Why Is Blake Monroe Glad Her AEW Character Died
Blake Monroe made a big career move when she left AEW in May 2025 and signed with WWE in June 2025.
In AEW, Blake Monroe enjoyed a successful run under the ring name Mariah May, highlighted by winning the AEW Women’s World Championship and a memorable storyline with her mentor Toni Storm. But when her AEW contract ended, she felt she had told a full story there and was ready to start fresh in WWE as she wanted more challenges and different opportunities.
Blake Monroe Is Glad She Changed Her Name In WWE
Upon joining WWE, she changed her ring name from Mariah May to Blake Monroe, a name carrying personal meaning. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Monroe explained she was glad the Mariah May character was “dead” because it marked the end of a chapter she cherished but was ready to close. She felt that using her real first name, Mariah, in wrestling was awkward and that switching to new names symbolized a fresh start.
“No. If you’re familiar with my prior name, I feel like it was the end of a story, and I cherish that. It’s kind of cool that she died and that’s done. Mariah is my real name, and I wish I had never used that in wrestling because it’s weird. I did it and can’t change it. The chance to start something new, and with WWE, we’re going to make this new thing and make it a megastar. Week by week, we do that. I love it.”
Blake Monroe also revealed that her first name is a tribute to her niece named Blake, who used to get super excited watching WWE with her. She picked Monroe as her last name because it was a wrestling name she had written down years earlier. Though some think the name sounds boyish, she liked that uniqueness and felt it fit her new serious yet glamorous persona.
“And it’s a tribute to my niece. My niece is Blake. We used to watch WWE together and she’d jump on the bed and be so excited. When they said, ‘How would you feel about the name? Would you be open to changing it?’ I said, ‘I absolutely would.’ Monroe was the first wrestling name I ever wrote down. I still have it in a book and a screenshot from 2017. I didn’t start wrestling until 2020.
“I wanted to do Monroe as a first name. The more I thought about it, people don’t like the name because they think it’s boyish, but that’s why I like the name. I feel if you’re in a really intense feud, it’s like, ‘Monroe,” while ‘Blake’ is more serious. Blake is my niece and it’s unisex, and Monroe is so pretty, but a little gimmicky. I thought putting the two together was different. The name was a little controversial, which I like because people are talking about me.”