10 Best Exceptions To WWE Rules

2. Everyone Needs To Be Renamed

Once WCW and ECW bit the dust, WWE had ultimate control. That, to Vince McMahon, meant wrestlers hired would do whatever the hell they were told or face scrimping for meals on the independents. It also meant McMahon could offer 'take it or leave it' rebranding opportunities for his workers.

CM Punk was one notable exception.

He wasn't the first or last, obviously, but there's something that sticks out about Punk jumping from Ring Or Honor to WWE in 2005 and keeping the name he'd used outside Vince's walls. There's a very good chance that Samoa Joe, who also got to keep his well-known moniker when he joined on in 2015, would've been forced to change had he moved instead of Punk at the time.

That's all guesswork, of course, and yet it'd make sense. Punk was either too brash for WWE to tame or they agreed that his ring name was a crucial enough part of his identity to wrestling fans. He was the internet darling of the time, and maybe that held some sway.