wrestling / Columns

What’s In a Name – The Troubling Trend of Cutting Talent Off at the Start

September 6, 2014 | Posted by Dino Zee

You grow up watching wrestling. You have a favorite promotion, a favorite wrestler, a favorite match… you enjoy everything about it. You purchase every pay per view, buy every magazine, play every game, and go to any show that’s even remotely close to where you live. One day, you hope to become a pro wrestler yourself. Once you’re old enough, you get yourself to a wrestling academy, where you learn how to do aerobics, take bumps, and maybe learn a few moves along the way. You work on a character, knowing that simply being a “good worker” may not be enough to make you a star.

After some time in the school, you finally get your first booking. In time, you build up a bit of a reputation amongst some fans, and before you know it, you’re wrestling in NXT, WWE’s “minor league” for lack of a better term. You’ve waited your whole life for this opportunity, and you know you’re prepared to become the biggest star this business has ever seen.

“We’re very excited to have you here,” you’re told when you first arrive. “We’ve got a great idea for you.” Your mind races as you think of all the possibilities. “We’re going to call you…” Time stops briefly as you prepare for the new name you’re going to be given. Being renamed is just a part of the process, and you feel like the name isn’t what’s important – it’s the performer that matters. “Fandango.”

And just like that, you’re wondering if this is really the thing you should be getting into.

No, this is not the path that Fandango (Johnny Curtis in another life) actually took. However, Fandango has long made me question what exactly goes through the minds of those in charge when they brand their talent. It’s one thing to be named Chip Dexley, or Avon De La Pierre, or Dean Ambrose. The names may sound funny at first, especially if you had already made a name for yourself under a different identity. Still, though, they remain actual names, and wouldn’t really be a reason to hold anything against you.

But when you name a talent something like Fandango, surely it must be known that if you ever want to push this guy as anything serious, he’s going to have to change his name at some point. And if that’s the case, why are we even bothering with the silly name in the first place?

I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it until the end of time – I’m not some business whiz. I don’t pretend to be, and I don’t want to present myself in that way. However, part of me wonders what the business sense is in torpedoing a talent as soon as they’re set for takeoff. You have an athletic, talented guy who wants to help your company make money, and you decide that he’d be better off with a ridiculous handle that almost guarantees he won’t make money.

This isn’t to say that the performer can’t be popular with a decent following. Every wrestler, by some margin, has their fans. What it means, however, is that for the performer to maximize their potential, they’re going to have to be renamed at some point. And, to me, that seems like such a waste of time, and one that was caused by those in the position to make sure that everyone is making the company money.

Ignoring Fandango for a second, I also think of Bob Holly. When he first appeared in the WWF, it was during the height of the 1990s Cartoon Era where everyone had silly names and secondary jobs. Bob Holly came in as “Sparky T. Plugg,” a NASCAR driver. He had a decent following, was fun to watch in the ring, but there was just no way that a guy named “Sparky Plugg” would ever be put into anything high profile. And so, when the WWF decided that this guy was actually pretty useful and could be placed in secondary title feuds, he was renamed “Bob ‘Spark Plugg’ Holly.” Now, would it have been so hard to go with that name in the first place? Did he gain anything by spending that time as Sparky Plugg? Of course not. In fact, all it did was guarantee that he’d be a joke for the rest of his career, no matter how hard they tried to repackage and push him. For many, he would always be “Sparky Plugg.” I considered myself a fan of Holly’s, and even I had a hard time taking him seriously in certain places because of his past alias.

This isn’t to say that a full gimmick name is a bad thing, either. Obviously, guys like Undertaker, Mankind, The Rock, Ultimate Warrior, and Sting prove this. However, I’d say comparing that list to names like Fandango, Sparky Plugg, or TL Hopper is a little silly. One set sounds like the type of name one would take as a nickname. The other list sounds like gimmick names given to fulfill a character. Oh, you’re a racecar driver? Sparky Plugg! You dance? Fandango it is!

To make this clear, I’m not just whining because a favorite of mine has a stupid title. I like Fandango enough, but I wouldn’t consider myself a super fan of his by any stretch. However, since his very debut, I have been completely dumbfounded as to why he’d be given such a stupid name. Especially when you consider that he debuted by defeating Chris Jericho at WrestleMania. It looked like he might even be on the path to an Intercontinental Championship until a concussion took him out of action for a while. Now, though? He’s basically this decade’s Marc Mero, watching as the ladies he interacts with go on to be bigger than he is. In my opinion, there was nothing he could do once he was given his handle. Sure, he could be a professional and do his best to make it work, but we’re never going to see “John Cena vs. Fandango” for the WWE Title on a pay per view event, and it has nothing to do with the talent of either performer.

Contrarians will likely point out examples of guys making it work, or dumber names, and that’s all great. I’m not saying it’s a guarantee that you’re screwed if you get a dumb name, but it absolutely makes things much more difficult. Couldn’t Fandango be the same overall character, but with a name like “Johnny ‘The Fandango’ Curtis”? Would that be so hard? You could even keep the “Faaaaaaandaaaaaaaaangoooooo” stuff since it’s still his nickname. Instead, we have a prohibitive name keeping a good talent down because there’s just no way to take him seriously.

If WWE ever decides that he’s someone worth pushing, they’re going to have to rebrand him. I’d assume it’ll go over as well as when Beaver Cleavage dropped the garbage and just became Chaz. Suddenly, you have the fans wondering why, if the wrestler hated the name so much, that they continued to use it. Why not just go by your regular name if that was an option the whole time? Did you at first like the name, and then decide at some arbitrary point that it was no longer good? Did the joke run out? This isn’t being asked of creative, it’s a question to the wrestler directly, and one that is raised when you give the wrestler the on-air ability to change their name.

To reiterate, my problem is with the company. Be it WWE, TNA, or anyone else, I don’t see the point in handicapping talent. The point of any wrestler is to make money for the place he works. In a perfect world, a promoter should have many wrestlers on his roster that can be considered bonafide stars, guys that will bring people into the building. To do that, you have to create a connection with the audience, and give them a star that they will get into, for one reason or another. Giving a talent a ridiculous gimmick name helps absolutely no one. In fact, as it pertains to Fandango, the most over part of his entire presentation is his music. No one chants for Fandango. They sing his song. For someone as talented as he is, this is a sad turn of events.

No, not every single wrestler should be world champion. No, not every single wrestler is going to be the most popular guy on the roster. Still, though, shouldn’t we put them in a position where that can be a possibility? Wouldn’t it be better to not indirectly tell the fans, “Don’t worry about this guy too much, he’s just a midcard joke.” Imagine if Santino had been called Pasta Primavera. Same exact character, but with that name. Whereas his runs as IC, US, and Tag Team champion usually came with lots of cheers, and the fans popped hard when he nearly won the 2011 Royal Rumble and 2012 Elimination Chamber, he’d never have even received those opportunities if he hadn’t had a “real” name.

It’s one thing to have a pun of a name, like IRS (Irwin R. Schyster) or HOG (Henry O. Godwinn). Sure, they’re silly, but they’re still (technically) names. I just can’t see Fandango ever doing anything with this name. Sure, we can joke about how he’ll never make it because he sucks, or because he’s fragile, but to me, it’s crystal clear that the biggest problem he has right now, like so many before him, is being stuck with a ludicrous name. He’s tried his hardest to make it work, but there’s simply a ceiling for that type of character, and he slammed into it a long time ago. And that’s not on him, that’s on those who decided to waste talent for the sake of a joke name.


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Dino Zee