Raw cruiserweight TJ Perkins is one of the most prominently featured superstars from 205 Live on Raw each Monday night. It seemed strange when his name was shortened to TJP just a few weeks ago. Bryan Alvarez stated on the Wrestling Observer’s Bryan and Vinny show recently that the name change was because of Vince McMahon hating the name Perkins. The chairman allegedly hates the restaurant change of the same name, and he did not want the name associated with any of his wrestlers. This was believed to be the reason for the sudden decision to have his name shortened without any notice. 
Fortunately, the real reason behind it seems to be a bit more logical. Despite the rumors circulating recently, TJP revealed that the name change was for a different reason. He wrote the following on his Twitter page in response: “Actually I just asked to be called TJP. Not very complicated. “ TJP has been his name for a while now as no mentions of the Perkins name has been made since the name shortening, and WWE also filed a trademark for “TJP” one week ago. It appears that Perkins himself simply asked management if he could go by a quicker name, and they approved his request.
TJP was born Theodore James Perkins, and he became the inaugual Cruiserweight Classic tournament winner last year as TJ Perkins. Stories of Vince McMahon being petty are nothing new, but in TJ’s case, that doesn’t appear to be the issue here. TJP has been one of the most consistently featured 205 Live stars on Raw ever since he turned heel earlier this year. He has recently been involved in a partnership with Neville that ended this past week when he earned and lost a Cruiserweight Championship match against his former partner. The trademark has been officially filed. so no matter what happens next in his career, TJ Perkins is gone and TJP is here to stay.