Character changes in wrestling are nothing new. Jim Ross likes to call it going off and learning a new hold. When a character and gimmick starts getting stale, you either tweak it a little bit or do something completely different. For a very recent example, Seth Rollins went from being a hard-working wrestler and sometimes Architect to The Drip God, dancing and laughing around like he was The Joker.
It’s how guys like The Undertaker and Chris Jericho stayed relevant for so long. They constantly tweaked their characters, made a couple of major changes, and reverted back to versions of their original gimmicks.
10 Shawn Michaels - Rocker To Heartbreak Kid
Being a raggedy-haired blond babyface might have worked for Shawn Michaels had he been almost a foot taller and had 24-inch pythons. He and Marty Jannetty did about all they could do as The Rockers, and it was time for Shawn to try and set out on his own. He became the cocky, brash Heartbreak Kid and never looked back. He did alright for himself in the process. Most fans consistently place HBK on their Mount Rushmore.
9 Triple H - Connecticut Blue Blood To Degenerate
Coming off his Jean-Paul Levesque aristocrat gimmick in WCW, it was easy for Triple H to keep doing a similar gimmick until he got his feet wet. It would take roughly two years but once DX was born, Triple H was allowed to shine.
Triple H first started as HBK’s sidekick in DX. But after Shawn Michaels retired in 1998, HHH became the leader of DX on his way to one of greatest careers a wrestler could have both in and out of the ring.
8 Rikishi - Headshrinker To Make A Difference To The Sultan To Rikishi
Thankfully, being related to the Anoa’i family kept giving Rikishi chances in the WWE. After his run as one of The Headshrinkers came to an end, Fatu tried to “make a difference,” as more of a hip-hop street-savvy superstar. But being a positive thug during the era of gangsta rap was just making Rikishi a new version of PN News. Becoming The Sultan was enough to get him a WrestleMania match with his cousin The Rock. What got him over of all things was a dancing version of his cousin Yokozuna - the hip-hop sumo, Rikishi.
7 Roman Reigns - The Big Dog To The Tribal Chief
When it was just painfully obvious that the WWE was going to force Roman Reigns down fans’ throats as a blue-eyed (even though he has brown eyes), cheesy-line delivering Big Dog face of the company; that’s when most of the WWE Universe tapped out on Roman. Once he asserted his complete dominance over the company and established The Bloodline, it didn’t take long for the entire WWE Universe to finally get behind the Tribal Chief, even if he’s supposed to be a heel.
6 Glenn Jacobs - Isaac Yankem To Kane
As a shining example that hard work and grinding will eventually pay off, just take a look at the Mayor of Knox County, Kane. Getting his start in the territories as The Unabomb got him his first WWE gig as Jerry Lawler’s evil dentist, Isaac Yankem, DDS. After a short stint as Diesel, Glenn Jacobs got the opportunity of a lifetime. He was tapped to play The Undertaker’s younger brother, Kane. The Big Red Machine practically became as big a star as The Deadman just by the association.
5 Dustin Rhodes - The Natural To Goldust
Unfortunately, had Dustin Rhodes stayed in WCW, he’d always just be thought of as Dusty’s son. While that certainly wouldn’t have been a bad career either, when The Natural got fired for juicing during The King Of The Road match, he headed back to WWE. But as Goldust, the former Natural was free to create the kind of character he did, becoming a legend in the process.
4 Steve Austin - The Ringmaster To Stone Cold
"Stunning" Steve Austin was a master technician - the kind of wrestler that would be called a wrestler’s wrestler. But that mechanic status clearly didn’t get him very far. After a brief stint in ECW, he got hired by WWE to do an ice-cold version of Stunning Steve.
Once he asked Vince McMahon for permission to just let him be himself, he was able to become Stone Cold Steve Austin, and it didn’t take long for the entire world to latch onto The Texas Rattlesnake.
3 The Rock - The Blue Chipper To The Great One
While he might have only said the phrase “Blue Chipper” several times, Jim Ross’ call of what Rocky Maivia’s abilities were is a lot of what sticks out in fans’ memory during this time. That and the eventual Great One’s pineapple hair. But a stint in The Nation and some eloquent trash-talking helped turn a floundering career into a thriving one. Just a mere six years later, a guy who only had seven bucks in his pocket headed off to Hollywood to further his electrifying dominance on the world.
2 Bray Wyatt - Husky Harris To The Fiend
With Vince McMahon’s propensity to rename and rebrand even legacy performers like Windham Rotunda (which is a pretty cool name), the third generation superstar initially debuted on the main roster in the alliteratively terrible Husky Harris. After his brief first stint on the main roster, he headed back to FCW to regroup. He would create a character for the ages in Bray Wyatt, a backwoods cult leader.
The fans were immediately captivated by him, no matter how much the brass seemingly buried him. When it was time to rework his gimmick, Bray became a demented kids' TV show host with the alter ego of The Fiend. Just like before, no matter what was done to his character, the fans were seemingly always behind him. Wherever he goes next, that promotion will immediately get at least a quick boost from his debut.
1 Drew McIntyre - Chosen One To Scottish Warrior
Whenever a wrestler gets the moniker of The Chosen One, they have a lot of hype to live up to. Drew McIntyre was unable to initially live up to that moniker and wound up getting released as a member of 3MB, a shell of whatever potential he had was gone. But after a few years of maturing, building his body up physically and mentally, he was able to make a triumphant return to the company and lead the Raw brand through the entire Pandemic Era.