10 Real Wrestler Names 100% Cooler Than Their Ring Names

5. Kelly Kelly (Barbie Blank)

Ricky Steamboat Richard Dick Blood
WWE.com

Can anyone come up with a better WWE Diva name than Barbie Blank?

Anybody? No? Didn't think so. Presumably, the company wanted to trademark Blank's new ring name and merchandise the s**t out of it if she caught fire as a star. Fair enough, but they left obvious comparisons to Barbie dolls on the table for no good reason at all.

WWE wouldn't have had to worry about any legal action from Mattel either, because Barbie Blank was Kelly Kelly's real name. So, in other words, the toy manufacturer could shh - they'd be powerless to stop Vince McMahon and company from marketing their very own living, breathing version.

Kelly Kelly is daft anyway. Imagine that for literally anybody else; WWE wouldn't market Otis Otis or Bayley Bayley in 2023. So, why did someone think doubling up on Kel's ring name was a solid plan? It sounded silly then, and it still sounds silly today now the biz has moved on.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.