Shane Helms Comments On WWE Changing WALTER’s Name

WWE Producer Shane Helms says WALTER will be just fine as Gunther.

As we’ve noted, this week’s WWE NXT saw Gunther reveal his new ring name after defeating Roderick Strong in the main event. WWE made the change official with a roster update on Wednesday. The name change led to strong criticism from fans on social media, for obvious reasons, and due to how “Gunther Stark” was the name of a U-Boat Commander who served in World War II in the Kriegsmarine, the navy of Nazi Germany.

In an update, Helms responded to the social media chatter on the leader of Imperium this week and said he will be just fine.

“In my WWE TV debut, I lost: -My name -My gimmick -My entrance -My entrance song -My finisher -And my WCW Cruiserweight Championship. ALL IN ONE NIGHT,” Helms tweeted. “If I survived that, Walter will be just fine. [thumbs up emoji x 2]”

Some of the initial criticism over the “Gunther Stark” name has died down after WWE abandoned their January 13 trademark filing for that name. The filing was abandoned on Wednesday, the same day they confirmed the “Gunther” name. This indicated that they are moving forward with just Gunther as The Ring General’s new name, without the “Stark” last name. It should be noted that while WWE originally filed to trademark the “Gunther Stark” name, the last name never appeared on any WWE website pages, the roster, or any social media postings.