Superstar Identity Problems

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

No, this isn't a thread about the Faces of Foley lol.

Its quite a common practice for a wrestler to take on a pseudonym rather than just simply going by their true birth names. There are even some, like The Undertaker, who are identified by a gimmick rather than a name.

I haven't seen a thread dealing with this, so here's a one-stop-shop for discussion on the subject of alternate names and comparisons and such.

Some examples:

William "Jason" Reso...better known as Jason Reso....better known as Christian...also known as Christian Cage. That's quite a change. I can't possibly picture anybody seeing him and calling him "Will Reso", can you?

Paul Michael Levesque...you know him as "Triple H / HHH"...but there used to be a time where everyone referred to him in full as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Every shoot I've seen, he's just "Hunter" or "HHH" to everyone. Again, I can't picture this guy as Paul.

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom - With a name like that, you need a change haha. Is this guy Mike to anybody? Nope. He's Shawn. Might as well even change your name, you know? Everybody in the world knows you as Shawn Michaels, not Michael Hickenbottom.

Steve Anderson/Williams/Austin - Stone Cold.


So what do you think of the name-changing? Any particularly weird ones jump out at you (cough*Warrior*cough)?

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Well, WWE does not let many wrestlers use their real names and you have to admit that a huge percentage of wrestlers needed the name change. There is only a handful of WWE superstars actually use their real names, include Batista (though last name is spelled Bautista), John Cena, Ted DiBiase Jr. (doesn't use the junior), Charlie Haas, Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, (The) Brian Kendrick, Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Mark Henry.

None of those names really are names that really needed a change so it's good that they didn't change it and also some of them happen to be multi-generation superstars. But then again, there are some people who had perfect wrestling names, but changed them. My favorite is William Regal... real name Darren Matthews.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Yeah there are a few names that just totally needed to be change - such as Michael Hickenbottom. Some are purely aesthetic, like "Batista" instead of "Bautista", or "Burchill" instead of "Birchall"....and it makes sense for the name to be Cody Rhodes rather than Cody Runnels. The funniest are the ones that aren't even close. Accie Connor = D-Lo Brown. Not alike in the slightest.

What I don't see having a point is when they change a normal name to another normal name, just for the hell of it. Robert Howard has been Thurman "Sparky" Plugg (hahahahahahahahaha) which at least sort of fit his gimmick at the time.....but where does "Bob Holly" come from? He couldn't have just been "Bob Howard"? Its not like it sounds much worse - they're both incredibly bland lol.

Manu, instead of Afa Jr? They're not hiding the fact that he's Afa's kid. Using the name "Umaga" makes sense as its supposedly Samoan for "the end", but as far as I know (and I could just need to be enlightened on the subject) Manu doesn't mean anything.

And I don't think we can go any longer without mentioning...of course....DOLPH ZIGGLER. I mean.......??????????........"Nick Nemeth" wasn't taken, lol. That Dolph Ziggler name...lord knows who came up with that.

 

[Checkmate]

And I don't think we can go any longer without mentioning...of course....DOLPH ZIGGLER. I mean.......??????????........"Nick Nemeth" wasn't taken, lol. That Dolph Ziggler name...lord knows who came up with that.

Well, I'd like to meet the people that come up with these names. Here is another one -

Matthew Joseph Korklan -> Matt Sydal -> Evan Bourne.

Ok, so Mattew to Matt Sydal. Just change the last name. But Evan Bourne? Kind of a drastic jump. Not even remotely similar, but the whole Air-Bourne thing fit nicely. I wonder if that was planned.

There are plenty of guys that go purely on gimmicks. Kane, Big Show, Umaga, or even someone like Taz all go purely on kayfabe. Then there are the ones like JBL, who started out with Bradshaw then integrated his gimmick with his actual persona.

CM Punk is another one of note:

Phillip Jack Brooks -> CM Punk.

Not to mention all the stories of what CM stands for... LoL...

 

[The Redcrosse Knight]

CM Punk is another one of note:

Phillip Jack Brooks -> CM Punk.

That is hilarious.
I always thought that Adam Copeland was a hard sell. It feels too plain to me. I didn't really like Edge for a while either, but now I can't see him any different. He owns the name in his character.

Dok Hendrix > Michael Hayes. Always has and always will be.
It is rare to know a guy with an 'x' in his name: Fact

Tony Carelli is = to Santino Marella. I think he would put life into either of those names and make them real. Maybe in a repackinging effort sometime in the future they'll make the change hoping he'll come of as more intense, but I doubt it.

 

[Darkshot77]

Alvin Burke Jr. --> Antonio Banks --> Montel Vontavious Porter

Granted the name fits the gimmick, but he really needed a name change. Imagine trying to beleive some one telling you there was a black man named Alvin Burke, it just dosent work. But at least thats Montel is a legit name. Unlike going from a real name to a straight gimmick name ala Grandmaster Sexay. Would saying he was King's son really hurt him. but it went with the Too Cool gimmick and it worked. Some people have a ring to their name like Matt Morgan, others like the aformentined Michael Hickenbottom, just dont roll off the tounge, so some times a name change is good.

 

[klunderbunker]

WWE seemingly is trying so hard to control these people now, that if you look at some of the names they've come up with for their new guys, it will blow your mind. To begin with, the names just sound bad. Names like Ryan Oakwood or something like that, or Braden Walker. i get that you don't want them to go with their regular names for fear of them using them after leaving the company, but can you at least give them something realistic sounding? It really seems like most of these are WWE related things, which can be attributed to the love of "sports entertainment" over wrestling. Sure the name is important, but at least make it sound good.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I've never really understood why talent can't use their real names, and there's one example in particular that stands out.

Of course Mick Foley was made to come up with a fake name for his tryout match in WWE back when he first started and he just used his dad's name instead, so he was introduced as Jack Foley, which of course became Cactus Jack later on, but seriously, what was the point of making him change his first name?

 

[Azrael Cain]

The name, in a way, "makes" the gimmick. If Triple H came out billed as "Paul Levesque," he would have never risen to the level he is at now. Triple H fit his gimmick, back as Blue-blood, and even now. He made it work for him.

Real names are sometimes fitting enough, like Mick Foley. But again, he made his [real] name work for him. Some stars just re-work their names, like Chris Daniels or Matt Striker or Chris Jericho -- part real name, part gimmick.

It's all about the *sound* of a name. It has to be believable and must fit the persona the wrestler is trying to portray. Even Dolph Ziggler works for the idiotic character Nick Nemeth is playing -- and that's the very point. His real name wouldn't work with this character, a made up one does.

Remember, wrestling is mostly show. Shows have characters, and characters are mere extensions of people's personality traits, not full on real people. It's portraying something, a message, and is an extension of the character. Similar to the names, for example, we as posters choose. They may be our real names or monikers. But why? Because we wish to convey a message, tell a story -- whatever.

Same with out beloved entertainers.

 

[PEP3]

Of course Mick Foley was made to come up with a fake name for his tryout match in WWE back when he first started and he just used his dad's name instead, so he was introduced as Jack Foley, which of course became Cactus Jack later on, but seriously, what was the point of making him change his first name?

Mick Foley traveled the country for years as Cactus Jack Foley before ever stepping foot in the WWF.

And many of the guys named who went by their real names in WWF/WWE -- Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry, and I'll add Brock Lesner, Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle to the list -- were allowed to use these names because they had achieved certain degrees of prominence under those names in other arenas before entering pro wrestling. WWE wanted to be able to capitalize on those those names rather than having to build the wrestler's reputation from the ground up. Otherwise, you can almost guarantee Vince would renamed them all so he could own exclusive rights &, if they left the WWF, be assured the name stayed behind.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

Remember, wrestling is mostly show. Shows have characters, and characters are mere extensions of people's personality traits, not full on real people. It's portraying something, a message, and is an extension of the character. Similar to the names, for example, we as posters choose. They may be our real names or monikers. But why? Because we wish to convey a message, tell a story -- whatever.

Carrying on from that, it also means that the wrestler can have a personal life and keep their ring persona and themselves separate. Its what alot of actors do, in interviews as themselves they talk about their character as a separate person, and I think wrestlers probably appreciate the fact they can separate form being cocky all the time or being a cry baby for example

 

[Leafy]

Names can make a break a superstar. My real name is Forrest Bowling, it's quite a goofy name that you can't see being engraved into a world championship belt. That's why us people of weird names have to change it to Shawn Michaels or Badass McGee , to have a debut where they see your name pop up they don't laugh.

One man who took the weirdest name ever and made it work is Dolph. His name is Nick Nemeth, which is not that bad of name. Yet he stuck with Ziggler and he is now a dominant mid card heel. This shows how a good name is not needed but helps.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Some superstars' real names just don't translate in the wrestling world. Could you imagine Kane being introduced as Glenn Jacobs or Rey Mysterio as Oscar Gutierrez? Some real names work like John Cena and Matt Hardy but those are few and far between. The name change that mystified me the most is not really a name change and that is Batista. I don't really see a big difference in taking the "u" out of his last name as opposed to leaving it in.