While watching SmackDown LIVE this week, something that became more and more noticeable is the subtle, yet drastic name change Andrade “Cien” Almas suffered at the hands of the WWE name-chopping block yet again.
Andrade, as he’s now called, joins a long list of characters and performers that have had the name-chopping bandit attack out of nowhere and seemingly without cause. Fans will remember a time where Rusev was once Alexander, or Cesaro was once Antonio.
Generally speaking, small things like this don’t really matter in the big picture; something the people on Twitter seem to misrepresent about my argument (surprise, surprise):
To be perfectly clear, especially to the people in the replies, no, I’m not mad or upset about this. I’m just being critical. Critical to a problem that WWE has. That’s why we’re on social media in the first place, right? To discuss things like this.
Granted, this name change might be a good idea and it might be a bad one. Or it might not make a difference either way when it comes to how well Andrade does going forward.
AND THAT’S MY POINT.
The name changes is a small problem in a vacuum, but when you look at everything in context, it speaks to a bigger problem.
Changing names is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to subtle and petty changes WWE makes, when there are bigger problems to be dealt with. And maybe that’s the issue: WWE doesn’t see a larger problem.
The name changes, along with the words that are banned from being said by commentary or performers and making sure we say “opportunity” and not “title match” or saying “medical facility” instead of “hospital” creates a bubble that isn’t relatable and isn’t likable. I call it “WWE speak.”
WWE now wants you to forget about the rest of his name, and only call him Andrade, like it’ll make a difference as to how we view him or as if that’ll make him “more marketable.”
By changing Andrade’s name, for literally no reason other than making it easier for us idiot wrestling fans to say, they’re ignoring the real reasons as to why he isn’t (or wasn’t) getting over. If someone is over, they’re over. It doesn’t matter what their name is.
Let me put it like this: if a boat or ship has five leaks, from biggest to smallest, why plug up the smallest hole and leave the other four. Why would you address something that isn’t even a problem, when you have a mountain high amount of issues already at hand, not only in general, but with getting talent over and making them feel important.
In closing, I want to be clear in saying that instead of worrying about someone’s name, maybe, just maybe, WWE should focus on the best talent roster they’ve probably ever had and find ways to get them over that doesn’t include something as meaningless as a name change.
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