Report: Why Rusev And Cesaro Lost Their First Names In WWE Revealed

In recent years, WWE has shortened multiple Superstars names including Big E, Neville and Murphy. 

Rusev and Cesaro also had their forenames taken away in early 2014. WWE never officially confirmed why they changed their names but Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Vince McMahon didn't think Alexander or Antonio were good names for heels so he decided to repackage them as just Rusev and Cesaro.

Meltzer said: "There was a meeting and at the meeting, Vince goes, 'We've got to drop that first name.' And it was like, 'Why?' And he goes, 'If we call him Alexander Rusev people are gonna start calling him Alex and Alex is not a good name for a heel.' That's the real reason. So, that's why they dropped the first name. And the same thing happened with Cesaro. The reason they dropped Antonio Cesaro was because Vince said, 'People are going to start calling him Tony and Tony is not a heel name. So, we've got to drop the first name.'"