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In December 2019, WWE announced the releases of Luke Harper, Sin Cara and both members of The Ascension, Konnor and Viktor. Four months later, The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were also granted their releases, while Matt Hardy’s WWE contract came to an end.
All seven of those Superstars either asked to leave or let their contracts expire, but the same could not be said for the group of men and women who were given their releases in April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since being released, some Superstars have kept a low profile and not given much of an indication on what lies ahead in their future – Curtis Axel, for example, has not even commented on his release – but others have already updated fans on their plans and their new post-WWE names.
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In this article, let’s find out some of those new names by counting down 14 released WWE Superstars who have already changed their name.
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#14 Rusev - Miro (left WWE in April 2020)
Shortly after Rusev joined WWE’s main roster in 2014, Vince McMahon decided to ditch his character’s first name, Alexander, and he went on to do the same in future years with Superstars including Buddy Murphy, Erick Rowan and Mustafa Ali.
While some of those Superstars were given their first name back, Rusev only went by his surname for the final five years of his WWE career.
Since leaving WWE in 2020, Rusev (real name Miroslav Barnyashev) has called himself Miro on social media and on his new YouTube and Twitch channels.
His wife, Lana, confirmed in a recent YouTube video that he will use the name Miro as a wrestler.
#13 Erick Rowan - Erick RedBeard (left WWE in April 2020)
Shortly after Erick Rowan’s WWE release was confirmed, he changed his name on social media to his real name (Joseph Ruud) and began referring to himself as Erick RedBeard.
Unlike Rusev, who also has a new shaven-headed look to go along with his new name, Rowan’s post-WWE name is similar to the one he used in WWE.
It is also worth noting that Rowan has been used in lots of throwback videos during the Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt rivalry on SmackDown recently, but another former Wyatt Family member, Luke Harper (AEW’s Brodie Lee), is nowhere to be seen.
#12 Zack Ryder - Matt Cardona (left WWE in April 2020)
While some Superstars have decided to create a new gimmick name for themselves outside of WWE, Zack Ryder has confirmed that he will simply be known by his real name – Matt Cardona – from now on.
He has also filed trademarks for “Major Player”, “Internet Champion” and “Thousand Dollar Broski” since leaving WWE.
#11 Curt Hawkins - Brian Myers (left WWE in April 2020)
Like Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona, Curt Hawkins has decided that he will use his real name – Brian Myers – again following his WWE departure.
Hawkins and Ryder have referred to themselves by their real names on their Major Wrestling Figure Podcast for the last two years, so it is not too surprising that they have opted to use those names as wrestlers in the future.
#10 Sin Cara - Cinta de Oro (left WWE in December 2019)
As mentioned in the introduction, this list also includes the group of Superstars who WWE released in late 2019.
Sin Cara, also known as Hunico earlier in his WWE career, announced last December that he will now be known as Cinta de Oro (Golden Ribbon) – a name that previously belonged to a different wrestler who died in 2016.
#9 Heath Slater - Heath (left WWE in April 2020)
That’s right, former WWE Superstar Heath Slater (real name Heath Miller) plans to keep his first name when he wrestles again.
“Heath is my real name. There’s some trickery that we can do, but then again, I don’t know, I might just want to go by just Heath… Pyro's coming off, I’m walking down, slapping hands. I can see it.” [H/T Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast]
The former 3MB member added during an interview with Chris Van Vliet in May that he is considering using his middle name, Wallace, as his new wrestling surname, but he had not decided at that point.
Either way, he will definitely still be known as Heath.
#8 Taynara Conti - Tay Conti (left WWE in April 2020)
It is always a topic of discussion when somebody is allowed to use their real name after joining WWE. In the case of Taynara Conti (real name Taynara Melo de Carvalho), she began using her husband’s surname, Conti, during the early days of her time in NXT in 2017.
When she wrestles again, Conti will keep her surname but she has dropped part of her first name, so she will now be known as Tay Conti.
#7 Aiden English - Drama King Matt (left WWE in April 2020)
Aiden English now uses his real name, Matt Rehwoldt, on social media, while his social media handles have been changed to @DramaKingMatt.
He is also selling merchandise containing the phrase “Drama King”.
#6 Scott Dawson - Dax Harwood (left WWE in April 2020)
AEW viewers will already know that former WWE Superstar Scott Dawson now goes by the name Dax Harwood.
Dawson/Harwood and his tag team partner, Dash Wilder, were known as The Mechanics in the early days of their time in WWE before they established themselves as The Revival.
It was confirmed in April that their tag team will now be known as FTR.
#5 Dash Wilder - Cash Wheeler (left WWE in April 2020)
The logic behind some of these post-WWE name changes have not been revealed, but we do know the reason why Dash Wilder is now called Cash Wheeler and why Scott Dawson’s name has changed to Dax Harwood.
In May, a Twitter user asked FTR if their new first names, Dax and Cash, are a tribute to Demolition members Ax and Smash.
Wilder/Wheeler replied by confirming that the theory is true.
#4 No Way Jose - Levis Valenzuela (left WWE in April 2020)
Prior to joining WWE, No Way Jose competed under his real name, Levis Valenzuela.
He revealed in an interview with Inside The Ropes in April that he liked “No Way Jose” as a catchphrase but he was not keen on using it as his name when NXT trainer Matt Bloom presented it to him.
The 32-year-old has changed his name on social media back to Levis Valenzuela, so it is safe to assume that he will use that name when he returns to wrestling.
#3 Luke Harper - Brodie Lee (left WWE in December 2019)
Luke Harper received his release from WWE in December 2019, eight months after he publicly made it clear that he wanted to leave the company.
The former Wyatt Family member, now known as Brodie Lee, made an instant impact in AEW by debuting as the leader of The Dark Order.
He has featured prominently on Dynamite ever since he joined the promotion, while he unsuccessfully challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing 2020.
#2 Konnor - Big Kon (left WWE in December 2019)
The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder have undergone drastic name changes since leaving WWE, but another set of former NXT Tag Team Champions have decided to stick with their WWE names as much as they possibly can.
The Ascension’s Konnor, formerly known as Conor O’Brian in his early WWE days, is now known as Big Kon.
#1 Viktor - Vik (left WWE in December 2019)
Konnor will continue to work with his WWE tag team partner, Viktor (Vik), in the future. In fact, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo returned to in-ring competition at independent shows in New York.
They also confirmed recently that they have changed their tag team name from The Ascension to The Awakening.
