5 Hilarious ring names that WWE Superstars turned down 

There are only a select few WWE stars who are able to keep their real names when they enter the wrestling business. At present, it's much easier for WWE to add copyright to a name that hasn't been used anywhere else and that isn't a wrestler's given name.

When Supertars are first signed to the company, more often than not their names will be changed and the company will then pitch a list of names that they could then be instead. Often WWE Superstars themselves will have an idea of what name they want like Seth Rollins. The Monday Night Messiah really wanted to be Seth because he liked the name and he added Rollins because of Henry Rollins.

There have been some hilarious pitches from WWE over the years and interestingly whilst fans have been able to see the final names, there are many pitches that have gone under the radar.

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#5 Daniel Bryan - Lloyd Boner

Daniel Bryan was known under his real name of Bryan Danielson during his time on the Independent Circuit, but when he came to WWE he had to change his name. Whilst his nickname was The American Dragon, this was something Shawn Michaels came up with whilst training the former World Champion since Bryan himself as admitted that he isn't good at coming up with names.

When Bryan was asked for names when he first came to WWE, the former Champion actually pitched Buddy Peacock and Lloyd Boner thinking that they were good names. It wasn't until William Regal stepped in and offered Daniel Bryan as a suggestion that he finally found a name that fitted.

Bryan has since become well-known under this ring name which is technically just a reversed version of his real name.

#4 Neville - Ripley Bishop

Neville came to WWE back in 2013 and throughout the course of his career, he went from NXT to WWE's main roster and over to 205 Live. There was once a rumor that WWE wanted Neville to have a "Mighty Mouse" gimmick when he was moved up to the main brands but this never came into fruition.

When Neville first arrived in the company, he had to choose a name, since he was known as PAC on the Indies. Of course, he came out of the meeting as Adrian Neville but interestingly one of the names that the company throughout there was Ripley Bishop.

It's hard to see The Man That Gravity Forgot being known as Ripley Bishop, even though when he was promoted to the main roster he went on to lose the Adrian part of his name.

Neville definitely suited the star, even though it wasn't a name that stood out as a wrestling character, but he's probably glad that Ripley Bishop wasn't the name that he became known as.

#3 The New Day - The House of Positive Energy

When The New Day made their debut as a trio on WWE TV back in 2014, the company had obviously spent a lot of time putting together vignettes ahead of their reboot. This also meant that Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston would be forced to undergo a name change and would instead have to become known collectively.

On an episode of The New Day's podcast back in 2019, Kofi Kingston revealed that he had kept a list of names that WWE had pitched for the trio when they were about to make their debut.

These names include The Beat, Perfect Harmony. The Tribe, Healing Through Harmony, The Sensations, The Wonders, The Miracles, The Modern Marvels, The Commotions,Trillogy, Triverse, Harmony's 3, The Beacon, New City, The Triumph, The House of Light, The Cause, The Regulators, The House Of Positive Energy (HOPE), House Of Purpose. The Calling, Voices Of Triumph, The Charge, The Reach, The Concept, The Achievers, The Congregation, The Advent, Trinity, Crusaders, Exodus, Redeemed, and Risen.

Luckily, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston pitched both The New Day and The New Way and the former was the name that was accepted by WWE.

#2 Becky Lynch - Robin Daly

Becky Lynch came through the ranks in NXT to become one of the most popular female wrestlers of all time. This was before the former RAW Women's Champion was forced onto the sidelines back in May when she announced that she was expecting her first child with her fiancee and fellow WWE star, Seth Rollins.

It hasn't all been easy sailing for the former Champion though, since she may have been handed a very different name when she made her way through the company. When Lynch arrived in NXT, she was told to pitch some ring names for herself and The Man recently revealed to Sports Illustrated's Jordan Barrasso which names WWE actually pitched.

They [WWE] wanted a name associated with my own name, like Rebecca. So I became Becky, and two of the names that came back to me were Becky Lynch and something like Madeleine. I was like, ‘I didn’t even submit that, I don’t know how it got in there.’ It made me think of that TV show Madeleine. Anyway, I said no to that, and the other name that came back was Robin Daly. I actually did like that, but I thought it would be better to have a part of my own name in there, so Becky Lynch it was.

#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin - Fang McFrost

Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't always the anti-hero that he is seen as when WWE fans look back on the history of the company. There was a time when Austin was known as The Ringmaster and wasn't going anywhere fast.

The former World Champion watched a serial killer documentary about a man called The Iceman and decided that he wanted to shape his new character around the cold-blooded theme.

Of course, it takes a whilst for a name like Stone Cold Steve Austin to become a reality, so the Texas Rattlesnake had to go through some interesting pitches before he found the one.

Otto Von Ruthless.Ice Dagger.Fang McFrost."Stone Cold" Steve Austin... There ya go. #WWENetwork @steveaustinBSR pic.twitter.com/oRTElorFkR

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) November 26, 2017

Names like Fang McFrost, Ice Dagger, and Otto von Ruthless were put on the table by WWE officials, but it's easy to see why all of these names were rejected by the former Champion. It's hard to imagine that one of the biggest stars in WWE history would have been able to strike fear in the heart of his opponents with a name like Fang McFrost.