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Fans are beginning to express concern that WWE might change Mike Santana’s name.
Former TNA World Champion Mike Santana left the promotion after losing the title to Nic Nemeth at the Slammiversary pay-per-view last month. After weeks of rumors about a potential move to WWE, Santana made his NXT debut on this week’s episode.
Santana made a surprise appearance after the main event, in which Tony D’Angelo defeated Naraku in a street fight to retain the NXT Championship. However, fans noticed that WWE didn’t mention his name even once during the segment and are fearing that the promotion might change his name. The results page on the company’s official website also omitted his name, referring to him as “a new Superstar.”
However, his theme song did say Santana, but that didn’t stop the fans from speculating.
“Notice they didn't say Mike Santana I feel a name change… hope I'm wrong,” a fan replied.
“This isn't a "new face". Say his damn name and don't f*****g change it!” another fan wrote.
“Seriously?! tell me y’all aren’t about to change Mike Santana’s name???!” another fan replied.
Mike Santana had filed to trademark his name
Mike Santana filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to trademark his ring name back in May 2026 when he was still with TNA Wrestling. The application is still pending, awaiting assignment to an examining attorney, which might explain why WWE didn’t mention his name during his NXT debut.
He previously attempted to trademark his ring name in 2021, but the USPTO rejected his application due to an incomplete response. He competed as just Santana during his first run with TNA and his stint with AEW, and added Mike before his exit from the latter promotion in 2024.
Earlier reports indicated that if Mike Santana signs with WWE, the promotion would like to bring him to the main roster by the end of this year. Now that he’s debuted on NXT, it will be interesting to see how soon the former TNA World Champion will move up to RAW or SmackDown.
Read More: Mike Santana Breaks Silence After WWE NXT ‘Debut'
The post Mike Santana’s NXT Debut Sparks Name Change Fears Among WWE Fans appeared first on Wrestlezone.
