or interesting real names away from the ring though? There are loads of them.
In some cases, they're actually cooler than the kayfabe alias. It's a mystery why WWE and other companies elected to go with something different in the end rather than just rolling with the real tags here. Hey, it isn't like the biz shies away from people's actual birth-given names anyway.
Some of these folks had wrestling-ready names before nonsensically changing to something else seemingly just for the sake of it.
10. Fandango (Curtis Hussey)
Given the timeline of his breakout success, it's almost a surprise that Fandango wasn't called 'Harley M. Shake', or something like that. Instead, WWE decided to call their new dancing sensation Fandango, which is the name of a Spanish/Portuguese dance. The name did grab some attention, but most mocked it at first.
Would they have mocked Curt Hussey though? Not a chance.
Fandango's birth name is infinitely cooler than the one Vince McMahon liked. In fact, who spotted this guy, signed him to developmental and then decided he should be called the boring Johnny Curtis on NXT? That was a crime too, especially when his real name is so eye-catching.
Christ, WWE could've gone with Curtis Hussey and had the ballroom dancer lecture people that it's pronounced "Hoo-say". Yeah, this is probs why your writer has never been invited to any creative meetings, but...Fandango?! That was a little too ridiculous to be taken seriously long-term.