Triple H Approved WWE Star's Name Change A Month Before Royal Rumble

The 2023 women's Royal Rumble match featured several surprises, such as Chelsea Green making her WWE return and Michelle McCool coming out of the crowd to compete in UGGs and sweatpants. One surprise that was pleasing to "NXT UK" fans was when a familiar name appeared on the video screens inside Alamodome.

"Well look who's here. She strikes like a viper, Piper Niven enters the Royal Rumble match," said Michael Cole on commentary. 

Last seen performing under the ring name Doudrop on WWE programming back in September, Niven lasted 27 minutes in the Rumble and was one of the final six in the match. According to Sportsmail's Alex McCarthy, Niven got approval to change her name a month before the Rumble, which was agreed upon as the perfect place for her reintroduction. Additionally, McCarthy disclosed that Niven told him last August she saw an opportunity to discuss the name change when Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over WWE creative from Vince McMahon.

"We did have a conversation about it [the name change]. Because here's the thing, before it was Vince's vision and now it's Triple H's vision," she said.

Under Triple H's vision in "NXT UK," Niven was a staple of the women's division and had a memorable feud with Kay Lee Ray (now known as Alba Fyre) over the women's championship that culminated in a physical Falls Count Anywhere match inside the BT Sport Studio. In June 2021, Niven debuted on "Raw" as Eva Marie's protégé and was renamed Doudrop. Though Eva Marie was released in November 2021, the name stuck. Doudrop found herself in a couple of high-profile matches – challenging Becky Lynch for the "RAW" Women's Championship at the 2022 Royal Rumble and competing in the women's Elimination Chamber match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.