It seems that it was called the "Sky-Rocket" because of its high rate of climb -- 4,000 feet/minute. Suggested improvements during test flights called for moving the fuselage forward (or the wing backward), which would have made it look more "normal". In the end, production difficulties, including possible difficulties in obtaining spare parts for the two engines (which powered contra-rotating props to cancel torque), and landing gear difficulties resulted in choosing the Grumman Wildcat as the Navy's primary carrier-based fighter, despite the Wildcat's much lower rate of climb -- 2,333 feet/minute.
