10 Best Ring Names In WWE History
Great enough for a gravestone.
Honourable mentions are countless.
'Andre the Giant' was as self-evidently brilliant as the man behind the name; it underscored perfectly the scale and the otherworldly quality of a man with no physical right to exist. 'Doink The Clown', almost silly in its onomatopoeia, obscured the jump-scare premise behind the original heel character as effectively as the man who portrayed it, Matt Bourne, hid the inner menace behind the fake smile. 'Goldust' promised an act intriguing as it was glamorous - one which the name alone couldn't summarise, much like you never could accurately summarise the mysterious performer himself.
Alliteration was the only vaguely florid element of 'Arn Anderson'; mostly, it was an all-business name for an all-business man. Arnold is a tough name; shortening it to 'Arn' was a masterstroke in how it mirrored the performer's brutal in-ring economy. 'Kane' was a great, misspelled marriage of modern language trends and a timeless Biblical reference.
The perfect name embellishes the qualities of the performer behind it - or, in the case of one man, is so perfect for the character that separating the character from the man becomes impossible...
10. Ric Flair
Almost unassuming in its brilliance, 'Ric Flair', a spin on the man's real name of Richard Fliehr, cast him as a man of considerable panache.
There was nothing ludicrously flamboyant about Flair, with the possible exception of his glitter-strewn ring robes. He was simply the idealised version of a human being you could identify, if not identify with. There was no relating to Flair; he was better than you, the common man, in every conceivable way. He wore extravagant designer clothes, earned millions, lived in the biggest house, on the biggest hill, and was the undisputed best in a field requiring as much insanity as fortitude.
Dropping the 'k' in Ric, a subtle but imperative choice, disassociated him from the common man with whom shared the common forename. The repurposed surname, Flair, meanwhile defined the essence of the man better than any other. He wrestled with Flair; he cheated with Flair; he seduced with Flair. Flair was the coolest wrestler on the planet; Ric Flair, naturally, was the coolest ring name.
He was almost literally born to rule the wrestling world.