10 WWE Name Changes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
9. Piper Niven? Nah, Doudrop!
Enter another McMahon pearler.
Who honestly knows what Vince was thinking when he changed Piper Niven (known as Viper on the independent circuit) to Doudrop in 2021? Drop hung around with Eva Marie for…reasons before striking out on her own then forming a tag team with Nikki A.S.H. Thankfully, WWE saw sense and Triple H returned her to the Piper Niven name during the 2023 Royal Rumble. It was about time too.
On screen, it was Marie who handed Niven the Doudrop tag. This was surely some sort of inside joke at Piper’s look/body shape from McMahon, but it was just flat out rubbish presentation that did a talented newcomer no favours. Perhaps the most tragic thing about this halfhearted attempt at bodyshaming is that Niven has always owned her appearance, and reasonable fans don't care for something that's outright ridiculing somebody anyway.
In fairness, maybe that wasn't what WWE were going for, but it wouldn't have been outlandish for such a repeatedly tone deaf company under McMahon to publicly embarrass somebody for daring to be themselves. At least they didn't have Eva bully Doudrop on television or anything of the sort - Marie was just a stuck up bitch generally, then Piper Niven cast her aside before eventually being reborn.
No-one could figure out what WWE wanted to reach for with the whole Doudrop thing. It was a crap name relative to Piper/Viper, and the thinly-veiled Bertha Faye aesthetics should've stayed in 1995. Oh well, what's that phrase? All's well that ends well? Niven has had the last laugh.