10 DUMB WWE Name Changes (That We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS)
Yeah, pro wrestling fans were WRONG about these "stupid" and "ridiculous" WWE name changes.
Changing a wrestler's name is always risky business.
WWE became the kingpins of this practice, typically owing to Vince McMahon's need to own everything. Of course, even Vince knew that some things were best left alone, and that's why he kept the Samoa Joe moniker instead of calling him something like "Joey Samoey" (shout out to 10 year old memes) on NXT.
The list of company name alterations that made fans cringe is legendary, but...what about the times when WWE got it right and received flak for it anyway? If most are being honest, us pro wrestling fans can be a tough bunch to please at times. Almost every decision is met with scepticism, and everything is hyper-analysed to the point of exhaustion.
Sometimes, as a community, the wrestling daft throngs out there need to admit that they got it wrong. These name changes are proof of that, because all of them worked out well in the end following a whole bunch of scoffing, raised eyebrows and (in latter years) gnashing of teeth on social media.
Many might not want to acknowledge it, but they were improvements.
10. Rey Mysterio Jr > Rey Mysterio
It might seem strange to imagine now, but there was a fair amount of wailing when WWE inked a deal with Rey Mysterio Jr and dropped the "Jr" portion of his name. In fact, this writer remembers one magazine article that wondered if Vince McMahon was deliberately needling the now-defunct WCW one last time by gently renaming Rey.
Yeah, erm...no, no he wasn't.
If anything, WWE were attempting to move Mysterio away from the idea that he was a young boy-esque underling who paled in comparison to family seniors. Long term, it worked - fans ditched the "Jr" part of Rey's name quickly, and embraced McMahon's vision for the high-flying star.
This is mad to think about, but that aforementioned magazine article even suggested that WWE putting Mysterio back under a mask WCW had taken off him was a bid to divert attention away from the soft renaming. Again, there was a bit of overthinking going on here!