5 WWE Wrestlers That Have A Better Real-Life Name

Professional wrestling is definitely cool in the way that promotions bring in relative "unknowns" (aspiring wrestlers), and with gimmicks, name changes, appearance changes among a couple other things, they end up transforming that said unknown into a Superstar.

The WWE has been great at doing this over the years, and while some fans believe the company isn't creating nearly as many stars as they once did, within the past two or three years, Vince McMahon has transformed the likes of former strongman Adam Scherr into the super popular Braun Strowman, among many other up-and-coming talent including Elias and Baron Corbin.

They are all homegrown talent who were unknown elsewhere. The WWE is all about over the top characters, gimmicks and personas, so it's no surprise that you'll rarely find a Superstar using their real-life name -- McMahon tries to give each talent a potentially profitable "brand" name.

While most name changes in sports entertainment are for the better (an example is Thomas Pestock into Baron Corbin), some wrestlers would've actually been better off using their real name -- quite surprisingly, many WWE Superstars have cooler or better real-life names than ring names.

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Of course this is all a matter of opinion, but it can be guaranteed that most of you will agree with at least a couple of these entries.

With that said, let's take a look at the following 5 WWE wrestlers you didn't know have a better real-life name...

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#5 Mercedes (Sasha Banks)

Sasha Banks may be "The Boss" in WWE, but her real-life name would've definitely complimented her gimmick even better...

Sasha Banks truly lives up to her gimmick inside and outside of the ring, as Banks carries herself in a way that oozes "The Legit Boss". Sasha has the swagger to back up her over-the-top boss persona, and she has gotten over with the fans accordingly.

With that being said, while "Sasha Banks" is a fairly decent (and fitting) ring name for the former Women's Champion, you may be surprised that Sasha's real-life name Mercedes would've definitely fit into her gimmick perhaps even better.

Mercedes is one of the most expensive brands of luxury cars around, and by all means, Sasha portrays that cool badass woman who would be expected by fans to be driving such a nice, fancy car. If the WWE didn't want to utilize Sasha's full real-life name (Mercedes Ton), they could've made her on-screen name Mercedes Banks -- sounds pretty cool to me!

Regardless, it's doubtful a better name would convince Vince McMahon to give Sasha Banks more opportunities in the Women's Division, as it seems the company is dead-set on under-utilizing her now a days, unfortunately...

#4 Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan)

Despite his lackluster start in WWE with constant barriers, Daniel Bryan has exceeded all expectations in regards to what fans (and executives) believed Bryan would accomplish in WWE -- Daniel Bryan is truly a wrestling "Superstar", and a future Hall Of Famer.

When Bryan had signed with the WWE, many Indie wrestling fans were very intrigued by it, considering Bryan was already an established veteran who went under the ring name "Bryan Danielson". For those unaware, Bryan Danielson is his actual real-life name, and by all means, it definitely suits "The Yes Man" far better than the rather generic Daniel Bryan.

Perhaps Vince McMahon had low hopes for Daniel in WWE following his debut in 2010 due to his lack of size and muscle mass, hence why they didn't put a lot of time and effort into his name -- quite simply, the WWE would have been better off using Bryan's real name which was already well established all over the world.

Regardless, Daniel Bryan has overcome the adversity since his time spent in NXT, and he is now in-line for a WWE Championship match against AJ Styles at the upcoming Crown Jewel event.

#3 Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens)

A big star on the Independent wrestling scene, Kevin Owens has had very little trouble establishing himself as a top tier Superstar in WWE over the past three years.

Although KO is not quite where most fans would like to see "The Prizefighter", Owens is locked in a secure contract with WWE for multiple years along with a very handsome salary -- Kevin Owens certainly doesn't have much to worry about (in all honesty, the fans worry more over Kevin Owens' position on the card than Owens does himself most likely).

Regardless, while Kevin Owens has established his brand in WWE considering he's one of the company's top merchandise sellers, in many of Owens' fans view point (fans before his WWE fame), most will tell you that KO would've been better suited with his former ring name (and real name) Kevin Steen -- a name that was well established on the Indies.

While "KO" is perfect for marketing, it cannot be argued that the WWE would've had no problem at all selling Kevin Steen merchandise -- if anything, fans probably would've gravitated even more towards Kevin due to the extra realness...

#2 Leah Van Dale (Carmella)

In many — While the ring name "Carmella" isn't bad by any stretch, Leah Van Dale sounds a tad better to my ears...

Despite the fact that the bulk majority of the WWE Universe was firmly against the push of Carmella this year following her successful MITB cash-in on Charlotte Flair, "The Princess Of Staten Island" has undoubtedly been improving tremendously since losing the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Now with a new look (brown hair) and an apparent babyface turn, Carmella is poised to get over with fans during her mini-storyline with WWE veteran, R-Truth. It's quite interesting what a simple babyface turn can do to change fans' opinions of a certain talent, because with this newfound storyline and some drastic improvements in the ring, Carmella isn't a bad option for another Women's Title run sometime down the line in the near future.

For those of you unaware, Carmella's real-life name is Leah Van Dale (daughter of former WWE enhancement talent Paul Van Dale), and by all means, this name is far superior to the rather generic "Carmella" -- Leah Van Dale has a nice ring to it. In all honesty, it wouldn't be a bad idea if the WWE let Carmella use her real-life name during her babyface run, as it's far more suitable than the heelish sounding Carmella.

#1 Miroslav Barnyashev (Rusev)

Without question, Rusev's real-life name sounds far more intimidating...

Rusev is unquestionably a "once in a lifetime" kind of big man wrestler, as The Bulgarian Brute has performed phenomenally in most situations ever since his debut in 2014 -- whether Rusev's paired with another big wrestler or someone the size of AJ Styles, a great match is usually guaranteed.

Despite the fact that Rusev has gotten himself over to a great extent with his "Rusev Day" shtick alongside Aiden English, Rusev was definitely made to be a monster heel who demolishes his opponents within short order -- the kind of character Rusev was during his first year in WWE as an undefeated monster.

As most of you know, when Rusev had originally made his main roster debut, he went under the ring name "Alexander Rusev", and it was later shortened to just "Rusev" for whatever reason.

Although Rusev isn't a bad ring name by any stretch, Rusev's real-life name Miroslav Barnyashev sounds far more intimidating, foreign and monstrous. Rusev's real name would have fitted his monster heel persona far superior in our opinion, and if the WWE ever decides to go down that dominating heel route with Rusev again, Vince should consider letting Rusev use his government name...

Edited by Riju Dasgupta