UPDATED: WWE Changes Name of Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal – Stephanie McMahon Comments on Name Change, Sponsor Reacts

UPDATE: Stephanie McMahon has posted to Twitter to comment on the Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal being changed to the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal over the history of allegations against Moolah. McMahon thanks fans for “using your voice” and comments on how the “historic” nature of the match is the most important part:

Thank you @WWEUniverse for using your voice. What remains most important is that the “@WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal” will be a historic match and is part of @WWE’s unwavering commitment to our Women’s Division. #WomensEvolution #ChangeTheName

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) March 15, 2018

In addition, WrestleMania sponsor Snickers issued a statement about the name change after previously having expressed “disappointment” in the original name:

“We are very pleased that WWE has decided to proceed with the name ‘WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.”

ORIGINAL: As previously reported, WWE has come under a great deal of criticism for naming a women’s battle royal set for WrestleMania after the Fabulous Moolah. WWE even went so far as disabling the comments for the YouTube video on the announcement. Now it appears WWE is finally opting to change the name of the battle royal due to the fan backlash based on a report by Pro Wrestling Sheet. Additionally, it appears the name change happened after an official sponsor for WrestleMania 34 called naming the battle royal after Fabulous Moolah “unacceptable.”

A rep for WWE said that the company is going to change the name of the Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34 “after further consideration.” The WWE representative stated, “After further consideration, we believe it’s best to proceed with the name ‘WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.’ What remains most important is that this historic match is part of WWE’s unwavering commitment to the Women’s Division.”

The move to name the battle royal after Moolah was highly criticized due to allegations from former Moolah trainees accusing her of taking money for women and also prostituting them for sex work, including former trainee Mad Maxine.

Another reason for the change was probably due to pressure from corporate sponsors after fans started notifying the candy company, Snickers, which is a sponsor for WrestleMania, about the controversy. Mars Wrigley Confectionary US, the parent company for Snickers, released a statement on naming the battle royal after Moolah to WrestlingInc.com. You can read the statement below:

“We were recently made aware of the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc’s (WWE) decision to honor a former wrestler during the upcoming WrestleMania 34 event. As a principle-based business that has long championed creating inclusive environments that encourage and empower everyone to reach their full potential, this is unacceptable. We are engaging with the WWE to express our disappointment.”

In this case, it appears WWE was made firmly aware of the negative backlash, and it eventually became too big for WWE to ignore.