Report: People Within WWE Thought Renaming Of Pete Dunne Was "Very Dumb”

Goodbye for now Pete Dunne, and hello Butch, as the former WWE UK Champion officially joined the SmackDown roster with a new moniker, teaming up with Ridge Holland and Sheamus last week.

The name change was met with overwhelming fan backlash online, and a report from Fightful Select suggests that some backstage in WWE thought the name change was “very dumb”.

The report insinuates that some staff knew ahead of time that the name change was coming, with some wrestlers outside of WWE also knowing of the impending moniker change.

As for the reason for the name change - outside of the usual copyright and IP ownership policies - it has been suggested that Butch could be a rib/nod to Bushwhacker Butch, as Ridge Holland’s real name is Luke, while a former WWE star told Fightful that they believe the name is based on ‘Butch’ from the film series the Little Rascals… from the 1930s.

Whatever the reasoning, it looks like Butch is here to stay, with the SmackDown call-up seen as a permanent promotion. Plans were for the team of Sheamus, Holland, and Butch to take on The New Day at WrestleMania, but following Big E’s neck injury, these plans are likely to change.