10 DUMB WWE Name Changes (That We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS)

2. Prince Devitt > Finn Bálor

WWE WALTER GUNTHER
WWE.com

Select hardcore fans hit keyboards harder than Nigel McGuinness hit clotheslines when WWE signed celebrated New Japan stalwart Fergal 'Prince' Devitt in 2014 and redubbed him Finn Bálor. The name was soaked in Irish mythology, but it caused a meltdown or two on socials at the time.

WWE were clearly ruining yet another top pro wrestling star with their annoying need to McMahon-ify everything in sight! That was a common argument in 2014, and it wouldn't go away for a few years. Christ, some even argued that the Bálor name was responsible for Finn's struggles on the main roster in 2017/2018.

In 2024, it's hard to imagine Finn as anything else.

He made the name work, and it rolls off the tongue nicely. In fact, Finn Bálor sounds a hell of a lot better to some than Fergal/Prince Devitt ever did, and that's saying something considering how grand the 'Prince' moniker sounded when Ferg was winning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championships.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.