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Do you know what the real name of Roman Reigns is?Professional wrestling is essentially storytelling. The writers set up an environment and then populate it with characters that settle their conflicts in between the ropes. Most of these characters will be miles away from what they are in real life. To make this distance more visible, the wrestling promotion even gives wrestlers new names.And they tend to be known around the world through this name rather than their real name. So this opens up the room for some curiosity among the fans. What is the real name of this superstar that I see every week in and week out? This list is going to take a dig in to this question and take a look at some of the WWE superstars and their real names.
#12 Lana and Sasha Banks
Lana - Catherine Perry
WWE's whole idea of projecting Lana as the ravishing Russian would've crashed and burned if they had used her original name. The real life Catherine Perry was also known as CJ Perry during her pre-WWE days.
But now, the name Lana has taken over and everyone knows her by this name.
Sasha Banks - Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado
The real name of Sasha Banks is an impressive one, to say the least. It has a certain ring to it and could fit if she was playing a jacked up gangster in a Hollywood film. The name Mercedes would've worked in the wrestling business as well, but Sasha Banks does a better job.
#11 Rusev and Paige
Rusev - Miroslav Barnyashev
The name Rusev is easy to handle for both the wrestling fans and the commentators. Miroslav Barnyashev, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.
He had an 'Alexander' part to his performance name in the initial days but WWE later decided to drop the same for the better.
Paige - Saraya- Jade Bevis
Paige started wrestling when she was a teenager. She wrestled under a lot of monikers and most of them were excellent. In fact, Paige's real name, Saraya is good enough for a diva in WWE. Despite this, WWE gave her a new name, which ain’t that bad and one that certainly has a ring to it.
#10 AJ Styles and Alberto Del Rio
AJ Styles - Allen Jones
AJ Styles finally made his return to WWE recently and is having a solid stay in the mid card. He is almost certain to get his spot on the WrestleMania card as well. AJ was one of those rare stars who came from outside promotions and didn't have to change his name for WWE.
He stuck on to the AJ Styles tag because he was such a big star overseas. The real name of AJ is Allen Neal Jones.
#9 Big E and Big Show
Big E - Ettore Ewen
Big E is having a strong stay in the main roster as part of New Day. He initially made his appearance in the main roster as Big E Langston, but WWE later cut the name down to Big E. The E probably stands for Ettore or Ewen from his real name and either way, Big E is certainly not a name that someone would want if they aspire to be a main event star in the business.
Big Show - Paul Wight
The real name of Big Show has been exposed numerous times over the course of past decade. He is always referred with respect to his real name when he appears in his film projects. Nevertheless, the distance from Paul Wight to Big Show is indeed a big one.
#8 Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar
Bray Wyatt - Windham Rotunda
Bray Wyatt comes from the famous Rotunda family. Rotundas have left a great mark in the wrestling business and something similar was expected from Bray as well. He did just that by coming up with the Bray Wyatt character and went on to receive acclaim from all corners for his exemplary performance and dedication to his gimmick.
Brock Lesnar - Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is so real that this guy does not even need a character to stay relevant in the wrestling business. Lesnar oozes legitimacy and this is one of the reasons why he is a big draw in the company right now.
If you are in some mood for fantasizing, come up with a wrestling name for Brock Lesnar.
#7 Chris Jericho and Cesaro
Cesaro - Claudio Castagnoli
Imagine the announcer trying to call the real name of Cesaro. It be hard right? This is one of the perks of having a performing name. WWE chooses names in such a way so that it would be easy for the announcers and the fans to pronounce. Cesaro is a superstar that enjoys the benefit.
Chris Jericho - Christopher Irvine
Jericho has been around the wrestling business for so long. One major misconception about him is that Chris Jericho is indeed his real name. However, it isn't and in real life, he is Christopher Irvine, although I wonder how many of his friends or relatives use that name.
#6 Dean Ambrose and Kane
Dean Ambrose - Jonathan Good
For someone who plays a lunatic fringe, the name Jonathan Good clearly doesn't fit. This is why Ambrose took up the name Jon Moxley during his independent run. Later when he came into WWE, the company started calling him Dean Ambrose and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kane - Glenn Jacobs
Just like the case with Big Show, the real name of Kane had been exposed numerous times partly due to his film career. Kane has had a few ring names in the WWE before he finally settled with the current one, and this one clearly excelled above all his previous ring names.
#5 Triple H and Randy Orton
Triple H- Paul Levesque
Triple H gets called by many names. Sometimes, he is called Hunter, and at times, he is referred as Paul. In fact, the name Triple H is rarely used these days. Back in the Attitude Era, this was a cult name but as Triple H walked along a more corporate path afterwards, the names such as Paul and Hunter started poking up.
Randy Orton - Randall Orton
The name 'Orton' had a ton of respect even before Randy made it into the business.
He went on to have a career that underlined this respect and exceeded the achievements of his father and Grandfather. Orton also used the initials of his full name, Randall Keith Orton, for his finisher, RKO.
#4 Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns
Kevin Owens - Kevin Steen
Anyone who followed Kevin Owens during his independent run would know that he used his real name. Owens is one of those superstars that hates the whole concept of the gimmick, but as WWE did not want to use the 'Steen' tag, they made him take up 'Owens' which is the name of Kevin's son.
Roman Reigns - Leati Anoa'i
The Anoa'i family has a legendary status when it comes to the wrestling business. But they rarely use their real names when they are performing in the ring. Roman Reigns’s case is no different.
His real name is not something that WWE felt right about and they did the right decision by giving him a better one to hang out with.
#3 Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler
Seth Rollins - Colby Lopez
Colby Lopez is not a bad name for a wrestler but the thing is, the name Seth Rollins is much better. Rollins wrestled as Tyler Black all throughout his indy career but the biggest turning point probably came when he performed as Seth Rollins.
The fans are now waiting for a big return from the Architect.
Dolph Ziggler - Nicholas Nemeth
Ziggler first made his break into the main roster as part of the Spirit Squad. He was called as Nicky during that time, which is an obvious derivative of his real name. Things then took a big turn and he then chose the name Dolph Ziggler, which has no connection whatsoever with his real life name.
#2 Sami Zayn and John Cena
Sami Zayn - Remi Sebel
Sami Zayn simply stole the show during his re-debut on the main roster. He reignited his feud with Kevin Owens and we are bound to see a host of delicious bouts going forward. Zayn hails from Canada but has a strong Syrian Descent and it is written all over his real name.
John Cena - John Cena
John Cena is one of those rare superstars that wrestle under his real name. Cena went on to become such a big star that even if he had a gimmick name, it would've overshadowed his real life and name.
He is at the twilight stages of his wrestling career but has left a strong legacy behind.
#1 Sting and Undertaker
The Undertaker - Mark Calaway
In WWE, the word legendary is synonymous with Undertaker. Although we could say that this guy has a real name called Mark Calaway, the fans would still call him Undertaker. This is all because of the magnanimous status the Deadman has built for himself throughout his illustrious career, that wouldn’t fade away even if he hangs up his boots.
Sting - Steve Borden Sr.
Sting's debut in the WWE was heavily delayed, but when he did make his debut, it was huge. If he had wrestled under his real name, Sting wouldn’t have had such a cult following in the wrestling business. And he is one of the examples of how a gimmick could change the course of a career.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
