6 WWE Superstars that didn't have to change their names after leaving the company 

When WWE Superstars are signed by the company more often than not, they will be forced to go through a name-changing process. This is so that WWE can trademark all the image rights that come with that performer and create merchandise in their name.

Over the past few decades, there have been several stars who have been able to retain their names whilst working for WWE and even kept this name after their departure.

Many stars who use their real names are obviously able to claim the rights back after they have left the company, but others have been able to continue using the name that they once used whilst contracted to WWE.

The following article looks at just six WWE Superstars who were able to retain their name following their departure from the company.

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#6 WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn

Billy Gunn is perhaps most memorable in WWE as part of D-Generation X and The New Age Outlaws alongside Road Dogg. The duo were most recently given another run in WWE from 2012 until 2015 when Gunn was released from the company after failing a Wellness Policy test.

Gunn was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2019 alongside D-Generation X members Chyna, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, and Road Dogg, whilst he was contracted to AEW.

The former WWE Tag Team Champion signed for AEW as a coach back in January 2019 but has since been wrestling on AEW Dark and as part of their main show. Gunn has also been able to wrestle alongside his son, who is now known as Austin Gunn.

It's unclear why Gunn has been able to retain the name he used throughout his WWE career since his real name is Monty Sopp.

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#5 Former WWE Superstar Vickie Guerrero

Vickie Guerrero first began regularly appearing on WWE TV after her husband Eddie passed away back in 2005. The former RAW General Manager later became a frequent face on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown after stepping into feuds with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Edge, Dolph Ziggler, and even The Undertaker.

Guerrero requested her release from the company back in 2014 but has since returned to WWE on several occasions, most recently as part of The Women's Royal Rumble match back in 2018.

Guerrero has since joined All Elite Wrestling, where she has been able to retain her name. Vickie's real name is no longer Vickie's real name since she has remarried and is now Vickie Benson. The former WWE star was once known as Vickie Guerrero legally, which could be why she's been able to continue to use it.

#4 Former WWE Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff first signed for WWE more than two decades ago and at the time the duo were able to retain their real names.

The fact that Matt and Jeff Hardy have become known using their given names has meant that even when the two brothers have left the company and wrestled for other promotions, they are able to keep under their most popular monikers.

The two brothers returned to WWE back at WrestleMania 33 and went on to become Tag Team Champions after a spell at IMPACT Wrestling, where both brothers were known under the same names. Whilst Jeff has remained contracted to WWE, his brother has since made the move over to AEW.

Whilst Hardy has had many gimmicks like The Broken or Woken One or even Big Money, he has always been known as Matt Hardy. Since this is his real name, it's one that he can continue to use no matter where he ends up in his career.

#3 WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry

MARK HENRY IS ALL ELITE 😱 We'll see @themarkhenry on #AEWDynamite this Friday night on @tntdrama at 10/9c! pic.twitter.com/IfvLGUufGk

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 1, 2021

The most recent WWE Superstar to make the jump over from WWE to AEW is former World Champion Mark Henry.

The WWE Hall of Famer appeared at Double or Nothing last month but unlike fellow WWE legend The Big Show, Mark Henry was able to make the switch under the same name.

Similarly to several other names on the list, Mark Henry was signed to WWE off the back of an Olympic career where he was already known under his given name.

When Henry was signed by WWE in the mid-1990s he was signed to a 10-year deal which was unheard of at the time. The star had since remained with the company for more than two decades before making a surprising jump to All Elite Wrestling.

Henry retired from the company back in 2018 when he was added to the Hall of Fame. He had since been working as a backstage producer in WWE and had helped bring in several stars including Braun Strowman and Bianca Belair.

#2 Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho

Former WWE star Chris Jericho has retained the same name throughout his entire wrestling career and has even used it while making waves in the music world.

The former Undisputed WWE World Champion has been able to take his name with him because he owns the rights to it himself. Instead of allowing WWE to trademark his wrestling name, the company trademarked "Y2J" and several of his nicknames which allows the company to still make money from him even when he isn't part of WWE.

Back in 2020 WWE and Chris Jericho came to an agreement where the company would allow Jericho to own the rights to his own name if they retained the intellectual property of anything created by either of them, during his time with the company.

The agreement meant that Jericho wasn't able to use "Y2J" or any other names linked to her WWE persona. Whilst Jericho was able to use the name before the agreement, it was only made official and acknowledged by WWE last year.

The current AEW star's real name is Chris Irvine but Jericho is the name that made him a star.

#1 Former WWE Champion CM Punk

CM Punk was known by this name before he signed for WWE and was even able to take the name with him to UFC.

Both AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have also followed in Punk's footsteps in being able to retain their independent wrestling names whilst working for WWE in recent years. Punk was a hugely successful star in WWE for nine years but departed the company back in 2014 and took his name with him.

WWE went on to transfer all of the merchandise rights for their former star's name over to him after his departure and he has continued to use the name outside of WWE. At the time, the former world champion was a pioneer for stars who came from the independent scene and were able to retain the names in which they had risen to fame.

Punk's real name is Phillip Brooks, but publicly he has always been known as CM Punk and has even retained the name as part of his acting and writing careers.