Pete Dunne Debuts On WWE SmackDown As BUTCH!
NXT's Bruiserweight inexplicably given new name in his blue brand bow.
Say goodbye to "Pete Dunne," and say hello to... "Butch."
In what could only be described as "Because WWE," Dunne finally made his main roster debut Friday night on SmackDown, but he was introduced under the new moniker. Sheamus & Ridge Holland brought him in during a backstage interview as a longtime friend. Sheamus noted that many knew him by a different name, but they knew him by his nickname: Butch. Yet, Sheamus and the announcers only referred to him as Butch and never uttered his previous name.
He seconded Holland and Sheamus in their match against the New Day, providing a distraction that allowed them to pick up the win.
Dunne (sorry, not quite ready to call him Butch yet) has been with WWE since 2017, competing in NXT UK and NXT. He seemed very out of place after NXT's reboot, so the move was a natural, but the renaming wasn't. Fightful Select reported that they were told throughout the day that "something very dumb" was happening on SmackDown, with several noting that it would be a name change.
Worse, the meaning behind the name is reportedly either a rib because Ridge Holland's real name is Luke (and thus turning Dunne into Butch provides a Bushwhackers connection), or it has to do with the Little Rascals - a show from 70 years ago. If either of those are true, then WWE is even more out of touch with reality than believed.
?????????#SmackDown #Butch @WWESheamus @RidgeWWE pic.twitter.com/ok3AHpeBYf
— WWE (@WWE) March 12, 2022
A name change might not be debilitating for a wrestler, but given that NXT now exists in the main roster universe, with superstars crossing back and forth - and Raw superstar Dolph Ziggler holding the NXT Championship - it makes no sense in canon to suddenly rename Dunne and slap a new outfit on him. We're supposed to accept that a guy who wrestled less than two weeks ago on NXT has changed his name and persona simply by stepping across the SmackDown threshold.
It's just dumb, but that's WWE today.