Quick Takes on Pete Dunne's WWE Career Killer, AEW's Most Valuable Pickup, More

WWE's constant desire to change anything and everything that doesn't need fixing knows no bounds, with the most recent example coming on Friday's SmackDown with the puzzling rebranding of Pete Dunne as Butch.

The former NXT United Kingdom champion has been made a handful of main-roster appearances as The Bruiserweight over the years, raising the question of why WWE felt the need to give him a new name and gimmick. It's guaranteed to be more of a hindrance than a help to his WWE career in the long run.

Thankfully, All Elite Wrestling doesn't attempt to insult the intelligence of the audience by bringing in familiar faces and completely ignoring their pasts. Instead, the company embraces where a character came from, which is exactly what happened with the legendary William Regal at Revolution.

Stars such as Swerve Strickland and Jeff Hardy were always expected to join AEW, but Regal's arrival was unexpected. Between being an on-air presence and what he brings to the table backstage, he could well prove to be one of the promotion's most valuable pickups.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle Regal's role in AEW, Chris Jericho's new faction, Bron Breakker's impending main-roster call-up and more.

WWE Takes 1 Step Forward and 5 Steps Back with Butch's SmackDown Debut

It couldn't be more apparent that WWE desperately needs stars, specifically on SmackDown.

Calling up a talent or two from NXT ahead of WrestleMania 38 was always an option, and the company ended up doing just that. Pete Dunne is a fine fit for the blue brand, but the decision to rebrand him as Butch is mind-boggling.

Ricochet could use a credible challenger for his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania, and Dunne would have been the perfect opponent for him. Instead, he was slotted into a storyline with The New Day, Sheamus and Ridge Holland and established as an ally of the latter two.

Given his history with Holland from NXT, it's an interesting idea and at least ensures he will be featured weekly on the show. The biggest drawback is that the name Butch is atrocious, and altering his image takes away from what made him stand out in NXT.

Fans were always aware of the risk associated with an NXT up-and-comer possibly being brought to the main roster, but not quite to this extent. Dunne will have a tough time getting fans to take him seriously so long as he's being billed as Butch.

Bron Breakker Belongs on SmackDown or Raw Right Now

Almost exactly six months removed from his debut on NXT 2.0, Bron Breakker could be considered ready for Raw and SmackDown.

The former NXT champion popped up on Monday's edition of Raw and looked like a natural alongside Tommaso Ciampa against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. The fact that he scored the winning fall over Ziggler in that match indicates that officials are high on him as is and that he wouldn't need his character to be tweaked like Pete Dunne's.

At the end of the day, NXT 2.0 is WWE's developmental territory, and if the company feels Breakker has progressed as much as he can on the brand and that he can be a bigger asset to either Raw or SmackDown, then it would be a missed opportunity to not pull the trigger on a call-up soon.

As noted, WWE needs stars in the worst way. Breakker fits that bill to a tee and could be one of the hot, young upstarts to whom the promotion gives an aggressive push this year.

He had all the tools necessary to be a champion under the bright lights of NXT and could be a real success story if WWE can stay the course with him and ensure he's presented just as he was on Wednesday nights.

William Regal Will Be 1 of AEW's Best Pickups to Date

AEW has snapped up so much top-tier talent over the past year or two that an argument can be made that its roster is among the best ever assembled. CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and others have all been huge pickups for the promotion, but William Regal could be the most valuable of them all for a variety of reasons.

It's surprising to think that Regal was still under contract after NXT was revamped into what it is now in September and wasn't used on TV at all prior to being released. His backstage influence during that time is unknown, but the impact he made on the former black-and-gold brand can't be overstated.

Regal was with WWE for more than two decades, and in addition to always knocking it out of the park as an on-air personality both in the ring and on the mic, he was also an outstanding asset behind the scenes. He has a brilliant mind for the business and can lend so much knowledge to the next generation.

WWE's decision to release him was one of its worst in recent memory, and its loss is now AEW's gain.

This new stable of his with Danielson and Jon Moxley has plenty of potential, and anyone who worked with him in NXT will see AEW as an attractive option knowing he's there. He can contribute in so many ways that go far beyond anything anyone can do inside the squared circle.

Chris Jericho Jumping from 1 Faction to Another Is Unnecessary

All signs pointed to Chris Jericho turning on Eddie Kingston and cementing his heel turn coming out of their hotly contested clash at Revolution. Although that did occur on Wednesday's Dynamite, it came with a twist most fans could have done without.

It was revealed that while Inner Circle is indeed no more, Jericho will instead now be leading a new faction consisting of himself, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia and 2point0. He essentially traded in one stable for another, which defeats the purpose of Inner Circle's dissolution.

On the bright side, Santana and Ortiz are finally free, and Sammy Guevara won't have Inner Circle holding him back any longer, either. However, AEW already has a surplus of stables, and the Jericho Appreciation Society isn't compelling enough to stand on its own.

Jericho doing his own thing with Hager possibly serving as his heavy would have sufficed, but Garcia and 2point0 are random additions to this group. They have been booked like losers for the past few months and are almost impossible to take seriously as a result.

On the surface, Jericho Appreciation Society comes off as a significantly weaker version of Inner Circle. Perhaps it will exceed expectations, but the last thing this angle should be leading to is another Stadium Stampede match that Santana and Ortiz need to be no part of.

Who Will Face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38?

Seth Rollins is undoubtedly the biggest name in WWE today without a WrestleMania match scheduled. That needs to be fixed as soon as Monday's Raw.

It seems plans changed any time there was someone lined up to face him at the event. Shane McMahon was the first name reported to be his opponent coming out of the Royal Rumble, but that fell through once McMahon departed the company soon after.

Kevin Owens was another likely possibility, seeing as how the two have teamed for months, but Owens inviting "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on to The KO Show at The Show of Shows saw that notion thrown out the window.

Cody Rhodes remains the best bet despite there being no guarantee that he's rejoining the company. If not, Bron Breakker would be a suitable replacement considering he's reportedly on his way up relatively soon, per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observe Radio.

The only other choice would be to shoehorn him into the United States Championship picture, but that wouldn't make much sense. Besides, he's above it. AJ Styles is already locked up, and Bobby Lashley will still be hurt by then, leaving few potential opponents.

If WWE fails to come to an agreement with Rhodes prior to WrestleMania, Rollins will be stuck in an undeserved precarious position.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.