10 Dumbest Wrestling Name Changes

7. Voodoo Kin Mafia

Steve Austin Ringmaster
TNA/Global Force Wrestling

It's hard to argue that this is the worst ever name for a wrestling act. Wrestlingdata.com, an invaluable resource, is ludicrously comprehensive. Simply searching the alphabetical list of acts is a great schadenfreude pleasure. Who was Absolute Andy, and why does his ring name define the concept of bathos? Was Japanese Pool Boy on Vince McMahon's mercifully abandoned list of Shinsuke Nakamura alternatives? Is Retroman set to reemerge and headline WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans?

But perhaps no other ring name in the history of professional wrestling encapsulates the organisation for which the performers worked than Kip and B.G. James, the former New Age Outlaws, and their rebranded Voodoo Kin Mafia tandem. The name was as desperate as it was incomprehensible as it was transparently obvious. A lame riff on Vincent Kennedy McMahon's initials, inviting comparison to a far more successful outfit exposed how small-time TNA were. Voodoo, initially, formed no part of their act whatsoever. Surely, any adjective beginning with 'V' would have sufficed. Violent. Vicious. Vitriolic. Vacuous or Vicarious would have been more appropriate, but obviously, this couldn't be stupid.

Kin and Mafia are also synonymous in this context. They could and should have avoided the repetition - or the entire angle in the first place. One of the two.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!