What's In a Name?

It has become a running joke in the IWC. If the WWE signs a well known wrestling star, one of the first topics on any message board is “What stupid name will they give this guy?”

Although it was done in the past, over the last few years seemingly any visitor to McMahon Land has been given a new moniker. Some of them are lucky enough to receive a tag that resembles their name in other promotions or is somewhat respectable, like Daniel Bryan for example. I can only imagine what the thought process was in the creative meeting where that name was conceived. Let’s take his name… and turn it backwards. Brilliant!

Others aren’t so lucky, most notably “Wildcat” Chris Harris. Harris was one of the earlier examples of someone having their brand butchered. Harris made a name for himself (pun intended) in Total Nonstop Action, and by the time he was done with his days in TNA, he had seemingly proven to wrestling fans that he was capable of being something special. Six months later, Harris made his debut with WWE on its ECW brand. Thing is, the name that he went by during his greatest success wasn’t what WWE had in mind. He was introduced as Braden Walker. The WWE Universe collectively farted, and he was released after only a month.

The list goes on and on. Shawn Spears was a highly praised worker in WWE’s developmental territories of FCW and OVW, and after two years of development, it seemed like only a matter of time before he broke out on WWE television. I, for one, had never seen the guy wrestle and just liked his name due to the way it rolled off the tongue. The WWE creative team then proceeded to change what worked, replacing Shawn with the much hipper, cooler name of… Gavin. The members of the WWE Universe who had heard of this guy, once again, simultaneously cut the cheese. He was released less than five months later after minimal TV exposure.

And we all remember good old Scotty Goldman, the ridiculously stereotypical Jewish label given to beloved independent star Colt Cabana. On the Indies, Cabana was a well rounded, well respected, and well liked performer who could not only wrestle, but entertain as well. He was signed to WWE in 2007 and after over a calendar year in OVW, he was called up to Smackdown! and was assigned one of the most preposterous attempts at a legitimate wrestling name in recent WWE history. Although his entertainment value was obvious on his internet show, What’s Crackin’?, he was on the job squad from the get-go. The highly hyped performer was relieved of his duties a little over six months later.

After all of these naming failures, I can’t help but ask myself, what’s in a name? Really, is what a wrestler goes by critical to his success? Well, to me, the answer to that is yes and no.

The McMahon-ized side of me says no, a WWE Superstar’s prosperity shouldn’t be dependent on h

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one”>steps to get your ex back with youis name. The most determined wrestlers should take what is given to them and make the most of it. Sure, Chris Harris failed under the alias of Braden Walker, but he was also noticeably overweight, sloppy in the ring, and had worse attire and less personality than anybody on the ECW roster. And yeah, Shawn Spears was slapped with a lame first name, but he also lacked any sort of quality that set him apart from the rest of the roster. Look at Jack Swagger! Down in the farm system, Swagger went by his real name of Jake Hager and was incredibly successful. When he got called up to ECW, he no longer went by his God-given name, and instead became the Jack Swagger we know today. The name didn’t receive the greatest of praise, but you know what happened? Swagger made the most of it and has outlasted the rest of his unfortunately named brothers and has had a respectable career, including a run as World Heavyweight Champion.

On the other hand, the logical side of me says yes. Can you imagine having great successes in your job, perfecting your craft, working your ass off, and finally getting that big promotion that you’ve been eyeing down since the beginning? Now imagine sitting down in that comfortable new chair in your roomy new office and thinking about all of the new, exciting things that this new position will entail. But there is something wrong. You look down at the name plate on the desk and see that it doesn’t read the name that rested on your worktable as you busted your ass to get there. It’s something thought up by the corporation to make you fit their image. I can only assume that this is exactly how the guys who failed felt.

Colt Cabana was no longer the two time ROH Tag Team Champion, no longer the man who had infamously bloody brawls with Homicide; he was Scotty Goldman. Shawn Spears was no longer the three time OVW Tag Team Champion, nor the kid with the catchy name; he was Gavin now. It didn’t matter that Chris Harris was a former member America’s Most Wanted, or that he seemed to be on the cusp of success in TNA; he was Braden Walker, who was nothing but the guy who told Armando Estrada a knock-knock joke. Whether it was a poor booking, weak gimmicks, or a just plain terrible name, these guys couldn’t get their new identity over. I can’t help but believe that it wasn’t entirely their fault.

So, in conclusion, I would like to lay down a challenge to the WWE: trust what worked. These guys, and many others, got to your company for two reasons: success and the ability to get noticed. Changing their name would just take part of what got them noticed and throw it in the trash. If their true talents can be evident with any stage name, than it shouldn’t matter what your performers go by. If they have the ”It” factor, it should shine through whatever name they decide to don, so don’t even attempt to retard the process. If they suck, well a cool name shouldn’t make them not suck. Let them retain their identity, their previous accomplishments, and let them show you what made you pursue them in the first place. If you don’t, you’ll rob them of their identity and possibly disappoint. If you don’t take my advice, WWE, well…