Zelina Vega Appears To Have Undergone A Name Change

That's according to Zelina's WWE profile, which is usually where news about WWE names changes tends to stem from. Zelina has been known as Zelina Vega for her entire run in WWE. However, her profile now simply reads Zelina, implying that WWE has decided to drop her last name.

A Superstar dropping one of their names so that they're only referred to by either their first or last name is a trait synonymous with Vince McMahon. Big E, Cesaro, Rusev, and Neville are just a few of the wrestlers who used to have full names but lost half because McMahon believed one name was better than two.

Well, sometimes he did. John Cena, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch are a few examples who avoided having one of their names taken away from them under McMahon.

McMahon no longer calls the shots in WWE, of course, which is why it's particularly noteworthy that Zelina Vega is now just Zelina. The timing of the name change might also be significant. After being a core part of the Women's US Title scene since the championship's introduction. Zelina's role shifted recently so that she is now working alongside her real-life husband, Aleister Black.

Why Has WWE Changed Zelina Vega's Name?

The Vega being dropped from Zelina's name might be an effort by WWE to highlight that she and Black are married. Sure, you don't need to have the same last name as someone else just because you're married to them, but perhaps WWE has just dropped the Vega to avoid any confusion. Although again, that might be a stretch, as I'm not sure there would have been any confusion to begin with.

That also wouldn't align with some of the other wrestling couples working together in WWE. Black noted recently that Triple H wasn't originally sold on him and Vega working together. However, after seeing the work Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins have been doing together, and the fan reactions to CM Punk and AJ Lee, The Game changed his tune. In both of those instances, there was no need for name changes to avoid confusion.

There's always an outside chance that this is immediately changed back, and by the time we see Zelina again, probably this week on SmackDown, she has the Vega back. How announcers refer to her will confirm whether the name change is a permanent one.