3 Recent instances where absurd names hyped up a new project in WWE

The name carries a lot of weight to create the first impression, and to define a character, or anything that needs to be showcased.

Imagine if the Undertaker got named as Hornswoggle, or Stone Cold Steve Austin debuted as the Ravishing Steve.

Would their fate remain the same?

WWE has been notorious for this in the past and it is in fact a regular part of how wrestling works. Superstars who do not fit the bill or gimmicks that don't work are often repackaged with either a new name or a new setup altogether in order to make them more relavent again.

WWE also extends the repackaging facility to championship titles and pay-per-views as well with a vision of keeping them 'updated' to the current standards.

Although, when the name is short-lived, and its importance is less prominent than its purpose; some absurd names were used to stir things up for them. They weren't necessarily intentional, but they served their purpose. They got a lot of flak online, but as they say: "Any publicity is good publicity."

Here are some of the recent examples where ridiculous names promoted the product at the initial stage.

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#3 Viking Experience

Viking Experience now performs as Viking Raiders after backlash from the fans.

They started their WWE stint with the name 'war raiders' and became a force to be reckoned with in the NXT circuit. They interfered in tag team bouts to clearly send out a message and even went on an undefeated streak for quite a while in the black and gold show, winning the NXT tag team titles in the process.

RAW came calling as they were soon drafted to the main roster of the red brand and they were repackaged as the 'Viking Experience'. The protagonists also underwent a name change and were called Erik and Ivar.

However, the name did not go down well with the fans and the WWE faced a lot of backlash online. So, their team name was once again changed to 'Viking Raiders' and their finisher was named Viking Experience.

They won the Raw tag team titles, becoming the first tag team setup to win the titles in the WWE, ROH and NJPW.

They have since been competing in the tag team division of the Red brand.

It remains unclear as to why the WWE tried to repackage the team that had a more than decent appeal to it in the NXT.

#2 The 24/7 title (and its title design)

The most recent example is of WWE's newest title, the 24/7 championship. It's a watered down PG version of the original Hardcore title.

Mick Foley unveiled the title on RAW in 2019 and stated that anybody from either RAW, SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT, or NXT UK is allowed to compete for the title.

During its inaugural night, the championship changed hands twice and is in the hands of R-Truth currently.

The latest title did stir up the undercard and the lower mid-card of the roster. It got praised for the same, but the news that made the headlines was its name and title design.

The 24/7 title is a great concept, but its absurd name got it more coverage among the WWE Universe.

The name serves its purpose, and the title possesses enough potential in itself to become one of the most talked points on each show.

Can it replace the Hardcore title? the answer to that is a resounding 'No.' The Hardcore title bouts were way more fun to watch and even the main eventers often competed for the former, including the likes of The Undertaker, Big Show, RVD and Foley himself to name some.

The 24/7 title in fact just borrows the all-time title defense logic of the Hardcore title and nothing else.

R-Truth is a 52 time 24/7 champion at the time of writing this article. This just goes on to show you the priority status of the title in WWE' hierarchy.

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#1 The Great Balls of Fire

The design of the PPV name went through a series of changes.

It's the most out of the box name given to a PPV. The event was a B-level pay-per-view after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and featured Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar (C) for the Universal championship as the main event.

WWE took the name from Jerry Lee Lewis' album with the same name and used the same theme for the event.

The name got mocked, but it did generate a lot of buzz around the pay-per-view. Vince was the originator of the name, and it was considered as a masterstroke as it put the show over.