WWE star to receive name change: A fresh start coming for three members of the roster?

WWE

While we still see them often in NXT when new signings make their debut, there was a time when name changes were a regular occurrence on WWE’s main roster.

Vince McMahon seemed to be obsessed with shortening names down: Antonio Cesaro to Cesaro, Austin Theory to Theory, Matt Riddle to Riddle – these are just a very small sample size of what used to happen regularly to talent on Raw and SmackDown.

Thankfully we don’t live in that time anymore, but there are still times when a name change or alteration is warranted after a star has made their debut.

Looking at the current WWE talent roster here are three names that could potentially see a name change soon.

Ricky Smokes

If you look at the WWE roster in alphabetical order you will immediately notice an issue once you get to the letter R and see Ricky Saints and Ricky Smokes back-to-back.

The same first name and a second name beginning and ending with the letter S is a little too similar, so one would think one of them will be needing a change.

Given that Saints is already established on SmackDown, poor Ricky Smokes will likely be the victim of the change if it does come; and quite frankly with all the name changing WWE love to do in NXT it’s quite baffling how this one slipped through the cracks.

Smokes, like his Vanity Project teammates Jackson Drake and Brad Baylor, retained his name from the indies when he signed with WWE – a luxury that Saints wasn’t given when he arrived from AEW. So yes, while it may be fine in the NXT bubble, once Vanity Project make their way to Raw or SmackDown Smokes should probably get a new first name to avoid any confusion.

R-Truth

R-Truth’s 2025 name change to Ron Killings was far too brief, with his more serious side not being something that WWE seemingly wanted to embrace despite it having real potential.

While he is certainly beloved in a comedy role, there are times when that doesn’t fly and Truth is in one of those moments right now.

With Truth’s tag team partner Damian Priest turning his back on him and then proceeding to lay him out once again two weeks later in the trainer’s room of the WWE PC, it’s evident that the veteran needs to get serious once again, and a name change back to Ron Killings would be a way to punctuate that.

BirthRight’s Lexis King, Uriah Connors, Charlie Dempsey and/or Arianna Grace

With BirthRight being a faction full of multi-generational stars that celebrate their lineages, it’s slightly odd that none of them carry the last names of their legendary fathers.

Sweeping name changes to the entire faction would probably be too far, and it’s not like any of the names are offensively bad or anything, but there are options on the table that may be more fitting.

Uriah Connors is a good name, but is it better than Brogan Finlay? Lexis King is a name with personal significance to the real life Brian Pillman Jr’s family so there’s no need to change that, but could Charlie Dempsey become Bailey Regal? Or Arianna Grace become Arianna Marella? Perhaps something for WWE to consider if they really want to emphasize BirthRight’s lineage.

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