How Iconic TV Show Helped Vince McMahon Name WWE Star
An ex-WWE star has revealed that their unusual ring name came from Vince McMahon catching an episode of an iconic TV show.
When WWE resurrected the ECW brand, a new star was born as Barbie Blank portrayed Kelly Kelly. As the host of Kelly’s Exposé, her role on ECW originally was to provide a more risqué element before she eventually transitioned to an in-ring performer.
During her time in the company, Kelly eventually held the WWE Divas Championship but many fans couldn’t get past the distracting fact that she had the same name twice. And it seems Vince McMahon was behind it.
Vince McMahon Goes Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Speaking on Byron Scott’s Fastbreak, Barbie Blank explained how Vince McMahon catching an episode of Cheers led to her repetitive moniker:
I wanted Barbie. I wanted Barbie so bad, but it’s trademarked. They gave me a list of ten or 15 names and Kelly was on there. ‘Oh, I like Kelly. That’s cute.’ She was a Barbie. There was a Kelly doll. It was Kelly. Then, I debut, and the next week it was Kelly Kelly.
Vince, who knows the way he thinks, but he had seen a ‘Cheers’ episode, and I guess the girl bartender is Kelly. It was before my time. There was a song, ‘Kelly, Kelly, Kelly.’ That’s how Kelly Kelly became.
Asked how she felt about her unusual WWE name, Blank noted:
Nobody had two of the same name, so it would stand out.
A former WWE star has revealed how someone else upsetting Vince McMahon led to their firing from the company towards the end of McMahon’s time in power.