What Pete Dunne REALLY Thinks About Being "Butch" In WWE

Pete Dunne has finally shared his detailed thoughts on his recent renaming in WWE, doing so during an appearance on Mark Andrews' My Love Letter to Pro Wrestling podcast.

WWE's decision to change Dunne's ring name to "Butch" invited widespread derision following the 11 March episode of SmackDown, where the 28-year-old NXT star was brought up to the main roster to align with Ridge Holland and Sheamus, whom he helped to a win over The New Day.

Although the response online was largely negative, Dunne claims he doesn't mind switching monikers as he doesn't believe his ring name was why he connected with fans (h/t Figure Four Online/The Wrestling Observer):-

"The thing is with me, whether it's a name or whatever changes, that's not what really endeared me to the audience in the first place, right? I'd like to think anyway it's the quality of the in-ring work, and that's what I'm going to keep the same, of course. And it's going to get better, it's going to improve as time goes."

Continuing, the former NXT United Kingdom Champion called his recent switch-up "exciting", saying he welcomes the fresh start:-

"It's exciting. I've been in NXT for five years now, so time to change it up and see what we can do and push it forward with a new challenge. It's exciting, but it's also just a little bit different. I think it's time to change it up a little bit. Five years, fresh start, and why not try something a little new."

Butch had wrestled as Pete Dunne for the entirety of his WWE run, which started when he was unveiled as a United Kingdom Championship Tournament participant in December 2016. On his SmackDown debut, Sheamus acknowledged that while WWE fans know him as something else, he and Holland had always referred to the Englishman as "Butch."

Now, the change is set in stone - and Butch is seemingly okay with it.