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WWE News: Karl Anderson Talks Keeping His Name In WWE

By Shawn Lealos
Published on: 05:42 PST, Jul 27, 2016

When most wrestlers sign with the WWE, the company makes them change their names, change their gimmicks, and become WWE characters. That has been changing lately in NXT, with guys like Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, and Shinsuke Nakamura bringing their gimmicks and names with them. However, when it comes to the WWE main roster, that is not usually the case.

When AJ Styles made his debut at the Royal Rumble, he kept his name, and it was clear why. The fans knew who he was thanks to over a decade of hard work in TNA Impact Wrestling and New Japan. However, when the WWE brought in his partners in the Bullet Club, they surprisingly let Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows keep their names as well, and 411mania reported that Karl Anderson said the WWE did not ask them to change anything at all.

“Before I signed with WWE, all I ever heard from negative people was, ‘you’re not going to have any freedom to do anything’. And if you watched us come out on RAW, you’d know that all that stuff is not true. We get to be us. We’re being ourselves.”

Karl Anderson has a point. Not only did Luke Gallows and Anderson keep their names, but they also kept part of their tag team name, shortening Bullet Club to The Club. Karl and Luke also kept their “Too Sweet” hand gesture and catchphrase, which was borrowed from the nWo.

Now that Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have been separated from AJ Styles, they are getting their chance to prove whether they can sink or swim as a tag team in the WWE. Karl and Luke were on top of the world in New Japan, but things are different in America. Anderson and Gallows have immediately set their sites on The New Day and the tag team titles, so it looks like the WWE is giving Karl and Luke a chance.

Unlike Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows had wrestled in the WWE before, both as a stupid gimmick under the name Festus, and then later as Luke Gallows when he joined CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society. Gallows also had a strong run in TNA in Aces & Eights.

However, this is Karl Anderson’s first ride in the big leagues in America, and Karl seems to be taking a liking to it so far.

“I’m loving, loving life right now, man. It has been a crazy whirlwind change in schedule and in life. It’s awesome, man. Basically, myself, Gallows, and AJ, we wanted to come to WWE. 100 percent we wanted to.”

Since joining the WWE, Karl Anderson has been able to wrestle John Cena, the biggest star in professional wrestling, and Anderson held his own in the big light matches. Now, Karl and Luke Gallows are getting a chance to possibly win their first WWE gold, maybe as soon as SummerSlam.

Inside Pulse reported that the confirmed SummerSlam matches include Dean Ambrose defending the WWE title against Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor fighting for the new WWE Universal title, and Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. Add in a women’s title match between new champion Sasha Bank and Charlotte, and the new possibility of a tag team title match pitting New Day against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, plus the next AJ Styles vs. John Cena match, and it makes this year’s SummerSlam one that can’t be missed.

For Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, it is an exciting time to join the WWE. Looking at names like Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Dolph Ziggler all fighting for the biggest titles at the second biggest WWE event of the year, and it appears that the new era is really here in the WWE. Karl Anderson is just happy to be part of that.

[Image via WWE]

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