Report: Reason WWE Changed Buddy Murphy's Name Revealed

In recent years, WWE has shortened numerous Superstars names. Cesaro had Antonio taken from him, Adrian Neville became just Neville, Big E Langston lost his surname, and Mustafa Ali misplaced his forename but found it again in November 2019.

Over the weekend,

also quietly shortened Buddy Murphy's name to just Murphy. The former Cruiserweight Champion's name was previously shortened in 2015 when he held the NXT Tag Team Championships with Wesley Blake as Blake & Murphy.

While no reason for the change was initially given,

has now reported that the company didn't think Buddy sounded like the name of a disciple, so the decision was made to drop the name so The Best Kept Secret would fit in better with Seth Rollins' new biblical faction.

Murphy aligned himself with The Monday Night Messiah during the January 13 episode of Monday Night Raw. He has since followed the guidance of Rollins and they have gone on to capture the Raw Tag Team Championships from The Viking Raiders.

For the avoidance of doubt, Satin penned: "Sources tell us the change was made because the name Buddy didn’t sound like the name of a disciple, so the decision was made to drop it in order for the wrestler to fit with Seth Rollins’ new group."