We recently heard that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's latest weird rule is that no one in the company can use their real first name. Austin Theory recently became Theory, and former NXT Champion Tomasso Ciampa is now simply known as "Ciampa." That came during last night's RAW when The Blackheart attacked the returning Ali from behind after he defeated The Miz.
Ali, who used to be called Mustafa Ali, requested his release from WWE not too long ago, but WWE refused. He was brought back on the latest episode of RAW, though, and the fact he "took his ball and went home" was actually referenced on multiple occasions. Clearly, the plan now is for Ali to feud with Ciampa, and you have to believe that could lead to some phenomenal matches.
Other Superstars who have lost their first names recently include Humberto and Angel, while Raquel Gonzalez had her surname changed to "Rodriguez since Gonzalez is her real name.
The reason for this is that Vince doesn't want any Superstars who leave to head to AEW or other companies with names that will be familiar to audiences. Ruby Riott left WWE and started going by Ruby Soho, for example, and by not using real names, WWE can make that a lot harder for talent.
Ciampa is now a heel, and you can check out his attack on Ali below: