The Monday Night Wars era was quite arguably the hottest in wrestling history with droves of wrestling fans tuning on a weekly basis to watch WWE’s Monday Night Raw or WCW’s Monday Nitro. The period generated quite a few recognizable talents whom even casual fans who only watched during this era could still identify or even quote the catchphrases of.

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Given how popular wrestling and its stars were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it can difficult to remember that most of those top talents had careers that started long before or extended long after this white-hot period. This article takes a look at ten stars who stood out during the Monday Night Wars but had totally different characters before or after.

10 10. The Undertaker

The Undertaker’s legacy is largely rooted in his longevity. The Attitude Era saw him serve as an embattled big brother to Kane, the sinister leader of The Ministry of Darkness, and eventually a biker in the early '00s. He has gone on to borrow from different elements of these personas since the Monday Night War.

Long before The Undertaker even signed with WWE and took on that name, he was the more generic big man heel, Mean Mark Callous. Under that moniker, he worked in a number of smaller promotions, besides a reasonable run in WCW, during which time he was half of the Skyscrapers tag team with Dan Spivey, and even had battles with face stars like Sting.

9 9. Triple H

Triple H was one of the truest breakout stars of the Attitude Era. He graduated from supporting player to the leader of D-Generation X, en route to becoming the top heel World Champion of his generation and full-fledged WWE icon.

Triple H wasn’t always so prominently featured, though. He got his start on the national scene working in WCW as the generic Terra Ryzing before morphing into heel Frenchman Jean-Paul Levesque. The latter gimmick gave rise to his first WWE persona as Connecticut blue blood Hunter Hearst Helmsley, before he got the chance to go less cartoonish and more cutting edge.

8 8. Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash rose to prominence as a charter member of the New World Order, where his cool attitude and size made him one of the most magnetic stars in wrestling. Of course, before that tenure, he rose to prominence as Diesel in WWE, whose accomplishments most notably included almost spending an entire year as WWF Champion.

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Before Nash was on top anywhere, he was a bit of a journeyman for WCW. His sheer height and physique made him an attraction, but the company clearly didn’t know what to do with him in the early 1990s as he shuffled between awkward gimmicks like sleazy Vinnie Vegas and the vaguely mystical Oz.

7 7. Billy Gunn

Billy Gunn’s most famous work came as part of the New Age Outlaws, a tandem that was good in the ring but positively iconic on the microphone. Before he was a key part of D-Generation X, though, Billy Gunn got off to a humbler start as one half of the kayfabe brother tag team, The Smoking Gunns, alongside Bart Gunn.

Billy wouldn’t stop there as his work after the Monday Night Wars included teaming up with Chuck Palumbo for a flowery team managed by Rico that controversially teased having a gay wedding on Raw.

6 6. Miss Madness

In the latter days of WCW, Randy Savage cultivated an entourage that included Miss Madness as one of his valets alongside Madusa and Gorgeous George. While Madusa already had a reputation as one of the preeminent stars of women’s wrestling during that era, and Gorgeous George was totally green in the wrestling business, Miss Madness represented something in between. She was a fresh face on the national scene, but also clearly had wrestling talent.

She’d go on to be featured in WWE as Molly Holly, a cousin to Crash and Hardcore Holly. At first, that meant playing a silly sidekick character, but her talent later garnered her a more serious run as the top heel of the women’s division.

5 5. Diamond Dallas Page

Diamond Dallas Page was one of the biggest homegrown stars WCW had to offer during the Monday Night Wars. His ability to organically connect with fans as a hardworking everyman type, combined with his super over Diamond Cutter finisher made him a top tier star.

Before DDP found his footing during WCW’s hottest years, Page got his start as a manager, before transitioning to a sleazy mid-card heel character. An angle in which he fell into money allowed Page to show off his personality that saw him start to get over. Coming out of the Monday Night Wars, he’d spend a year in WWE where he first played a heel stalker opposite The Undertaker and his wife Sara, and later transitioned into a motivational speaker gimmick.

4 4. The Road Dogg

The Road Dogg became a WWE icon for his infectious mic work upon entering the ring as part of D-Generation X, and more specifically as half of the New Age Outlaws with Billy Gunn. While he was deceptively big and respectably skilled in the ring, it was his huge personality that got him over and ultimately made him a legend.

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The Road Dogg - even by his name - was largely a derivation from his earlier persona as The Roadie. In that role, he was Jeff Jarrett’s sidekick as a heel country music singer, who humbly lent his vocals while Jarrett lip-synched until the ruse was revealed. Even earlier than that, The Road Dogg was a more straightforward, traditional wrestler, performing under his legal name of Brian Armstrong in WCW and other promotions.

3 3. Randy Savage

During the Monday Night Wars, Randy Savage was a veteran star who figured in prominently for WCW, first as a main event level face, and later as a key figure in the New World Order and other storylines, mostly as a heel.

Of course, before Savage could be a legend, he had to build his legacy. In his WWE career, he evolved from a misogynistic heel in his early days, to a face second only to Hulk Hogan, to the top heel in the company, to his Macho King gimmick that paid homage to his prior successes, while he moved a step away from the world title picture. It was only toward the end of his WWE tenure that he took the final steps toward becoming the old warhorse that would garner so much respect in WCW.

2 2. Hardcore Holly

Hardcore Holly’s name suggested his violent sensibilities that lent themselves well to WWE’s Attitude Era. The Hardcore moniker also hinted at his sensibilities as a legitimate tough guy who took no-nonsense in the locker room.

Before Holly took on this more serious persona, however, he spent his early days in WWE as a plucky face in a racecar driver gimmick. The character screamed of the 1990s WWE style, which leaned heavily into basing every persona on an outside occupation.

1 1. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho was a key player in the Monday Night Wars. His defection from WCW to WWE not only lent the latter company an excellent talent but also underscored how much better a charismatic young star’s prospects were under Vince McMahon’s management. After years of toiling toward the bottom of WCW, he debuted in WWE by going toe to toe with The Rock in his first promo.

The Y2J character was cool and fun, broaching territory that Jericho had only grasped at as The Lion Heart in WCW. Jericho would build his legacy on longevity and an ability to continue evolving, though. After his initial WWE run, Jericho would reinvent himself as a serious heel who wore suits and used big words, and as a grizzled veteran presence. This all gave way to the especially arrogant persona he has put on most recently for his work with AEW.

NEXT: 10 BEST WWE STORYLINES FROM THE ATTITUDE ERA