Tonight’s anticipated episode of WWE SmackDown is set to reveal the fallout from WrestleMania 38 and showcase the next steps for stars like Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, and more, but according to a new report from WrestleVotes it is also going to feature a big name change that could throw fans for a loop. It had already been reported that some debuts were expected on SmackDown soon, specifically regarding Imperium, so perhaps this is related to them, but that wasn’t confirmed in the report. Luckily we don’t have to wait too much longer to find out, since SmackDown starts soon.
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WrestleVotes wrote on Twitter “There’s a name change for a debuting superstar tonight on SmackDown that is probably the worst one yet. Like picked from a hat and blindfolded, that’s how they got here type stuff.” The name that immediately comes to mind is Marcel Barthel, who is the other part of Imperium moving over to SmackDown according to previous reports. Gunther already had a name change from Walter, so that’s probably sticking around, so perhaps Marcel is also getting a one-word name to fit with his Tag Partner.
The other names that come to mind are someone like Raquel Gonzalez or LA Knight, two other NXT stars that have been rumored for a call-up to either Raw or SmackDown. It isn’t always a sure thing that someone from NXT will get a name change, but it’s been pretty common to at least have them altered or tweaked as well. Ridge Holland got to keep his whole name, but Tegan Nox became Nox while Shotzi Blackheart became Shotzi when they moved up.
Bianca Belair kept her full name as did Damian Priest, and Austin Theory also kept his full name. So far Tommaso Ciampa has kept his full name, but Pete Dunne was ditched altogether, as WWE introduced him as Butch when he debuted on SmackDown.
Who do you think it is? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
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Image Courtesy of Ufotable
