We’re keeping track of every WWE name change of 2022 right here, because we all know WWE loves a good name change. Or a bad one.
This page will be updated every time WWE changes someone’s name.
Just to be clear – new names given to debuting talent don’t count. To qualify for this page, a wrestler has to have already wrestled on WWE TV under a different name before having it changed.
1. Gunther
Previous name: WALTER
Date of change: January 18
Reason for change: WWE wanted something it could own the rights to as Walter is his real first name, having trademarked Gunther Stark a few days earlier, before it surfaced that Gunther Stark was the name of someone who had ties to Nazi Germany in World War 2, so they decided on just Gunther
2. Sanga
Previous name: Saurav
Date of change: January 26
Reason for change: Repackaged as Grayson Waller’s “insurance policy” – was previously in the Indus-Sher tag team with Veer Mahaan/Rinku
3. Butch
Previous name: Pete Dunne
Date of change: March 11
Reason for change: Called up to SmackDown and aligned with Sheamus and Ridge Holland
4. Kiana James
Previous name: Kayla Inlay
Date of change: March 22
Reason for change: Her real name is Kayla Inlay Klink
5. Xavier Woods
Previous name: King Woods
Date of change: March 29
Reason for change: Returned on March 25 after being out since early January. Still had ‘king’ gimmick but was referred to as Xavier Woods rather than King Woods, and the change was made official on WWE.com on March 29.
6. Ezekiel
Previous name: Elias
Date of change: April 4
Reason for change: Returned to WWE TV for the first time since August, claimed to be Elias’ younger brother
7. Elton Prince & Kit Wilson
Previous name: Lewis Howley (Elton Prince) & Sam Stoker (Kit Wilson)
Date of change: April 5
Reason for change: Renamed upon being moved from NXT UK to NXT 2.0, kept Pretty Deadly tag team name
8. Ludwig Kaiser
Previous name: Marcel Barthel
Date of change: April 8
Reason for change: Called up to SmackDown, Marcel Barthel is his real name
9. Raquel Rodriguez
Previous name: Raquel Gonzalez
Date of change: April 8
Reason for change: Called up to SmackDown, Gonzalez is her real surname
10. Theory
Previous name: Austin Theory
Date of change: April 11
Reason for change: His real name is Austin White, so WWE didn’t want him using the same first name. Storyline reason was because Vince McMahon didn’t want him to be called Austin because of Steve Austin
11. Cruz Del Toro
Previous name: Raul Mendoza
Date of change: April 13
Reason for change: Raul Mendoza is his real name
12. Alba Fyre
Previous name: Kay Lee Ray
Date of change: April 16
Reason for change: Her real name is Kayleigh Rae, which WWE evidently decided was too close to Kay Lee Ray
13. Katana Chance
Previous name: Kacy Catanzaro
Date of change: April 16
Reason for change: Kacy Catanzaro is her real name
14. Ciampa
Previous name: Tommaso Ciampa
Date of change: April 25
Reason for change: Tommaso is his real first name
15. Mr Stone
Previous name: Robert Stone
Date of change: April 26
Reason for change: Robert is his real first name
16. Channing Lorenzo
Previous name: Channing Lauren
Date of change: April 26
Reason for change: Debuted on NXT 2.0 as an ally of Tony D’Angelo after previously only appearing on NXT Level Up under his previous name
17. Max Dupri
Previous name: LA Knight
Date of change: May 20
Reason for change: Called up to SmackDown as the agent for Maximum Male Models
18. Ludvig Kaiser
Previous name: Ludwig Kaiser
Date of change: May 25
Reason for change: In German a ‘w’ is pronounced as ‘v’, so it seems WWE changed it to avoid confusion for people and to make sure everyone pronounces it correctly
19. Ludwig Kaiser
Previous name: Ludvig Kaiser
Date of change: May 27
Reason for change: They changed it back lol
20. Giovanni Vinci
Previous name: Fabian Aichner
Date of change: June 7
Reason for change: Fabian Aichner is his real name, redebuted with a new gimmick
21. JD McDonagh
Previous name: Jordan Devlin
Date of change: June 22
Reason for change: Moved from NXT UK to NXT 2.0, Jordan Devlin is his real name
22. ma.çé
Previous name: MACE
Date of change: July 1
Reason for change: Repackaged as a member of Maximum Male Models
23. mån.sôör
Previous name: Mansoor
Date of change: July 1
Reason for change: Repackaged as a member of Maximum Male Models
24. Axiom
Previous name: A-Kid
Date of change: July 5
Reason for change: Debuted new gimmick in NXT 2.0 of someone who… likes math… a lot. ‘Axiom’ itself is a mathematical term meaning “a statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based”. Whatever that means.
25. Rip Fowler
Previous name: Zack Gibson
Date of change: July 14 (reported by PWInsider)
Reason for change: Had used the Zack Gibson name prior to signing with WWE – also debuted new gimmick as a member of the Dyad/Schism
26. Jagger Reid
Previous name: James Drake
Date of change: July 14 (reported by PWInsider)
Reason for change: Had used the James Drake name prior to signing with WWE, and James is his real first name – also debuted new gimmick as a member of the Dyad/Schism
27. Maxxine Dupri
Previous name: Sofia Cromwell
Date of change: July 22
Reason for change: Called up from NXT as new character in the form of Max Dupri’s sister
28. IYO SKY
Previous name: Io Shirai
Date of change: July 30
Reason for change: Called up from NXT, had used Io Shirai name prior to joining WWE
29. Matt Riddle
Previous name: Riddle
Date of change: August 29
Reason for change: Triple H dropping Vince McMahon’s weird name rules
30. Austin Theory
Previous name: Theory
Date of change: September 3
Reason for change: Triple H dropping Vince McMahon’s weird name rules
31. Tommaso Ciampa
Previous name: Ciampa
Date of change: September 5
Reason for change: Triple H dropping Vince McMahon’s weird name rules
32. Oro Mensah
Previous name: Oliver Carter
Date of change: September 13
Reason for change: Moved from NXT UK to NXT US
33. LA Knight
Previous name: Max Dupri
Date of change: October 7
Reason for change: Dropped Maximum Male Models leader gimmick given to him by Vince McMahon, back to name he used in NXT under Triple H
34. Zelina Vega
Previous name: Queen Zelina
Date of change: October 7
Reason for change: Returned as new manager of Legado Del Fantasma without previous ‘Queen’ gimmick
35. Baron Corbin
Previous name: Happy Corbin
Date of change: October 17
Reason for change: Moved from SmackDown to Raw in exchange for Rey Mysterio, aligned with JBL in a repackaged gimmick
36. Elias
Previous name: Ezekiel
Date of change: October 17
Reason for change: Returned to Elias gimmick after Ezekiel had been written off TV and he had time to grow his beard back
37. Nikki Cross
Previous name: Nikki ASH
Date of change: October 24
Reason for change: Dropped ‘superhero’ gimmick adopted under Vince McMahon, returning to Nikki Cross name and gimmick previously used in Triple H’s NXT
38. Michin
Previous name: Mia Yim
Date of change: November 21
Reason for change: Had used Mia Yim before first joining WWE. Michin was originally just a nickname, but her WWE.com profile has now been updated and her name is now officially Michin.
39. Mia Yim
Previous name: Michin
Date of change: November 22
Reason for change: After some fan backlash, the name change has now been reverted on WWE.com back to Mia Yim
40. SCRYPTS
Previous name: Reggie
Date of change: November 23
Reason for change: After not being used on the main roster since Paul Levesque (Triple H) took over creative, debuted new gimmick back in NXT
41. Dijak
Previous name: T-BAR
Date of change: November 23
Reason for change: Finally ditched old gimmick and name from RETRIBUTION
42. Valhalla
Previous name: Sarah Logan
Date of change: November 25
Reason for change: New gimmick alongside the Viking Raiders
43. Lyra Valkyria
Prepare yourselves for Lyra Valkyria! 👀#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/pR14Ut5Jdd
— WWE (@WWE) November 30, 2022
Previous name: Aoife Valkyrie
Date of change: November 29
Reason for change: Formerly of NXT UK, soon to debut in US-based NXT
Comments.
Loading comments…