From @bsmalls34: Does WWE just give everyone one name when they get called up so they can't use part of their name if they ever leave?
It's a good question because WWE recently dropped the Adrian part of Neville's name after he was called Adrian Neville in NXT. We also saw them drop names last year for (no longer Antonio) Cesaro and Big E (no longer Langston). Regarding names in general, WWE wants to trademark them. It wasn't always that way since guys like Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and John Cena got to use their real names, but in the last few years almost everybody has to use a stage name. When CM Punk signed in 2006 there was a lot of chatter about whether WWE would change his name. They chose not to. Sometimes fans complain about the name changes, but then we get used to them. It's part of the business and likely not going to change anytime soon.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
