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WWE stars are given their first names when they are signed to the company and then ready to debut on the NXT brand. This means that they are given named that suit their characters in developmental, but often these names don't suit them on the main roster.
There have been many stars over the past few years who have been promoted and had their names changed when they've debuted on RAW or SmackDown, including Alexander Rusev, Big E Langston, Antonio Cesaro and Elias Samson.
Many stars have had their names shortened over the years because it's much easier for WWE to copyright or because it's less of a mouthful for some of the WWE Universe. 2019 has been quite a strange year for WWE's main roster which has included a number of interesting name changes.
#8 The Viking Raiders
The Viking Raiders have had quite an interesting year in WWE since they now hold the RAW Tag Team Championships heading into this year's Survivor Series where they will be representing the company's flagship brand in a match against The New Day and The Undisputed Era.
The Viking Raiders started their year in NXT as The War Raiders before they were brought up to the main roster and debuted as The Viking Experience. This was later changed the following year to make them The Viking Raiders, whilst the two stars themselves also went through a name change since they were called Rowe and Hanson in NXT and are now called Erik and Ivar.
Raymond Rowe was his real name and he competed under it in NXT but it seems that when he and Hanson were moved up to RAW back in April, just weeks after this year's WrestleMania.
#7 The Bludgeon Brothers
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are another tag team that has had quite an interesting year, after capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championships last year at SummerSlam Rowan were injured and the duo was heartbreakingly forced to relinquish the titles so that he could undergo surgery.
Luke Harper was taken off TV at the same time but at that time the duo was just known by their surnames. Rowan later returned to help Daniel Bryan and he was then given the Erick Rowan name back but Luke Harper was nowhere to be found.
Recently, Harper requested his WWE release and was kept of TV for a number of months before he returned to help Rowan at Clash of Champions, which then led to a short alliance between the two former teammates, an alliance that was cut short when Rowan was drafted over to Monday Night RAW as part of the 2019 WWE Draft.
At present, both Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are being referenced by their full names since they are now singles stars on opposite brands with Rowan set to enter a feud with Seth Rollins, whilst Harper remains on the sidelines awaiting a shot on SmackDown.
#6 Baron Corbin / King Corbin
Baron Corbin started the year under the name he was given back when he made his debut in NXT. The former football player has become one of the most hated stars in WWE over the past year since he's been the main heel used on both SmackDown and RAW and was even pushed to the final of the King of the Ring tournament.
Corbin faced Chad Gable in the final of the King of the Ring Tournament the day after Clash of Champions, something which has since lead to him changing his name to King Corbin. Baron is no more, he has a new confident attitude and an attire that is straight out of an episode of Game of Thrones, which has only added to the heat that he gains from crowds all over the world.
It's likely that King Corbin will be the name that he is referred to until another King of the Ring tournament allows another star to rise into the position as King, so until then, the WWE Universe has to suffer under the reign of King Corbin.
#5 Mustafa Ali / Ali
Mustafa Ali is a star that didn't touch NXT on his way to the main roster, instead, he came to WWE as part of the Cruiserweight Classic and was then able to make a name for himself on 205 Live. In recent months, 205 Live's roster has become much smaller and many of the Cruiserweight stars have been moved to the main roster.
Ali was moved over to SmackDown and as part of the move, he was then the subject of a name change. Mustafa lost his first name and instead would only be called "Ali" for a number of months. The name change was made official on an episode of SmackDown in March, but it appears that WWE made the decision to give him his name back.
On November 13th it was announced that Ali had been given his name back and he's now once again known as Mustafa Ali. The man who was formerly known as "The Heart of 205 Live" is now one of the only members of Team SmackDown who didn't come through the NXT brand heading into Survivor Series this weekend.
#4 Heavy Machinery
Heavy Machinery is another team on this list that made their debut on NXT TV as Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight. The two men came up short in their quest to become NXT Tag Team Champions but later made their debut's on WWE TV with the shortened names of just Otis and Tucker.
The two men have been on quite the quest on WWE TV over the past few months, but have become known for just their first names. Otis and Tucker debuted on Monday Night RAW as part of the haul of NXT stars who made the switch ahead of The Royal Rumble.
Even though the two men have shocked a number of stars on the main roster throughout the year, the two men are still yet to lift Tag Team Championship gold of any kind during their time in WWE.
Even though the two men will not be part of Survivor Series this coming weekend, they have been part of the buildup over the past few weeks, which means that it is highly likely that at one point they will make an appearance as part of the show.
#3 Chad Gable
One of the biggest name changes on the main roster over the past few weeks has been the Shorty Gable's name change from Chad Gable to Shorty G.
The former NXT and SmackDown Tag Team Champion was part of the King of the Ring tournament earlier this year and was the shock dark horse throughout. Gable wasn't expected to get all the way to the final of the tournament, but the narrative of his journey throughout was that he was too small to become the King of the Ring.
The final eventually saw him up against Baron Corbin, who was victorious but continued to victimize Gable about his height. Shorty Gable became his new name for a week before he cut quite an inspirational promo the following week where he revealed that he wanted to shorten his name further and would now be referred to as Shorty G.
This has been met with many different reactions online since many fans don't believe Gable is that short and that this entire storyline is a version of bullying and takes away from the fact that he could be one of the best wrestlers on the roster.
#2 Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode has been around the wrestling business for a long time, which means that he knows what it's like to change his name and be part of some interesting storylines. Throughout his time in NXT, WWE surprisingly allowed him to keep the name that he was known by throughout his time in Impact Wrestling, but earlier this year a change of attitude leads to a change of name for the former Champion.
Bobby Roode debuted a clean-shaven mustache a few weeks after WrestleMania earlier this year and formalized his name to Robert Roode instead. He is now seen as a heel alongside Dolph Ziggler since the duo are former Tag Team Champions. As part of the recent WWE Draft, Ziggler and Roode were moved over to the SmackDown brand and even though they tried to fight for a place in this year's Survivor Series match they will be watching on from the sidelines.
Despite not being given much of a chance to show off this new heel persona, Roode is still known by the name Robert Roode on SmackDown and hopefully following Survivor Series, he will be given the chance to prove his worth.
#1 Andrade "Cien" Almas
Andrade "Cien" Almas was handed a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer for his match against Johnny Gargano back at Takeover a few years ago, so it came as no surprise that he has become one of the better stars on the main roster over the past few months.
Andrade "Cien" Almas made his debut on the main roster back in 2018 but his name wasn't changed until January when he was announced as an entrant in the 2019 Royal Rumble. Andrade made it all the way to the final four before he was eliminated by Braun Strowman.
This past year was a fantastic year for Andrade since his name change, even though he has been unable to lift a title on the main roster, he has still had a number of stand out matches and cemented himself as one of the future stars of Monday Night Raw.
Alongside Zelina Vega, Andrade has become one of the known names of the company's flagship show and unlike many other stars who have lost their name in recent months, Andrade has had much more success without a last name during his time on the main roster.
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