Every WWE Superstar, it seems must strike a balance between their WWE character and who they are in other contexts. Not just day-to-day life, but things like social media and YouTube, where Asuka is Kana and Xavier Woods is Austin Creed. WWE’s Kevin Owens has reopened his own ProWrestlingTees store as Kevin Steen, even though he hasn’t performed under that name since the indies. All of this is the backdrop for some recent news about a pair of WWE Superstars who’ve made an interesting move regarding their own outside-WWE brands.
According to 411Mania, Charlotte Flair and her boyfriend Andrade just filed trademarks for non-WWE ring names, for merchandising as well as live entertainment purposes. Charlotte applied to trademark “Ashley Flair” and “The Queen of Wrestling,” while Andrade applied for “La Sombra” and “El Idolo.” La Sombra was Andrade’s pre-WWE ring name, of course, but Charlotte never wrestled prior to NXT. Ashley is her real name, and “Flair” is just the pro-wrestling spelling of Fliehr, the actual last name she shares with her father.
It’s unlikely this means they’re leaving WWE anytime soon. They’re probably just thinking about taking advantage of side-opportunities as some other WWE wrestlers have. On the other hand, you never know what the future holds, and in a world where Cody Rhodes has to just call himself Cody, it’s probably smart for Charlotte to ensure that she’ll always be a Flair, even if there comes a time that she’s no longer Charlotte.
