3 most unnecessary name-changes of stars in AEW history

There have been many silly name changes in the history of professional wrestling, and it seems AEW stars have fallen victim to some as well. Even though the Jacksonville-based promotion hasn’t had the most terrible name changes in its history, there have been some that seemed downright unnecessary.

We’re here to look at the few name changes in All Elite Wrestling’s history that weren’t necessary at all. We should clarify that these could again change sometime in the future, but for now, they seem to have stuck.

#3) Adam Copeland gets his name changed in AEW to ‘The Rated R Superstar Cope’

Kicking off this list with one of the most recent name changes. Adam Copeland arrived at All Elite Wrestling using his real name after being known as Edge for the longest time in WWE. His name seemed to fit him as his ring name and provided some real depth as well to the star as a necessary change up.

However, someone in AEW’s creative seemingly had the bright idea to change things up with the former TNT Champion upon his return. On the January 1, 2025 edition of Dynamite, Adam Copeland was announced on his entrance as “The Rated R Superstar Cope” rather than his real name.

This name change hasn’t sat right with fans at all, with most of them lashing out over this decision. It’s not clear if this change is going to stick going forward, so we’ll have to tune into the next few episodes to confirm it.

#2) Will Hobbs to Powerhouse Hobbs

Powerhouse Hobbs was known as Will Hobbs before and it seemed to fit him better as a competitor in the AEW roster, with the “Powerhouse” part being more of a nickname.

Hobbs has definitely earned the right to be called a Powerhouse just because of his sheer size and capability in the ring. However, it seems that someone in the creative team thought it was the right call to bash fans with the nickname over the head and just blatantly replace it.

#1) W. Morrissey to Big Bill

Unfortunately, Big Bill sounds like a character out of Sesame Street rather than a real-life intimidating professional wrestler. We certainly understand AEW’s intention behind the name change was to maybe keep it close to his previous name in WWE, where he was at the peak of his popularity.

However, it seems that AEW thought it added some menace to him as well, which it unfortunately does not. Bill would first appear as W. Morrissey when he made his debut for Tony Khan’s promotion in May 2022 before it was changed later when he signed a full-time contract. The name does push the agenda of The Learning Tree member being tall but that’s about it as far as it goes.