5 WWE Superstars and what their names were originally going to be

As important as it is for a WWE Superstar to be a good in-ring performer, it’s just as important for them to create engaging personalities and character names that the audience can connect with.

For example, would “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have reached the heights he did if he was called The Ringmaster forever? Probably not. And would The Rock have become the legend he is today if he remained Rocky Maivia for his whole career? Maybe, maybe not.

In this article, we take a look at five WWE Superstars – some past, some present – and reveal what they could have originally been called if the company’s creative team had their way.

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#5 Triple H could have been called Reginald DuPont Helmsley

'RDH' doesn't have the same ring to it as 'HHH'

Not only is Triple H a pretty cool name for a WWE Superstar but his long list of nicknames, including “The Game”, “The King of Kings” and “The Cerebral Assassin”, fit perfectly for his intimidating character.

However, way before he became known as Triple H, the 14-time WWE champion was a French aristocrat called Jean-Paul Levesque whose obnoxious persona would almost certainly have prevented him from successfully becoming a babyface one day.

To make the transition from a bad guy to a good guy a little easier, Vince McMahon wanted him to be an American character with a new name, and it was suggested by J.J. Dillon – a WWE executive at the time – that he be called Reginald DuPont Helmsley.

Thankfully, that name never saw the light of day. Instead, the creative team went along with Triple H’s idea to have initials in his name and decided to call him Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

#4 Roman Reigns almost had no surname

'Roman Reigns' is much better than plain 'Roman'

Okay, so it’s not the most drastic of name changes, but Roman Reigns could have simply been known as Roman had it not been for a conversation with Corey Graves one day in 2012.

WWE was looking to repackage Reigns, then known as Leakee, during his days in the FCW development system and he was asked to come up with potential names for his new character.

The three-time WrestleMania main-eventer revealed on Talk Is Jericho in 2017 that he was going to ask if he could be called Roman until a few words of wisdom from wrestler-turned-commentator Graves helped change his mind.

There was another FCW performer at the time called Calvin Raines who had recently left the company, and Graves had the idea to add the ‘Raines’ surname to Roman’s name, with the spelling changed to ‘Reigns’ to make him sound like a king.

#3 Braun Strowman was originally called Braun Stowman

Braun Strowman's name changed before his WWE call-up

While the other names on this list avoided their alternative name choices, Braun Strowman was actually known as Braun Stowman for a short time between his NXT debut in 2014 and his main-roster debut in August 2015.

Way before he was a “Black Sheep” or a “Monster Among Men”, the inexperienced former competitive strongman defeated the likes of Chad Gable, Dash Wilder and Tye Dillinger at NXT live events using the ‘Stowman’ surname.

For whatever reason, probably because Vince McMahon felt ‘Strowman’ sounded a lot better than ‘Stowman’, his name was changed as soon as he aligned with the Wyatt Family on the main roster in 2015.

#2 Steve Austin could have been called Fang McFrost

That's the bottom line 'cause Fang McFrost said so

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is one of the most iconic WWE characters of all time, but his career could have taken a very different path had he been given an alternative name in the mid-1990s.

Austin, originally known as The Ringmaster when he debuted with the company in 1995, was looking to change his gimmick and wanted a 'cold' new character name after taking inspiration from a television show called “The Iceman”.

His wife at the time, Jeanie Clark, revealed in 2015 that the WWE office faxed several temperature-based names back to him, including Ice Dagger, Fang McFrost and Chilly McFreeze.

Austin found the names hilarious, according to Clark, who inadvertently went on to create the legendary character name when she told her then-husband to drink his tea before it went “stone cold”.

#1 Bayley could have been called Davia

Bayley wasn't allowed to be called Davina Rose

Fans of independent wrestling may remember Bayley from her pre-WWE days when she competed as Davina Rose for promotions such as Big Time Wrestling, Shine and Shimmer between 2008 and 2012.

As is often the case when somebody joins WWE, the company would not allow her to perform as Davina in NXT and asked her to come up with a list of alternative names.

The former Raw Women’s champion revealed on Talk Is Jericho that she wanted a singular name like Bobby or Jordan and that she didn’t want a name that was “super girly”.

She was then given a choice of three names – one of which being Davia, which she hated – before she agreed to use the name Bailey, only with the spelling changed to ‘Bayley’ because she’s from the Bay Area.