{"id":145310,"date":"2025-11-04T10:03:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=145310"},"modified":"2025-11-04T10:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:03:34","slug":"zelina-vega-4-other-name-changes-wwe-did-for-no-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/11\/04\/zelina-vega-4-other-name-changes-wwe-did-for-no-reason\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelina Vega & 4 Other Name Changes WWE Did For No Reason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wrestlers such as \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin, Bray Wyatt, and John Cena<\/a> are iconic names in wrestling. There\u2019s no doubt about that. Now think of The Ringmaster, Husky Harris, or The Prototype. Do these sound iconic? Definitely not. But these three wrestlers once worked under these monikers. If it wasn\u2019t for the name changes they went through in their careers, likely, these wrestlers would never have become this big.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, a name change is much needed to elevate a wrestler\u2019s status in WWE. More often than not, however, WWE botches this part. Over the past few years, many wrestlers have adopted new names, and it\u2019s rarely worked out for anyone. Stars like Gunther and Bron Breakker are exceptions to this.<\/p>\n

Zelina Vega<\/h2>\n

The most recent name to get a name change in WWE is Zelina Vega. It happened very recently. If anyone looks at Zelina Vega\u2019s WWE profile<\/a> now, she\u2019s listed as just \u201cZelina.\u201d<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense because she\u2019s always been known as Zelina Vega to the fans (excluding that time she became Queen of the Ring and was known as Queen Zelina). There was no reason to change it now.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Austin Theory<\/h2>\n

There have been many rumors regarding former United States Champion Austin Theory<\/a>. His fans just have one question in their minds: when will he return to WWE again? It wasn\u2019t always like this, though. A few years back, when WWE was pushing Austin Theory, it seemed like nobody cared.<\/p>\n

Even he wasn\u2019t safe from the abrupt name changes Vince McMahon would make to wrestlers. In April 2022, WWE shortened his name to \u201cTheory\u201d because they believed having Austin in his name would confuse fans with Steve Austin.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: By Zippo9310<\/a> – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Matt Riddle<\/h2>\n

While Matt Riddle has been in hot water recently due to his controversial statements<\/a>, we can\u2019t deny that he\u2019s still popular among fans. He was given several big opportunities in WWE, and at times, they even considered him winning the Royal Rumble or Money in the Bank.<\/p>\n

In October 2020, he went through a name change in WWE and was now referred to as \u201cRiddle.\u201d Reports said this was to avoid drawing attention to the lawsuit against him from indie wrestler Candy Cartwright. Fans argued that if anyone wanted to look up Riddle online, they\u2019d get to know about the lawsuit anyway, so what was even the point? Years later, Riddle did get his first name back.<\/p>\n

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People it\u2019s okay I\u2019ve been called Riddle most my life, I actually prefer it and it\u2019s my real last name \ud83e\udd19 #bro<\/a> #stallion<\/a> #RIDDLE<\/a><\/p>\n

— Matthew Riddle (@SuperKingofBros) October 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n