More on WWE’s Recent Wave of Ring Name Changes for Talent

WWE recently issued new ring names to several of their talent on the main roster and NXT brand. Those who recently received new ring names were Ludwig Kaiser (former Marcel Barthel in NXT), Raquel Rodriquez (former Raquel Gonzalez in NXT), Cruz Del Toro (former Raul Mendoza in NXT), and Theory (former Austin Theory). In regards to Kaiser and Rodriquez, both were given new ring names as part of their main roster call-ups to WWE’s SmackDown brand.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the official reason why WWE officials have been recently changing the ring names for certain talents is due to trademark-related issues. Vince McMahon reportedly recently issued a new company memo stating that WWE talent who perform under their real names or names from the indies must be given a new ring name by the company in order for the company to own the rights to their name.

This new rule reportedly mostly only applies to people who are newer in the company and not those who have been performing under their real name on the main roster for some time, such as Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar. Meltzer reported that his sources stated that this new rule also does not apply to Cody Rhodes.

Meltzer reported that this new rule is not mandatory for all newer talent performing under their real names or past indies names and mostly affects those who WWE decides must be given a new ring name.