The Name Game: One last time
June 16, 2004
I'm going to do something I seldom do, I am going to insult several of you. This does not apply to all of you and I think it will be very clear which of you I mean to insult and which I don't. This will also be the last I deal with this topic so don't bother e-mailing me about it as all e-mail on this subject will be deleted. At the end of this commentary the topic will be closed, at least for me. This commentary is about using wrestlers real names. After my dealing with this issue recently in a Q and A commentary I've received several e-mail informing me that I was wrong and then the sender going on to explained to me how and why I was wrong. It never ceases to amaze me the nerve and, to some degree ignorance, of the internet wrestling fan. (That was the insulting part I mentioned earlier)
This whole thing started with Raven doing an interview and explaining how he hates when fans call him by his real name. I was then asked my take on the subject and I agreed with Raven, and went on to explain how I felt that using my real name in public was rude and disrespectful. Fans know me as Lance Storm and I preferred they call me by that name. This is where I started getting bombarded by fans telling me that I was wrong and that calling me by my real name is more respectful. They then go on to point out that if they were to run into Mathew Perry or Jennifer Aniston on the street they wouldn't call them Chandler or Rachel. Why do Internet wrestling fans insist on arguing with and telling the people they respect/look up to (after all why else would you be seeking autographs and trying to speak with us in public) that they are wrong and know less about the industry they work and live in than they do? I guess the thing that has got me so upset over this is that I can't believe people can't just accept what we say and how we feel. This seems painfully obvious to me; the respectful thing to do would be to call someone by the name they wish to be called by, not send them an e-mail to explain that they are wrong and doing it your way is the more respectful method.
While I would agree that one would not call Mathew Perry or Jennifer Aniston, Chandler of Rachel, I think they are still missing the point. Mathew Perry and Jennifer Aniston are their respective professional names. Those are the names they use in public. When either person appears on Leno or Letterman, they do so as Perry or Aniston, not Rachel or Chandler. Furthermore if they do oblige you with an autograph the name they sign is Mathew Perry or Jennifer Aniston, that is the name they use publicly and is the name used when the credits roll at the end or beginning of the show/movie they are in.
Wrestling is different. When we do interviews in the media we do them under our wrestling/professional names. I did "Off the Record" several times for TSN and each time I was on the show as Lance Storm. I have never (with one exception) done anything in the public eye as Lance Evers, it is a private name. If I don't put the name out in public I don't see why anyone would think they have the right to. Further more when I give an autograph I always sign Lance Storm and without exception that is the name the autograph seeker is expecting. I think a better comparison than Perry and Aniston, would be Sting (the singer), Madonna or even The Rock. These are not their real names, they are a stage name they chose to use in the public eye. If either person does a movie their stage name is used in the credits as it is whenever they do interviews in the media. If you were to get an autograph you would expect the autograph to read Sting, Madonna or The Rock. Last week on the MTV Video Award both Mathew Perry and The Rock were on the show and those were the names used for introductions. The Rock was not introduced as Dwayne Johnson, because that is not his Public Professional name, and without his permission I would not ever use it.
That is my take, case closed!
Till next week,
Lance STORM
credit stormwrestling.com
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