20 True Stories Behind Famous Wrestling Names
A little background information on some of the biggest names in the industry.
Professional wrestling has a history of keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to discussing the origins of moves and gimmicks with outsiders. Even today, in a post-kayfabe world, wrestlers will close ranks if a clueless smark tries to discuss backstage gossip or the intricacies of the business with them, and it's still considered an embarrassing sign of disrespect for an outsider to call a wrestler by their real name in public.
Luckily, this is a post-kayfabe world, and some tales of the origins of wrestlers' names are common knowledge... some, a little less so. But given the preponderance of shoot videos and rants, out of character interviews, wrestling bio sites, dirtsheets and magazines available, it's possible these days to find the origin of pretty much any name you'd care to look into.
This article lists some of the more interesting stories behind ring names, finishing moves and more. Some, you'll have heard - some you'll be reading about for the first time. If you've got more, feel free to tell us and everyone else all about them in the comments section. The more, the merrier, after all: especially if someone can tell us why Sting is called 'Sting'. It's better than 'Flash Borden', but still...
20. Neville's 'Red Arrow'
The former Adrian named his finishing movie, a corkscrew shooting star press, after the legendary RAF exhibition flying aces The Red Arrows, famed for their aerobatic flying prowess.
Much as Neville is for WWE fans today, the Red Arrows were the most entertaining part of the day when booked on county fairs and days out all across Britain and Europe. They’re still going strong in 2015.