Eva Marie Reveals The Original Plans For Her WWE Name

Eva Marie made her main roster debut in 2013 after receiving just two months of formal training. Despite not receiving the proper training needed to become a successful WWE Superstar, Eva Marie managed to enjoy a pretty good WWE career.

While she wasn’t known for her in-ring skills, her work outside the ring helped her gain a lot of notoriety and success. Over the years, she has participated in several charities and has supported multiple causes.

Eva Marie recently did an interview with PWMania where she spoke about her WWE debut and how she got to keep her real name which rarely happens in the WWE.

“Honestly, I think at the very very beginning it was just one of those things. It was like a last-minute crazy thing of me even being on TV. It wasn’t supposed to happen, live television is like nuts. So I think what happened was Total Divas had just aired, and I hadn’t been on TV yet because… I don’t think I’ve ever shared this in an interview, but I got to keep name. My full legal name is Natalie Eva Marie, I just go by my middle name for my character. So that’s one thing that is you know, pretty abnormal, keeping your name. So, the only way that happened was because all of a sudden Total Divas drops.”

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Eva Marie further added that her original ring name was supposed to be Melania but Total Divas dropped a day before her RAW debut and hence, WWE changed her name to Eva Marie.

“My name originally was supposed to be Melania. I dropped that out there because I don’t think I’ve ever shared that, but that was originally what was happening. We were talking about names and things of that nature and Melania was the one that was going to be for me, and then all of a sudden, Total Divas aired I believe on a Sunday, Monday Night Raw comes and then my first time on TV, I was valeting Natalia [Neidhart]. And it was just like Eva Marie, because obviously Natalie, Natalia, that’s not going to work, so we’ll, we’ll go by her middle name, boom. And then that’s how I kind of initially got on to television. And for character wise, I think it really, it really coincided with, obviously, the amazing WWE Universe and also Total Divas. So it had, I think, a very weird combination of those kinds of mixed into the bowl,” she said.

Eva Marie’s first run in the company lasted till 2017. However, she made her return a couple of years later in 2020 for another brief run. She was later released on November 4, 2021, as part of the routine layoffs. While she may not have been the most technically gifted athlete, her contributions outside the ring will always be remembered.

What do you make of Eva Marie’s original WWE name? Do you think WWE made the right choice by going with her real name? Sound off in the comments section.