P.C. - @thebelairera (Twitter)
WWE has the tendency to change the ring names of superstars when they make the switch from NXT to the main roster
The talented Pete Dunn recently made his full-fledged main roster appearance on SmackDown. He joined Sheamus’ stable alongside Ridge Holland. When he was introduced by Sheamus on last month’s episode of the blue brand, he was mentioned to be Butch and he has been wrestling under that particular name since.
This week on SmackDown after WrestleMania, we saw the former two-time NXT Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez giving a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton. Raquel explained how she was way ahead of the entire female roster on SmackDown.
An interesting moment from the segment was when the 31-year-old was introduced as Raquel Rodriguez. However, it’s important to note that she wasn’t the only one who had a name change during the episode. Marcel Barthel introduced Gunther as the latter had a squash match beating enhancement talent Joe Alonzo in a jiffy. Barthel though was introduced as Ludwig Kaiser which came as a shock to many.
Speaking of Alonzo, he took an L to Veer Mahaan earlier in the month. He also wrestled in five dark matches in AEW a couple of years ago.
While Gunther’s appearance could be a one-off which is the case on the RAW and SmackDown episodes after WrestleMania, Raquel Rodriguez may have actually been drafted into the main roster.
Superstars like Sasha Banks and Naomi are current Women’s Tag Team champions. Natalya and Shayna Baszler are also involved in a tag team and eyeing another shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships after an unsuccessful attempt at ‘Mania.
So the cream of the women’s division on SmackDown is busy with tag team action. Lacey Evans has just returned this week with an intense and emotional promo. She shared how difficult her childhood days were. Michael Cole stated that Evans will continue her story next week. It seems her in-ring return won’t happen immediately.
However, there are superstars who have been out of action of late. The likes of Xia Li, Shotzi, and Aliyah haven’t been seen recently and anyone of them could be an ideal choice to be Rodriguez’s first opponent on SmackDown.
At NXT 2.0, Raquel won the NXT Tag Team Championship for the second time with Dakota Kai. They beat Toxic Attraction at NXT Stand & Deliver to win the titles. They, unfortunately, lost the title in just a few days as Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne beat them on this week’s NXT in a rematch.
As for Gunther, he is expected to go back to NXT and finish his feud with Bron Breakker before sealing a permanent spot on the main roster.
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