Ryback Allan Reeves. Screen Grab from YouTube/WWE
We can now add “Ryback” to the list of most unique names.
Ryan Allan Reeves, popularly known by his monicker Ryback, has gone the extra mile to preserve the rights to the persona he built during his tenure as a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar.
After leaving the company in August, the former Intercontinental Champion has taken action to legally change his name to that of his famed in-ring character.
“It’s not uncharted territory, but it kind of is too in a way. I legally went and changed my name to Ryback, for many reasons, one of which it was one thing that I did not own, and I created, and I used before my time with WWE,” Reeves said during the recent episode of his podcast, “Conversations with the Big Guy.”
“It is something that is associated with my brand and who I am that I am very proud of. So, I went through the proper steps in Clark County in Las Vegas. And it cost a little bit of money, and I go in front of a judge Sept. 1. But when this airs, you know, hopefully everything is approved and I would be known as Ryback Alan Reeves moving forward,” he added.
Ryback parted ways with Vince McMahon-owned promotion, after citing his lack of push on the main roster and the unequal pay among performers as reasons for his departure. He also wished the WWE the best in it future endeavors on Instagram.
Standing at 6’3 and weighing almost 300 lbs, the hulking wrestler is currently fighting in various independent circuits under the ring name “The Big Guy”.
Ryback becomes the second major star to go to extreme lengths to acquire the rights to their wrestling name.
Before him, the late Jim Hellwig (The Ultimate Warrior) legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993 so that WWE wouldn’t hold the rights to his intellectual property. Khristian Ibarrola