What's In A Name?

[Барбоса]

'Did You Know' #2 on the main WZ website raised the fact that Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XIX was the first time the WWE Championship had been contested on the biggest stage by two performers using their own names.

This is something that I have been thinking about recently and had done a little looking into. Of the 39 recognised WWWF/WWF/WWE Champions, only 12 men have used their own names.

Bruno Samartino
Pedro Morales
Bob Backland
Bret Hart
Vince McMahon
Kurt Angle
Brock Lesnar
Eddie Guerrero
John Bradshaw Layfield
John Cena
Randy Orton
Jeff Hardy

There are another 8 champions who have used variants of their name, some of which warant inclusion more than others

André the Giant (André René Roussimoff)
Randy Savage (Randy Mario Puffo)
Ric Flair (Richard Morgan Fliehr)
Shawn Michaels (Michael Shawn Hickenbottom)
Sycho Sid (Sidney Raymond Eudy)
Steve Austin (Steven Anderson, later Steven Williams and now Steve Austin)
Dave Batista (David Michael Bautista)
Rob Van Dam (Robert Alexander Szatkowski)

Even if these 8 are counted, it still represents just over half of the total. This isn't at all surprising considering that professional wrestlers are displaying the characters they play as much as their ability in the ring. (A similar look at the World Heayweight Title since it was taken control of by WWE in 2001 could add Booker T (Booker Huffman), Bill Goldberg and Chris Benoit to the list)

However, what is slightly surprising is that as many of these champions have come since the year 2000 than had done since 1963. Does this suggest that the WWE has consciously tried to make more realistically named champions or is it that the last decade has seen a glut of talent breaking through with more catchy names? Are names such as Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Batista more marketable than Herman G. Rohde, Terry Bollea or Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i? Maybe this is a consequence of Vince McMahon's globalisation of wrestling

 

[Барбоса]

Damn computer decided to post before I was finished...

Maybe this is a consequence of Vince McMahon's globalisation of wrestling and the advent of the IWC. We know who Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton's fathers were so would we be disappointed to see either stuck with a gimmick?

 

[SSJPhenom]

I happen to think that it is more of the WWE trying to change with the times as opposed to trying to be more realistic.

Since the year 2000, the awarness of what actually goes on in professional wrestling has greatly increased. Everyone knows now, without a shadow of a doubt that wrestling is scripted. So I think that with this new awarness that WWE has no choice but to put the crazy gimmicks and names behind them. Names like Repo Man or IRS aren't going to work today.

However, I can see your point on it trying to be more realistically based. WWE is using real names, maybe, because they are trying to come across as a legit company and business and I don't think that they want their characters to be larger than life like Hulk Hogan was. It makes it look like an everyday man can find success in the WWE and I think that, that appeals to a wider audience now, then it did back in the day.

 

[hellfirebrian85]

Since the year 2000, the awarness of what actually goes on in professional wrestling has greatly increased. Everyone knows now, without a shadow of a doubt that wrestling is scripted. So I think that with this new awarness that WWE has no choice but to put the crazy gimmicks and names behind them. Names like Repo Man or IRS aren't going to work today.

I agree and disagree with this. Names like MVP, Hornswaggle, Boogeyman, and many more still come up. However they do use names Randy Orton and John Cena to legitamize their big names stars.

 

[byrnside]

Damn computer decided to post before I was finished...

Maybe this is a consequence of Vince McMahon's globalisation of wrestling and the advent of the IWC. We know who Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton's fathers were so would we be disappointed to see either stuck with a gimmick?

I don't think we would've necessarily been disappointed to see them stuck with a gimmick. Look at [you guessed it] Mr. Perfect.. His father was Larry the Ax, and as a kid watching WWF at the time, that didn't matter to me. Mr. Perfect/Curt Hennig would've been great no matter. I think the same can definitely be said for Randy Orton, only time will tell for DiBiase Jr.

 

[Барбоса]

Personally, I don't see Mr Perfect as a good example. He started his WWF career as Curt Henig only to later assume the Mr Perfect tag. I say tag because at times it floated between being a gimmick (admittedly, for the majority of the time) and a nicknamed as he would be referred to as "Mr Perfect" Curt Henig, particularly in his last WWE run. "The Ax" was also something more akin to a nickname than it was a gimmick as he was Larry "The Ax" Henig.

However, the Henig family might represent the opposite of what I said above. Would the IWC be more disappointed to see Joe Henig lumbered with a gimmick that did not honour his family legacy or him not be given the chance to acceed to the "Mr Perfect" tag? There have been similar calls regarding Ted Dibiase Jr. Once Legacy breaks up or he leaves it, would it be more disappointing to see him wrestle under his name rather than attempt to become the "Million Dollar Man"?

 

[Pepper Wadman]

I personally think that it's just coincidence. I mean, we know Vince didn't make these guys champ because they used their real name. Angle had talent. Brock had talent.

I guess it was just a matter of them having catchy names when they arrived on the scene.

Also you left out Shawn Michaels to the second list of names that are similar to their real names. Michael Shawn Hickenbottom is pretty close to his stage name if you ask me.

 

[Барбоса]

I don't see there being a specific drive to have champions that wrestle under their own names, except perhaps when it comes to second or third generation stars.

When Bret Hart debuted, was there any influence due to the success of his father? Or did Vince just like the gimmick of the Hart Foundation, alongside Jim Neidhart? Although it didn't seem to stretch to Owen, who became the Blue Blazer.

Again, I think that there is a trend towards more realistic names. In John Cena and Batista, we even have two examples of guys who trained using gimmick names in OVW (Prototype and Leviathan), only to revert to their own names when called up to the main roster.

We may only be in the early days of this. How new signings such as Danielson and McGuinness are packaged might be an indication. Perhaps in the next few years when the Henigs and Rotundos of this world are deemed ready, we might even see the majority of WWE talent performing under their own names.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

It depends on who you have. If you have a larger than life athlete, you want a larger than life name. If the character is supposed to be relatable and the name they have is reasonable, you'd use the real name. It's all in presentation. A name is something you have to sell. John Cena is a gifted real name. It's a name that can be marketed and sold for merchandise. So is Randy Orton. Jean Paul Levesque is only marketable in France. Michael Hickenbottom would only be marketable in adult films.

A name has heritage, too. If you're last name is Rhodes, Dibiase, Orton, Hansen, Hogan, Flair, or Race...then you're name is set in stone. No matter what the name is, you use the last name...because it's able to be marketed and recognizable. Plus you draw the older audience who want to see their wrestlers young whipper snappers wrestle.