When Vince McMahon was heading up WWE creative things could change on a whim and the Executive Chairman had the ultimate say over everything that happened on television.
This meant that his foibles often made it on-screen, with long-time fans able to pick out segments McMahon had created to amuse himself, while Superstars having their names changed became a regular occurrence.
Even in the final years of his control over creative, Pete Dunne, Gunther, Austin Theory, and more all saw their ring names altered.
Ken Anderson signed with WWE in 2005 but quickly became better known as Ken Kennedy — a nod to McMahon’s middle name — or simply Mr. Kennedy.
Speaking during an appearance on UnSKripted, Anderson revealed that the change came directly from McMahon himself. The reason was, he didn’t want Anderson to be seen to be associated with the fictional Anderson Family which included Arn, Ole, and Lars.
“[Vince] was like ‘I don’t want people associating you with them; I don’t want them to think there’s some kind of nepotism involved,'”
Despite McMahon trying to distance Kennedy from Arn Anderson, the star was full of praise for the WWE Hall of Famer, recalling how he was always happy to give advice and share his knowledge with those around him.
“I will say that whether or not I’m related to him, I was fortunate enough to be under [Arn’s] wing at WWE because he was one of the producers there,” Anderson added. “From the time that I was just an extra, going there and trying to get a job and trying to get looked at, I would sit around the ring, and Arn was one of those guys who was just happy to share his knowledge with anyone who would listen.”
Vince McMahon Blocked Paige’s Main Roster Debut Until She Wore Purple
While name changes became fairly common, it was recently revealed that Vince McMahon only let Paige (now known as Saraya) debut on WWE’s main roster if she changed her ring gear. The now-AEW star explained that Triple H had been pushing for her to be called up from NXT, but McMahon resisted.
The Chairman eventually relented, but only on the condition that she wore purple in the ring instead of what had become her trademark black.
H/t to Wrestling Inc.