SmackDown star addresses his controversial WWE name change made by Vince McMahon
During his time as WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon made plenty of odd decisions. One choice he made this year was to switch popular star Pete Dunne's name to Butch.
Signing for the company at the tender age of just 23 in 2016, Dunne made a name for himself from the get-go as he became the second superstar to be crowned the WWE UK champion. Given that many fans were aware of him from his time on the company's third brand, NXT, many were shocked when McMahon randomly changed Dunne's name when he debuted on SmackDown.
Speaking on the Out of Character podcast, Butch spoke candidly about Vince McMahon's decision to rename him and how he handled it moving forward.
"For me, it was just a case of embracing what was given whether that is something serious, a chance to make people laugh, excited or sad. I’m going to have to embrace that, anything that comes along, and hopefully at the end of my career people will look back and go ‘okay, there were loads of great matches, I like this one, that one’ or ‘he made me laugh’.” (H/T WrestleTalk )
As of late, the 28-year-old star has seen his popularity rise on SmackDown, alongside Sheamus and Ridge Holland in their stable, The Brawling Brutes.
Triple H may be looking to bring back a WWE star Vince McMahon fired
With The Game taking over from the 77-year-old as the head of creative, many performers that were let go by the previous regime have since made their triumphant returns.
Dave Meltzer stated on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that Triple H may be looking to bring back former WWE star Mia Yim to the company, who was released from her contract in November 2021.
"Mia Yim, obviously her husband is in AEW, Keith Lee. Paul Levesque (Triple H) is trying to get everybody back that he had before (in NXT) that got fired when he didn’t have power, and she would fit into that category." (H/T Inside The Ropes)
Since becoming WWE's Chief Content Officer, Triple H has brought back many stars Vince McMahon let go, including Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Karrion Kross, and Dakota Kai.
Are there any other WWE stars Vince McMahon fired that you'd like to see return to the company? Let us know in the comments section below.