A new report has shed light on the controversial name change that took place on SmackDown when NXT star Pete Dunne was introduced as Butch.
After trashing Big E’s ATV the previous week, Sheamus and Ridge Holland arrived on SmackDown in high spirits. Speaking backstage, sledgehammer in hand, the pair boasted about their exploits in a backstage interview. There was no remorse insight as the team said that they’d actually made the ATV better, just like they do everything else.
When it was pointed out that the pair were giving the interview holding a sledgehammer, Sheamus unveiled his surprise. The Celtic Warrior said that he and Holland had come to SmackDown with someone more deadly than two sledgehammers, although you might know him by a different name. At this, Pete Dunne wandered into view, under the new moniker of Butch.
Butch distracted Kofi Kingston when Holland and Sheamus took on The New Day to give his newfound friends the win but this bout was overshadowed by the serious injury suffered by former WWE Champion Big E.
Fightful Select have reported more information on Pete Dunne’s name change, saying that WWE sources confirmed “something very dumb” was happening on SmackDown while others confirmed there was to be a name change on the show.
Some in WWE were speculating that the name Butch could be a rib based on the popular WWE Hall Of Fame tag team The Bushwhackers, as Ridge Holland’s real name is Luke. While a former WWE star suggested it could be based on the 1950s version of the Little Rascals.
The report concludes by saying that this is Dunne’s official call up to the main roster of WWE and plans were in place for Sheamus, Holland, and the man now known as Butch to face The New Day at WrestleMania but following Big E’s neck injury, these plans are now up in the air.