Backstage Reaction To Pete Dunne's WWE Name Change Revealed
Here's what wrestlers behind the scenes think about WWE's repackage job for Pete Dunne.
WWE sources told Fightful Select ahead of time that "something very dumb" was going to happen on Friday's edition of SmackDown.
That, it appears, was the company's decision to rename Pete Dunne to "Butch". The Brit aligned with Sheamus and Ridge Holland on the broadcast, and it looks like he'll continue to be cast in the role going forwards. WWE even went so far as to pretend that the trio shared a ton of history together.
Fightful reported on concerns that the "Butch" name is a rib. Holland's real name is Luke, so there's every chance this could be a lighthearted nod towards The Bushwhackers. If true, then that's a pretty damning bit of insight into WWE's booking processes in 2022.
Rethinking Dunne as "Butch" just so someone gets a giggle out of it definitely fits into the "very dumb" category.
Backstage reaction towards the change, as you'd imagine, hasn't been especially positive. Some wrestlers who found out what was happening on Thursday weren't keen on Dunne becoming "Butch" or getting an overhaul at all.
Fightful claims that there was some "frustration" behind the curtain on Friday.