10 Rejected Wrestler Names WWE ACTUALLY Pitched

3. Shrug Shadow (Razor Ramon)

John Laurinaitis
WWE

Scott Hall preyed on Vince McMahon's lack of cultural awareness when he aped Tony Montana in front of The Chairman, scoring the character that rapidly became one of the most vital presences on on a diverse and ever-changing roster in 1992. He just shouldn't have shrugged his shoulders in his impersonation.

The Chairman adored the moxie of it all and couldn't wait to produce the vignettes that ultimately aired of 'The Bad Guy' being a total piece of sh*t to everybody in his orbit ahead of an in-ring debut. But what about his name?

McMahon's fondness for alliteration was back again, and just days removed from Hall batting back some pretty awful pitches, wrestling apocrypha has it that Razor Ramon spawned from Road Warrior Hawk's starting suggestion Deadbolt and a conversation of what might go well with "Razor" with Tito Santana. But what of those aforementioned horror shows? The future 'Outsider' needed what he'd stumbled upon - "Shrug Shadow" would have been a tough sell, even for WWE's coolest customer.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett