5 Superstars who need better in-ring names

When all factors are taken into account, a Superstar's name might not be the most important consideration when assessing how much of a talent he or she is. Over time, fans just learn to live with the name of their favourite wrestler, even if at first they did not find it to their liking.

However, name changes can often be catalysts for much-needed gimmick adjustments. Look at when Rocky Maivia became The Rock or the Ring Master became Stone Cold Steve Austin. A new name can allow you to embrace a completely different persona and maybe even launch yourself into being one of the biggest attractions the business has ever seen.

Things are not that different in 2017. There are still Superstars on the various WWE roster sporting rather unfortunate names. Here is a look at 5 WWE Superstars who could potentially do with a rethink on what they call themselves:

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#1 Big Cass

Despite suffering an untimely injury earlier this summer, the future looks fairly bright for Big Cass. Now officially a singles star, the WWE Universe are hoping that Vince's obvious excitement for the guy is justified after so many occasions where the boss has got it wrong over recent years.

Now that Enzo's former enforcer is free to pursue his dream of potentially being a big-time player for the WWE, perhaps when he returns from injury it will be with a new in-ring name. Unfortunately, 'Big Cass' sounds much more like a concise description of his overall gimmick rather than a believable first and last name.

And while there's nothing wrong with in-ring names being slightly out of the ordinary, usually the guys who make it to the very top tend to avoid them.

In recent times we have seen guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns represent the company in some capacity. This represents the shift towards more reality-based entertainment which started mainly with the end of the Attitude Era.

Big Cass might have worked in the 80s alongside Superstars such as Hulk Hogan or The Ultimate Warrior, but in 2017 having an adjective as your first name just doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

After all, Big Cass is actually a variation of a previous in-ring name the New York native used to fight under. Colin Cassady has the kind of PG ring to it that could really help him achieve that next level and encourage fans to see him more than just a 7 foot tall, one-dimensional monster.

#2 Ruby Riot

With Asuka's recent high-profile move to the main roster, the NXT women's division is currently in a fragile state. The fact that the "Empress of Tomorrow" left the Wednesday night promotion as an undefeated champion speaks of the gulf in talent between her and the rest of the roster.

That being said, there are certain individuals with the potential to help NXT's women find their stride once again. Ember Moon, who many tipped as being the one to finally end Asuka's streak, is likely to get a shot at leading the division soon. Other names like Nikki Cross and the inaugural Mae Young Classic winner Hairi Sane, will also be waiting in the wings.

Another female in NXT who has the talent to perhaps one day lead the division is Ruby Riot. Riot has been honing her skills on the independent scene for the past seven years and now seems to have found a more permanent home under the guidance of Triple H and William Regal.

Upon her arrival at NXT, her in-ring name was rightly changed from Heidi Lovelace - a strange mix between a children's fantasy fiction character and somebody you might expect to find in the search history of a single adolescent male. Unfortunately for her, she was given the new name 'Ruby Riot'.

While this is a step up from Lovelace, Ruby Riot sounds a little too forced to be considered with any degree of seriousness. The name evokes images of some punk rock lead singer from the 70s who meaninglessly rebels against society in order to sell records.

Riot's real name is actually Dori Prange, and despite a few people may have difficulty pronouncing it, this already sounds like a dramatic improvement. There's still time for the company to think up a new in-ring name for her, but hopefully, it happens before her main roster call-up.

#3 Fandango

Sometimes characters need to be given a new in-ring name in order to change their overall persona. It's not as if their previous names were bad or ill-advised, it's more the fact that the wrestler himself has outgrown its usefulness.This is certainly the case with Fandango.

Much to the credit of Curtis Hussey, the man has been able to excel despite being given one of the worst character gimmicks of WWE's modern era. Imagine winning the fourth season of NXT only to be told that you will be entering the main roster as a ballroom dancer.

With a little stroke of luck, the Fandango character has actually grown to be one of the most entertaining gimmicks of the current Smackdown Live roster. Along with his tag-team partner Tyler Breeze, the pair have been lighting up the blue brand with their hilarious Fashion File segments.

But surely all this is an indication that the man behind the outfits and silly voice has real talent. What if that talent was allowed to grow into a serious singles star who was able to pursue championship gold?

For this to happen, Fandango would have to symbolically die with a new, slightly tweaked persona coming through. The WWE has done similar things before with guys like Road Dogg and Dolph Ziggler who were also given less than serious gimmicks to start with.

If nothing else, Hussey has surely proven that he at least deserves a shot before the Fandango gimmick swallows any chance he has of being taken seriously.

#4 Big E

Another Superstar who could really benefit from a change of gimmick is the New Day's Big E. Much like the Fandango example, Big E has been a fairly fitting name for four times WWE Tag Team Champion, but one would hope that the 31-year-old will eventually be given some time as a singles star in the future.

When/if Big E does go it alone, he will need to undergo quite a lot of adjustments. The New Day might be a highly entertaining tag team, but there's a reason why none of them have really tasted singles gold since the team formed.

They are a little too gimmicky to be taken seriously and few would accept Big E taking on the likes of Roman Reigns in one on one action while he's dancing around the ring and getting the audience to clap along with him.

Perhaps, after New Day's separation, E can take a short amount of time off and return as a monster heel under a brand new name and image. His real name is actually Ettore Ewen, which already sounds a little more 'down the line' and worthy of main event legitimacy.

Of course, there is no guarantee that this will ever happen for any of the New Day members, but after all this time, surely fans have come to realise that in their own right, each individual has talent, and in the case of Big E, this realisation is getting more and more obvious as the years pass by.

#5 Braun Strowman

In all honesty, the career of Braun Strowman is probably too far gone for any major changes to his gimmick to take place. Whether it was intended or not, the WWE Universe has really gotten behind "The Monster Amongst Men" and given that he is about to face Brock Lesnar this Sunday at No Mercy, he seems pretty well established amidst the main event scene on RAW.

That being said, Braun Strowman, when you really examine it, is a terrible name for a superstar, especially in 2017. It is less of a name and more of a pun - 'braun', similar to the English word 'brawn' meaning strength, and 'strowman' which is a slight variation of 'strongman'. He is effectively called strong strongman, which is something a 6-year-old child would probably come up with for a wrestling name.

Some fans might not know that Braun was actually a professional 'strongman' before entering pro wrestling. But if anything, this makes the whole thing even worse. It's like the company were so unimaginative that they just named the guy after what he used to do.

There were, of course, many other examples back in the early 90s of characters being named after professions - Repo Man, The Mountie etc. but I don't think many of us are calling for those days to come back.

It might not be too late for things to change. After all, two of the company's biggest ever performers went through a slight change of name when Rocky Maivia became The Rock, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley became Triple H. Both of these adjustments happened while they were already established in the main roster.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram