15 WWE Wrestlers Who Lost A Name
5. Rikishi (Phatu)
Although he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as
Rikishi, the giant Samoan went by a different name for much of his WWF/E
career.
As part of the Headshrinkers and later when he was trying to make a difference, he went by Fatu. After a forgettable run as The Sultan, he returned as Rikishi Phatu, looking entirely different. Despite the last name being an obvious nod to his previous identity, it was never connected by the announcers.
It didn’t really matter though, because shortly after his re-debut, Rikishi lost his last name and became a one-name phenomenon in 1999-2000. A lot of people forget that during that time, Rikishi was wildly popular and viewed as an upper-level guy. He eliminated seven men from the 2000 Royal Rumble, and he fought Triple H for the WWE Championship during that span.
Shedding his nod to the past didn’t really help or hurt Rikishi. It just became an interesting piece of trivia.