Ring name

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
English boxer Nicky Cook with his ring name Cookie on the trunks

A ring name[1] is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet, it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.[2]

Professional wrestling

Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming

Goldberg, Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella, Mike Mizanin using The Miz, Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes, and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow. Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name, while many male and female wrestlers also use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an unusual instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona.[3]

Some (mostly

promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE, which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and a few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson
at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure.

A.J. Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
, who wrestle both on NXT and the independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names.

In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as

The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name.[citation needed] The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior
, had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior".

In many cases, ring names evolve over time as the wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the "

"Dr. Death" Steve Williams
. Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with the prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Boxing

Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include:

Global use

See also

References

  1. OCLC 928642534
    , retrieved 2021-07-19
  2. ^ Windsor, William (23 February 2019). "What's In A Ring Name? A Look At WWE's Evolving Approach To Superstars' Names". www.wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Ricky Steamboat Discusses His Favorite Ric Flair Match, the WWE Talent He's Most Proud of, Returning to the Ring Vs. Chris Jericho and Much More - PWInsider.com". Retrieved August 6, 2016.

External links

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