The 6 Names WWE Actually Needs to Change
What's in a name? According to WWE, even if you're already well known as WALTER, you need to amend it to Gunther.
Sometimes, it's because WWE thinks a new name is better or a Superstar undergoes a repackaging with a new gimmick. More often than not, though, it's simply because the company wants to own the trademark.
While there have been periods where WWE has let wrestlers use their real names (John Cena, Keith Lee) or their more widely known monikers from outside the company (Adam Cole, Samoa Joe), we're back in an era where everyone needs something WWE-specific, even if it's uninspiring or bland.
You also never know when someone's about to lose their first or last name, such as Riddle and Cesaro, or start going by something new, like how Hanson and Rowe of War Raiders became Erik and Ivar, The Viking Raiders.
More often than not, the name changes aren't necessary, but there are six names in WWE today that should undergo an adjustment. Let's take a look.
Bron Breakker
1 of 6
In such a short time, Bron Breakker has gone from making his debut to becoming NXT champion. On his first night, the three major talking points were:
- Is this Rick Steiner's kid?
- He looks like he's being groomed to win the title soon, already.
- What's up with that name?
He's great, but his ring name is ridiculous. It sounds more like a 1980s cartoon character as part of the G.I. Joe lineup.
What makes this one even harder to understand is that the perfect name was already there when he changed his social media handle to Rex Steiner.
Given that his real name is Bronson Rechsteiner, you can't get any better than this twist on his surname and tribute to his father.
As he seems to have a great career ahead of him and could well main-event WrestleMania some day, wouldn't you rather see the marquee read Rex Steiner than Bron Breakker?
Doudrop
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Kimberly Benson made a name for herself as Viper on the indies and was rechristened Piper Niven after signing with WWE.
That was a perfectly valid name that served her well in NXT UK. When she joined the Raw roster, though, the commentary team played coy about her name while Eva Marie gave her the moniker "Doudrop."
All these months later, it's still rather absurd.
Given how it was supposed to be insulting, why would Niven be fine using the name? Especially after splitting from Marie, she should have gone back to calling herself by her old name to reclaim that identity.
Like Breakker, it's a name that sounds like it fits better elsewhere. At least when she was a happy-go-lucky character who twiddled her fingers to a boppy bubblegum pop song, it made some sense. Now she's a heel who is supposed to be taken seriously, the name Doudrop negates any tension.
When you're about to step in the ring with Awesome Kong or Bull Nakano, it sounds like you should say your prayers. But if you hear Doudrop is heading your way, you're probably not shaking in your boots.
Elias
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Jeffrey Sciullo was Heavy Metal Jesus and Logan Shulo on the indies before joining NXT as "The Drifter" Elias Samson.
That was eventually shortened to Elias in July 2017, which he spun off into his most noteworthy slogan: WWE stands for "Walk with Elias."
He hasn't been seen since August, when he was shown seemingly putting an end to his musical gimmick and said, "Elias is dead. Long live Elias."
The problem is so much of his character was tied to the catchphrase that if he doesn't bring a guitar to the ring, there really isn't much of a reason for him to still be Elias.
If he's going to be repackaged similar to how Husky Harris became Bray Wyatt or Papa Shango became Kama Mustafa, he can't just be Elias anymore.
Nikki A.S.H.
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Did Nikki Cross become Nikki A.S.H. to avoid confusion with Karrion Kross when he joined the Raw roster? There has never been an official explanation, but it's a plausible assumption.
However, A.S.H. has always been a clunky name that doesn't even make any sense.
Fundamentally, calling herself "almost a superhero" was lame from the start, but it's also eye-rolling to hear the commentary team have to sound out "A.S.H." instead of pronouncing it "ash."
The gimmick's been a flop in general, but now that she's a heel, she should technically be "almost a supervillain" and amended to Nikki A.S.V.
The best-case scenario here is reverting back to Nikki Cross.
T-Bar
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When Christopher Dijak left NXT to join the main roster as part of the Retribution faction, he stopped using the ring name Dominik Dijakovic and became T-Bar.
However, the gimmick and the group as a whole was flawed.
Even worse, the top definition for T-Bar on Urban Dictionary is another term for a thong. A character that was supposed to be intimidating is known by a slang name for a jockstrap.
Since Retribution disbanded last year, it's time for return to Dijakovic so he can get back on track as a serious wrestler.
SuperShow, Super ShowDown, Superstar ShowDown
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It's not just wrestlers' names that should change. Over the years, WWE has referred to its cross-branded live house shows by the term "SuperShow."
There was even a 2018 pay-per-view in Australia called Super Show-Down, which continued without the hyphen as Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.
It's time for this to go away. Either create a new name that can be used for the Saudi Arabia shows, such as Crown Jewel in the fall or bringing back another name from the past.
Ideally, Roadblock makes the most sense, as it would take place on The Road to WrestleMania.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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