If you watched the Mae Young Classic opening ceremonies/parade that aired last night on WWE’s social media platforms, then you probably noticed that Madison Rayne was announced as Ashley Rayne. Her first name is really Ashley but her real birth name is Simmons. So why did WWE choose to change her name and not the names of the other women? This was discussed on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
Dave Meltzer said, “I think that Madison Rayne changed her name because they didn’t want the idea that they had someone who was just on Impact and Ring Of Honor TV like a week ago. I think that’s the reason that she changed her name.”
Rachel Ellering was referred to as Rachael Evers but that name change was done a while ago and it was because they didn’t want another Ellering (her father is Paul Ellering) on the roster for some reason.
The 32-year old from Columbus, Ohio has been wrestling since 2005 and her goal is to get a WWE contract after this tournament. Her work has been solid in Impact and ROH so there’s a good chance that they will want to hire her.
