Wheel of Fortune — one of the best game shows of all time — is firmly in its Ryan Seacrest era, with the host taking over for Pat Sajak when the current season premiered on the 2024 TV schedule. Wheel Watchers were overall complimentary of Seacrest in his new role, and ratings indicated the takeover was a success. Now, a couple of months into Ryan’s reign, we’ve reached the point where fans are recommending nicknames for Seacrest, and you guys, some of these are wild.
The nickname thing apparently started when Ryan Seacrest called his beloved co-host Vanna White “V-Dubs,” and she thought it was only fair for him to have a nickname as well. The longtime letter-turner took to social media, asking fans for their suggestions, which you can see below on Instagram:
The agreed-upon favorite was “Ryan-stone Cowboy” — despite it being spelled in the video like the Glen Campbell song, it’s clear the hosts are working Seacrest’s name into it — and of the three options given, that was probably the best.
Fans didn’t stop there, though, with many adding their own suggestions in the comments section of the post. The Ryan-stone Cowboy might want to hold onto his bejeweled hat for these, because there are some real groaners ahead:
- “High-Flyin’ Ryan” – dwayneisgrig
- Wheel of FortuRyan – jbentup
- Rockin’ Ryan would be a better nickname, since he’s rocking the host of Wheel and American Idol and New Years Rockin Eve – bigman.l96
- Gamma Ray Ryan (he seems to have tons of energy) – mrgabrielconrad
- I just call him HOT STUFF. – crystal.unscripted
Let’s just say some of those are better than others, and HR might have something to say about that last one if Vanna White really did just start calling the new host “hot stuff.”
From the clip it looks like Ryan Seacrest is being a good sport about the nickname suggestions, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have been watching him work. The host was quite gracious about one contestant’s impressively bad guess, and it was pretty funny to watch how he handled one particularly bizarre situation (one that had fans calling for a Wheel of Fortune rule change).
Will those good graces continue when he reads what other nicknames his viewers have come up with? More comments included:
- Ry-Guy, or Ry-Ry, or Ryzzle. Ryzzle could be a combination for Ryan and Dazzle. – beverly.c.sanders.3
- American Rydol – nickcpickles
- Seacrest Express – kaileyyhale
- How 'bout Wheelin' Dealin' Ryan 🤵🏼💰🎉 – callmemisterj
- Sea-money! – kbsquared_1129
- He’ll always be ryry to me – ninergrl6
Some wild ideas, to be sure. It’ll be interesting to see if Vanna White keeps up her search for something fun to call her colleague, and I would particularly love to see our “Ryan-stone Cowboy” possibly getting into it by incorporating some rhinestones into his wardrobe. Just something for “American Rydol” to think about.
Check your local listings to see when to catch R-Sea Cola as the host of Wheel of Fortune in your area.
