Why Vince McMahon Dropped Wrestlers’ Last Names

What’s in a last name? As wrestling fans, we are used to seeing some things that might not make the most sense. There are times where a lot of wrestling companies, including WWE, do things that make our heads spin. This has been the case for decades, but one of the more recent trends is all the more confusing. It turns out that WWE has a reason for it, and it might not be the most popular move.

One thing that WWE has done over the last few years is take away wrestlers’ last names. This has been the case for wrestlers such as Mustafa Ali, Big E. Langston, Apollo Crews and more. While some of them have gotten their full names back, it made for quite the surprising and often confusing moment when the names disappeared. Now there is an explanation, but it might not make fans happy.

During the latest edition of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross addressed Vince McMahon removing wrestlers’ last names. Ross said that it was a show biz thing, with McMahon liking the idea of wrestlers being like other entertainers such as Cher or Bono, who were known by one name. There is no word on why McMahon changed his mind on some other wrestlers and gave them their last names back.

Some wrestlers have done fine with one or two names. Check out some of their time in the ring:

Opinion: I can’t say I’m all that surprised by this as McMahon seems to be interested in making up stars based on things like this rather than putting in the harder effort. McMahon seems to be rather obsessed with image and branding, and having someone with just one name is the kind of thing that can make wrestling shows all the more confusing. I don’t get the idea, but hopefully McMahon gets over the idea sooner than later.

Do you like the idea? Which one name wrestler worked best? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!