10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (July 19)

7. Why Vince McMahon Shortened Rusev's Name

"Ugh, Alexander", said Vince McMahon as he explained why WWE had to drop Rusev's forename from the act before it was too late.

Speaking on a Bulgarian chat show in his homeland (per Wrestling Inc), Rusev disclosed how one conversation with the boss changed everything for him. To Vince, the 'Alexander' first name was an abomination he needed to destroy before it had a negative impact on Ru. His reasoning? Fans might start calling Rusev "Alex".

Yes, that's it. In McMahon's mind, this would be a terrible thing. As 'Alex Rusev', his star would become a "Russian/Bulgarian villain". It doesn't take a member of Mensa to spot the flaw in this argument; Rusev has been cast as an anti-American xenophobic's nightmare on and off for years in WWE anyway.

The first name was dropped in 2014 too, and Rusev continued working his USA-bashing gimmick for a good while after that. The timing here doesn't add up, and Vince's point is just a tad skewed. Why worry about someone's name conjuring up preconceptions when you're going to book them that way anyway?