10 WWE Name Changes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
1. Walter Becomes Gunther Stark
Full credit goes to Gunther for being such an excellent pro wrestler he managed to offset this PR nightmare and turn his career into a success story. It was one of the most embarrassing episodes in WWE history, being brutally honest, and it would've been totally avoidable had anyone conducted a simple Google search before ploughing full steam ahead on his name change from Walter.
WWE changed Walter’s name to Gunther Stark when he debuted on the NXT brand in February 2022. Then, the public backlash started. It turned out that Gunther Stark was the name of a Nazi U-boat commander during World War II, so the PR backlash was brutal. Company staffers just didn’t do their homework on this one. Realising the hard way that they'd messed up, WWE immediately dropped the surname portion, but some damage was already done.
Thankfully, fully down to Triple H's straightforward and no frills presentation of the guy and his own superior skills, Gunther has bounced back from this calamitous initial name change to become a true heavyweight of WWE's product. Would that have happened under Vince McMahon's watch? Presumably not, because McMahon reportedly didn't see what all the fuss was about.
Wrestling is a subjective biz, but sorry - that's idiotic.
Speaking of idiotic, failing to Google the Stark name was an incredible 'oopsy' moment from the promotion's top brass. The reaction was severe and swift as social media lapped up WWE's stupidity. Meanwhile, poor Gunther was stuck in the middle of a storm when all he wanted to do was wrestle better than most.
What other WWE name changes backfired immediately? For more wrestling, check out 12 WWE Face & Heel Turns That IMMEDIATELY Backfired and 12 Misconceptions About WCW You Probably Believe!