Plenty of characteristics make for a star in the wrestling business: size, athleticism, wrestling ability, charisma and so on, but one of the most important is a gimmick because if you don’t have one that helps you connect with the crowd, those other factors barely come into play. A gimmick needs to be believable, entertaining, aesthetically pleasing and needs to work with the talents of the performer to show off their positives (and hide their weaknesses), so finding one definitely isn’t easy.

There are few performers in the history of WWE who’ve come into the company and maintained the same/similar gimmick from start to finish (CM Punk, Eddie Guerrero and others come to mind), proving just how difficult it is, and that’s what we’ll be looking at today. So sit back and read along as we look at 12 gimmicks that saved a wrestler's career, and 12 that may have cost them their career (whether it be in wrestling as a whole or just the company in which the change of gimmick occurred).

24 Saved – The Godfather

The Godfather is one of the most popular acts that WWE had during the Attitude Era (perhaps because of the women that accompanied him to the ring), but it was a long, hard road for Charles Wright to get to that point. He went from Papa Shango to Kama to The Nation of Domination before finding his footing, and although it didn’t last too long, it was the success that he deserved after a long career. Sure, he never reached the main event level, but not every performer and every gimmick will, but Wright had great success as the Godfather, and it was well deserved.

23 Cost – Stardust

You would have thought that the son of Dusty Rhodes, an amazing worker with a great look, would have been destined for greatness in the WWE, but unfortunately, that just didn’t happen. Cody Rhodes went through a number of gimmicks in his career, and he made them all work, but Stardust was just too much, and it stopped any chance of him becoming the main event talent he should have been. Stardust was ridiculous, and it’s clear that WWE had no plans for him, eventually releasing him at his request. While it cost him his WWE career, it worked wonders for his overall wrestling career.

22 Saved – Diesel

Kevin Nash is regarded as one of the biggest names the industry has ever seen, but if his first gimmick in wrestling "Oz" had continued, no one would have ever heard of Big Sexy. He was based on the Wizard of Oz book, but the gimmick failed miserably, and after another failure as Vinnie Vegas, he found his way to WWE, where everything fell into place. Shawn Michaels needed some muscle, and he got that in the form of the very tall Nash, who now went by the name Diesel, and if it wasn’t for his success here, The Outsiders never would have joined WCW, and wrestling wouldn’t have changed forever because of Nash, Scott Hall, and the rest of The Kliq and nWo.

21 Cost – Mordecai/Kevin Thorn

Kevin Fertig is a great professional wrestler, but he had the unfortunate distinction of having not one, but two awful gimmicks that failed in WWE, costing him his job with the company both times. First, it was in 2004 with the religious zealot type character Mordecai, who lasted only a few months (he was also involved in an incident outside the ring, which meant WWE needed to take him off TV), before he was sent back to OVW. After returning to the company, he joined ECW as the vampire Kevin Thorn, and neither of them clicked whatsoever, and thus, his wrestling talents will only ever be remembered by two bad gimmicks.

20 Saved – Kane

Kane made one of the greatest debuts in WWE history, as he emerged to confront his brother The Undertaker inside the first ever Hell in a Cell match. Many tend to forget that he was in WWE before, known as Isaac Yankem. The character came during the mid-'90s, where all wrestlers needed a day job like character (Yankem was a dentist), and it had no future, so thankfully it was scrapped. These days, Kane is still performing on the odd occasion in WWE, and is widely considered one of the biggest names in WWE history, so this change was definitely a good one for his career.

19 Cost – Mideon

As it is, Dennis Knight isn’t one of the biggest names in wrestling, as he was only ever a lower/mid-card guy, but he had talent during his long tenures with WCW and WWE. Unfortunately, his Phineas Godwinn and Mideon gimmicks didn’t get him too far, as the characters ran its course with the WWE, and with the Attitude Era in full swing, they decided to make a little change to him. For some reason, the formerly creepy Mideon had now began appearing at WWE shows in nothing but a fanny pack and boots, going by "Naked Mideon," and if his career wasn’t already going downhill enough, this was the final nail in the coffin of a once promising wrestling career.

18 Saved – The Rock

When it comes to global superstars, the WWE has never produced a bigger one than The Rock, but early on in his WWE career, it didn’t look too promising. He debuted (winning the Intercontinental Championship immediately) as a white-meat babyface "Rocky Maivia," and it just didn’t work, with crowds quickly turning on him and singing in unison “Die Rocky, Die.” He subsequently turned heel and was allowed to use his natural charisma as The Rock was born, and as we all know, that worked out quite well for him, as he is now regarded as one of, if not the biggest movie star in the world.

17 Cost – Simon Dean

SmackDown was WWE’s premier show during the early 2000s, and it featured many amazing characters and wrestling, but still, there were also many gimmicks that fell flat of their true potential. Mike Bucci performed as Nova in ECW, and while his most prominent successes came as the founder of the Blue World Order, a nWo parody, he was actually a fantastic wrestler. He came to the WWE and began life as Simon Dean, a fitness instructor who spend his time selling the fans on his "Simon System," but it just fell short, and it’s the last we’ve ever seen of him in a major wrestling company.

16 Saved – Dolph Ziggler

Back in 2006, the WWE was still in a transition period from the Attitude Era to today’s style of programming, and they had DX running wild once again, so they had to find suitable opponents, and that came in the form of five male cheerleaders. Many of those are unrecognizable today, but one did overcome that rocky start, and his name is Dolph Ziggler. Sure, he was never able to break into the main event scene for more than a month or two, but from that start to having held multiple championships throughout a great career, it’s a great rebound from the man once known as Nicky the male cheerleader.

15 Cost – Emmalina

Emma is one of the most talented female wrestlers the WWE has ever seen, and can be credited for the rise of the Women’s Evolution in the company alongside Paige. For some reason, the company just wasn’t interested in getting behind her. She struggled on the main roster and was sent back down to NXT where "Evil Emma" was born, and that was a gimmick with some serious life, and it could have found her on the other side of this list. Unfortunately, they didn’t get behind her again, and she was once again transformed into Emmalina. In just a short time, that character disappeared, leaving her with no push and eventually, no job with the WWE.

14 Saved – Rikishi

Rikishi was with the WWE for a number of years, and while his involvement with Too Cool wasn’t his last gimmick in WWE, it certainly was his most popular and most successful. His WWE career began in 1992 with the Headshrinkers, but it wasn’t until he joined Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay in 1999 as Too Cool that he took off, and they became one of the most popular acts the company had ever seen. Sure, we all remember how bad "I did it for The Rock" Rikishi was, but with Too Cool, his career had been revived, and he never saw similar success following the groups split.

13 Cost – Mike Awesome (In WCW)

Mike Awesome was once regarded as one of the best big men in wrestling, and his run in ECW was fantastic, as he became one of the biggest stars in the company, but unfortunately, his transition to WCW didn’t go as planned. He made a much-hyped debut in the struggling company while he was still the ECW Champion, but it all turned sour when he became infatuated with larger women and began referring to himself as the "Fat Chick Thriller," and later on as "That '70s Guy," a takeoff on the popularity of That '70s Show.He still had a great career with plenty of highlights, but he could have been so much more if it wasn’t for his poor run in WCW.

12 Saved – JBL

John Layfield, aka Bradshaw/Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, had been in the WWE for many years before discovering his greatest character, and nothing had worked for him, that was until he was sent to SmackDown, and transformed himself into tough, business tycoon John Bradshaw Layfield, a combination of his real name and ring name. This was a major jump from his earlier work, but the company got behind him, and the "Wrestling God" soon became the biggest heel in the WWE. He had great face opponents too from John Cena to Eddie Guerrero, and he reigned as the longest reigning WWE Champion in SmackDown history, which is an amazing turn around from his work as a member of the APA.

11 Cost – Eugene

Nick Dinsmore isn’t the biggest name in wrestling, and he was never going to be a main event talent in the WWE, but the gimmick that WWE gave him during the mid-2000’s was just as offensive as it was ridiculous. He came in and played the ‘slow’ nephew of Eric Bishoff, and was constantly being abused by the powers in WWE, and while he was really good at playing the character, it never should have happened. He got over big with the crowd who were very sympathetic towards him, but it was a stupid gimmick and one that cost Dinsmore any chance at a big career in the WWE.

10 Saved – Tazz

The Human Suplex Machine is regarded as one of the best wrestlers to ever perform for ECW, but long before he became the Tazz we know today, he was known as The Tazmaniac. He had some success with the character in smaller promotions, but it was terrible, and it would never fly in a big company, so when Tazz appeared, the fans knew that he was a serious threat to anyone in the world. Most people in today’s wrestling know him as a fantastic commentator, but during his ECW days, he was an absolute machine, known best for the line: “Beat me if you can, survive if I let you,” as well as the amazing amount and variety of suplexes, and that’s much better than the Tazmaniac.

9 Cost – Big Daddy V

There have been plenty of big men who found success in WWE over the years, but plenty have failed too, and whether it was under the name Viscera, Mabel or finally Big Daddy V, Nelson Frazier just wasn’t meant to succeed. He was never an athletic man, but when it came to his days in ECW as Big Daddy V, he just looked terrible, and his lack of in-ring ability by that point made it almost embarrassing. Thankfully the character didn’t stick around for too long, as he was released in 2008 to little fanfare, because it was the last in a long line of terrible gimmicks.

8 Saved – The New Day

As a trio of individuals, Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods have mid-card potential, but they wanted more than that, so they decided to come together, and despite a rocky start, they’ve now become arguably the greatest team in WWE history. In the beginning, WWE had them portray a ‘preacher’ style gimmick (which some had suggested reeked of racism), but their ability to take chances and show their humorous sides made the risk pay off. They’ve definitely got to freshen up the act soon by taking a solo run, but considering where all 3 men were at in their career compared to now, it definitely saved them.

7 Cost – Muhammad Hassan

This is perhaps the worst gimmick and the worst timing in WWE history, as Muhammad Hassan was created just a few short years after 9/11 to capture the hatred that many had for these types of characters. Hassan didn’t lack heat backstage either, as many were annoyed at how quickly he rose to the top (it was reported he was going to beat The Undertaker en route to the World Championship just months into his run), but it didn’t last long. As he was getting going, the London Bombings occurred, and the WWE just felt like this character wasn’t right, and he was kicked off screen, never to be seen again.

6 Saved – Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt may not be the star that he should be in WWE, but when he first arrived on the scene, he was going by "Husky Harris," and let’s just say, Wyatt is a major, major upgrade from that. Sure, he was a member of the Nexus and the character got him in the door, but he never had main event potential until he found the creepy cult leader, the "Eater of Worlds," Bray Wyatt. He can now show his unmatched charisma as well as a very underrated wrestling ability, and although he isn’t a consistent main event character, he’s been one of the best things about the WWE for several years now.

5 Cost – Umaga

The Samoan wrestling dynasty is one of the most iconic and documented families in wrestling history, with stars like Roman Reigns and The Rock headlining their lineage, but one who didn’t succeed as much was Umaga. He came into the WWE as Jamal, a member of 3-Minute Warning, and when that didn’t work out, he disappeared to show his talent on an independent stage before returning as the savage Umaga. Not only was this slightly stereotypical and outdated, but the gimmick just had no potential, and after several failed gimmicks, this one was enough to cost him his career as a star in WWE.