WWE News: Former Champions Finally Reveal Their New Ring Name

More than six months after receiving their release from WWE, a couple of former champions have finally chosen their new ring names. The Ascension was officially let go from their contracts back in early December, and they quickly chose new individual nicknames. Fans on the independent circuit have watched them at different events, but they’ve only recently chosen a new team name as they continue their wrestling careers.

In a recent interview with Wrestle Zone, the former NXT Tag Team Champions discussed their run through WWE. For some reason, they just couldn’t come up with a fitting name for their tag team, and therefore, they’ve been performing without one.

After they were let go, Konnor and Viktor could no longer use those names since WWE had official copyright ownership of them. They decided on Big Kon and Vik, but couldn’t get back in the ring until their noncompete clause with WWE officially expired.

Vik and Big Kon said they have thought about different names they could use, but none seemed to fit them. They contemplated “FKA” to let fans know they were formerly known as The Ascension, but they ultimately decided on “The Awakening.”

Vik said that everyone knew them as The Ascension for so long, it was hard to think of going by anything else. The name was initially for a full stable in Florida Championship Wrestling back in 2011, but it eventually stuck even when it was just the two of them remaining as a tag team.

After going through several different ideas, Vik said their new name recently came about. Big Kon believes that “The Awakening” is going to be a way of leading them into the future without entirely starting over.

“The Awakening. It’s like the next step up from The Ascension. It’s still got that connection so the fans can understand it, and it’s something that Vik and I think is bad*ss regardless.”

The Ascension holds the record of the longest reign with the NXT Tag Team Championships. They were dominant on the yellow brand, but never quite caught fire on WWE’s main roster. The team was used primarily in comedy skits and didn’t have a single match for eight months before their release.

Vik and Big Kon have had their independent wrestling careers put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they will return. Once things settle down and they’re able to get back in the ring, they will be able to make their debuts as The Awakening.