One of the most anticipated moments heading into Thursday night’s NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way show was the long awaited debut of WWE’s newest international signing, NOAH and Ring of Honor alum Kenta. The introduction got the internet talking. Unfortunately, it seemed that the biggest reaction wasn’t directed at Kenta’s half English, half Japanese in ring promo or his altercation with The Ascension, but rather toward the announcement that Kenta would be changing his ring name to Hideo Itami.
Fans, arm-chair bookers, and wrestling pundits immediately expressed their disapproval of his new name. Why can’t Kenta be Kenta? Why mess with a winning formula? This isn’t the first time WWE repackaged or renamed a performer when they entered NXT, and most of them are usually met with skepticism at best and hostility at worst. Case in point, last year the internet suffered a mini meltdown when they took the mask off El Generico. By comparison, this Kenta change is, to me, a bigger deal. El Generico, for all his work before, never existed in the WWE universe and neither did most of the other characters that WWE changed. Kenta was different because WWE introduced him by that name. They teased us all that they weren’t going to change the name. With all the pomp and circumstance WWE gave Kenta’s signing – including a Hulk Hogan lead press conference and a Triple H social media blitz – it almost felt like a bait and switch. Why would they spend two months hyping Kenta by name just to wipe away any name recognition and the drawing power that comes with it within his first seven minutes of stepping into a WWE ring?
We could speculate forever on why they did it. The most obvious reason is copyright and trademarking. WWE wants you to have a gimmick they own to prevent any legal issues when and if Kenta/Hideo leaves the company. Not to mention the fact WWE is notorious for having a prejudice against gimmicks and characters they didn’t create, an issue that lead to the failure of many a WCW alum. In the long run, the why behind it doesn’t really matter. The change has happened and, despite the initial knee jerk reaction against it, it was a smart move by WWE, so long as fans are willing to play ball.
By hyping the Kenta signing and then making the name change on their show, WWE is able to have their cake and eat it too by appealing to every group of Kenta fans as well as the soon to be Hideo fans. At the top level, you have the casual sports entertainment fan that doesn’t know their Kenta Kobayahsi’s from their Kenta Kobashi’s, so the change doesn’t matter to them. As long as Hideo entertains in the ring. At the other end you have the more dedicated wrestling fans with indie and international knowledge. They aren’t going to stop following Kenta just because of the name change. We’ve already seen the same thing happen with Daniel Bryan, Luke Harper, Sami Zayn, and scores of others. These fans will still tune in to Raw, NXT, and pay per views to see solid wrestling, even if the performers change names. Where WWE stands to gain is from the middle ground – fans who know the Kenta name but aren’t familiar his work. By using the original name to stress the importance of the signing, they are able to get the attention of those. After they drummed up interest using the Kenta name as a selling point, they switched to a trademark-able name as soon as he appeared to begin marketing the new “brand” Hideo Itami. From a business perspective, it’s the best of both worlds.
The real issue that remains to be seen is if the presentation will change. If Hideo is Kenta in everything but name, the entire fuss over the rebranding will be forgotten in a matter of weeks. Thankfully it doesn’t look like we’re going to be seeing a clueless “Oriental” gimmick like the Tensai debacle, but that doesn’t guarantee success. It all depends on the programs he’s given and the reaction from the sports entertainment crowds. If the response Hideo Itami received from the live NXT audience is any indication, he’s off to a good start. So let’s not overreact to the name change and let the work rate speak for itself. After all, the name won’t sabotage the worker; for what’s in a name? That which we call Kenta by any other name would still kick as hard.
