In the wrestling world, it is just as important to have a great character as it to have the technical and athletic ability to compete. Over the years, we have witnessed many great wrestlers never amount to anything since they were viewed as bland names who couldn't draw. When it comes to connecting with the fans, a successful character is more likely to draw than a great wrestler, but of course a combination of both would be idea. And not every wrestler gets off to a great career start as some struggle to find their place in the industry, and it takes them quite some time to establish themselves.

RELATED: Worst Gimmicks In the History Of Wrestling

Some may even switch characters multiple times before even settling on one gimmick that finally worked for them. We have seen many irrelevant wrestlers turn into major stars by simply changing their character, and it has sometimes happened overnight. But not every character change is bound to be successful, there are times when attempts fall flat and it ends up damaging the wrestlers' reputation more than anything. When someone has a bad gimmick, they are usually stuck with it for life as it is often impossible to recover from past blunders.

That is why it is extremely important for wrestlers to be selective with the opportunities they may be handed, as it may be better to wait longer to make it rather than jump at the first opportunity. With today's list, we look at 10 gimmick changes that made a wrestler a star and 10 that lost them their job.

20 Made A Star: New Day

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Prior to New Day, all three members had gotten lost in the shuffle. Xavier Woods was struggling to find a place on the roster while Big E hadn't greatly impressed in his solo run. Kofi Kingston was the most successful out of the trio, but had turned bland by that period of time and needed a spark as did the other two. That's when The New Day came together, which started off different than it is now but got more entertaining as they gelled together.

The gimmick change brought the best out of all three members, showing their entertaining side to the fans. They have became the top face team in recent years and continue to sell an astonishing amount of merchandise. After having struggled to stand out, The New Day proved to be a career saver for all three members who continue to team together on SmackDown.

19 Lost Them Their Job: Stardust

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Since debuting on Monday Night Raw, Cody Rhodes always showed flashes of his potentially. He originally made headlines for being the son of legendary wrestler Dusty Rhodes, but WWE went through different attempts to get him over. He was apart of The Legacy stable, along with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr. That stint proved to be a successful one as continued to slightly improve and advance. But he wasn't getting over at the pace WWE wanted so they continued to throw gimmicks on the wall with Dashing Cody Rhodes coming up next.

RELATED: Cody Rhodes Cursed Out Triple H Over Wrestling As Stardust

He eventually turned into StarDust, and joined his brother Goldust in a team that started strong then went nowhere. Rhodes' career was instantly ruined as his ceiling was significantly lowered. Thankfully, he made the right call to leave the company before he turned into a complete joke and has revamped himself since then. While Stardust may have effectively ruined his WWE career, Rhodes continues to be successful on the independent circuit.

18 Made A Star: John Cena

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When John Cena jumped from OVW to WWE, he didn't continue portraying his former persona The Prototype and instead was given the role of a bland new wrestler. Despite a brilliant debut against Kurt Angle, the next few months proved to be tough for Cena who didn't make any impact on SmackDown. But during a Halloween skit, Cena pretended to be Vanilla Ice and free-styled on television, which was good enough to impress fans and WWE officials.

RELATED: Wrestling Careers Ruined By John Cena

For the next few months, Cena adapted a rapping persona and continued to slowly improve his character until he became the Doctor of Thugonomics. His popularity skyrocketed in a span of a couple months, forcing WWE to turn him from a heel to a face. And since then, Cena has remained the top face on the roster despite dropping the raps although some would love for him to go back to what initially made him popular.

17 Lost Them Their Job: Eugene

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When Eugene made his Raw debut, fans were confused as to how to react to WWE's newest Superstar. They certainly didn't wanna boo, but didn't have enough reason to cheer him on just yet. It didn't take Eugene very long to turn the silence into major cheers, becoming the focus of some major storylines for the next year. From working with Triple H and Evolution to feuding with Kurt Angle, Eugene's original character was very popular with the crowd.

But it got stale since Eugene continued losing every feud and didn't really advance his character although crowds were still cheering him. WWE decided to revamp Eugene by turning him heel and making him a mean psychopath. That wasn't the right move either as Eugene flopped as a heel, and became more annoying than anything else. Shortly after, WWE released him from the company and he is now back to his Eugene origins on the independent circuit.

16 Made A Star: Triple H

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Triple H had many gimmicks early in his career as he attempted to find a spot on the roster. He adapted the Hunter Hearst Helmsley persona, which had a short shelf life but proved to be slightly more successful than his previous runs. But it was clear as day that his new gimmick wasn't going to lead him anywhere, and thankfully, he was no longer a French man but joined Shawn Michaels to form the edge D-Generation X.

Triple H immediately shone in his role as Michaels' sidekick, and eventually became the leader of the stable and a main star once his partner-in-crime was out of action. Since then, Triple H has become one of the most decorated Superstars in wrestling history with multiple WrestleMania main events to his name - all of which can be credited to his gimmick change as well as his connections in the company.

15 Lost Them Their Job: Muhammad Hassan

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When Muhammad Hassan debuted, he was immediately greeted with boo's by the fans. He succeeded in becoming a logical foreign heel who was hated for all the wrong reasons. Hassan would complain about being discriminated against for being Arab, which was shown by the actions of Superstars and General Manager. WWE wanted to take it one step further and turned him from a victim of society to a borderline terrorist.

Hassan became the typical anti-America heel that recruited masked men who attacked random Superstars. There was one specific segment that was deemed too much by the network television - especially after the London Bombing had occurred - and they demanded for Hassan to be taken off television. If WWE had stuck through with his original persona, Hassan would have likely continued to shine in his role for years to come. But as always, WWE took it a bit too far and it backfired.

14 Made A Star: Stone Cold Steve Austin

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Steve Austin is living proof that a character can make a major difference in the career trajectory of any Superstar. After having been labelled as bland for several years, Austin continued to search in hopes of finding a character that resonates with the fans. His run as The Ringmaster was good enough to be a mid-carder, but certainly not to lead the WWE into the Monday Night Wars against WCW.

RELATED: Stone Cold Steve Austin Details His Drug Usage In The '90s

A new gimmick was born and Austin changed the course of wrestling history with his portrayal of Stone Cold. Not only did his career turn around. but Austin has been credited for saving the WWE who was losing in ratings to WCW with quality dipping year by year. Austin made the most out of his gimmick change to become arguably the most popular wrestler of all time, and a well-known figure outside of the wrestling industry as well.

13 Lost Them Their Job: Lord Tensai

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Lord Tensai, previously known under different names in WWE, made his return a couple years ago and was supposed to receive a huge push. But he couldn't escape the Albert and A-Train chants from the WWE, who refused his identity change. His silly tattoos and appearance only made matters worse, and it didn't take the WWE long to pull the plug. Instead of trying to push him through the adjusting period, WWE pulled their typical move in turning him into a goofy character who used to dance around with Brodus Clay.

And once that happened, everyone knew that his time in the company was ticking. Sure enough it was revealed that he was gone from the company as a wrestler and not a single person was surprised. It was a mediocre gimmick that turned awful and ended up finishing Tensai's career within a couple months.

12 Made A Star: Razor Ramon

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Scott Hall had a run in WCW before jumping to WWE in which he was generic overall. Once he began negotiating with the WWE, Vince McMahon had various ideas for him including the adaption of an army character that would pick up traits from G.I Joe. Hall wasn't exactly excited to hear of the plans, and convinced McMahon to give him a run as Razor Ramon. A couple of vignettes air on television, and soon enough Razor Ramon debuted in the WWE. The crowd was instantly drawn to him due to his dominance as well as his remarkable charisma.

Despite not having a world title to his name, he was still one of the most popular wrestlers for many years - which eventually pushed him to jump to WCW alongside Kevin Nash. His career along with the wrestling world might have been entirely different if Razor Ramon was never created.

11 Lost Them Their Job: The Red Rooster

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Terry Taylor made a name for himself as one of the most talented wrestlers of the 80s prior to making the jump to WWE. While many expected it to have a much brighter future, Taylor ended up being stuck with a terrible gimmick in The Red Rooster. It is said that he was nearly chosen to be Mr. Perfect, which may have changed his entire career but it wasn't meant to be.

Despite his best attempt to make the character work, Taylor couldn't connect with the fans and it didn't take the company too long before giving up on the character. Taylor never recovered from the gimmick flop although he continued to compete for various promotions. It would have been interesting to see how his career would have played out if he had been put in a better position to succeed, but sadly, we can only speculate as we will never know.

10 Made A Star: Eddie Guerrero

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Eddie Guerrero has always been over with the crowd, but he didn't become one of the most popular stars until the final three years of his career. After portraying Latino Heat for many years, Eddie adapted a new persona with his Lie, Cheat and Steal character. His previous gimmick showed very little character from Eddie, but once he nailed the comedy aspect of the industry, he instantly became one of WWE's greatest entertainers.

Guerrero's heel yet charming antics launched him to new heights of popularity to become a main eventer, and eventually captured the WWE title against Brock Lesnar. Guerrero would once again change his gimmick late in his career, where he shone in the role of the psychotic bitter heel role during his feud with Rey Mysterio. It goes to show that he had reached a star level by that point, which is hard to say about many others.

9 Lost Them Their Job: Lance Storm

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In WCW, Lance Storm was a respectable mid-carder who had a good run in the division. He had a decent start to his WWE career yet was never given enough of a chance to move up higher. Storm was often criticized for lack of charisma and being too serious, prompting a short lived catchphrase.

And in hopes of getting more entertainment from Storm, WWE decided to have Stone Cold Steve Austin call him out for being boring during his matches while also shooting on him. It motivated Storm in kayfabe, as he transitioned into a goofy version of himself with the worst fitting theme song of all time in "Party Away." The gimmick backfired immediately and ended up ruining any hope left for future success as Storm lost all momentum and became a joke. WWE eventually released him not too long after, which sadly didn't surprise many.

8 Made A Star: Batista

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Some fans may not be aware that Batista wasn't always the same star that we got to know since his days with Evolution. He had a brief stint on SmackDown, tagging alongside D-Von Dudley who was competing on his own and away from Bubba during that time. Batista's character was an angry one, and he hung around with D-Von for a while but failed to really get noticed.

It wasn't until his move to Raw when Batista really began impressing, as he adapted a monstrous yet handsome persona for the rest of his career. It made a huge difference in his career since he was no longer as bland as he once was, and began showing a different side to him. It wasn't long before the WWE Universe bought into the hype as he became one of the most popular wrestlers for several years to come.

7 Lost Them Their Job: Dean Malenko

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It's well-known by now that WWE doesn't like what they perceive as bland wrestlers, opting to always bring the entertaining side out of their wrestlers. And as talented as Dean Malenko was in the ring, it wasn't enough for the WWE to even keep him at mid-card level. They believed that every Superstar should have an entertaining side to them, which is why they turned Malenko into a James Bond parody known as "Double Ho Seven". And the gimmick turned out to be disastrous as one would expect.

It was one of those ideas that should have never made it past the draft stage since you could always tell that Malenko wouldn't be positively affected by the change. He also wasn't a fan of the new character and opted to retire from wrestling before the WWE even had the chance to release him from the company. It is quite possible that the company offered him a deal to remain with the company without firing him as long as he stopped being an active wrestler.

6 Made A Star: JBL

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By 2004, APA's best days were far behind them as the tag team had lost all steam. For that reason, among many others, WWE decided to split them up with Bradshaw going on a solo venture. At the time, most expected it to be a failed run but he climbed the ladder to main eventer within a week. JBL was immediately engaged in a feud against then WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero for the next few months.

Guerrero has been credited by JBL for helping him turn into a legit star since he assisted him in making the new character connect with the audience. JBL went from being an afterthought to having one of the longest WWE title reigns on SmackDown. And although JBL had already been around for years as Bradshaw, his newer personality has stuck much more with the fans who now mainly remember him as the former.

5 Lost Them Their Job: Paul Burchill

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Paul Burchill had potential to become a much better Superstar than his career indicates, but he was stuck with questionable gimmicks during the course of his career. His stint as a pirate remains the most memorable, and opinions will vary depending who you ask. Some view it as an absolutely terrible gimmick, while others look at it much more favourably - believing that WWE gave up too soon on him.

But if you happened to be a fan of Pirate Burchill, you certainly didn't enjoy his next gimmick in which he was supposed to begin an incest angle with his on-screen sister. Although some hints were made to show a relationship between them, it never went any further and thankfully WWE didn't execute all of their original plans. By then, it was just too late for Paul Burchill to overcome a couple of bad years and he was let go from the WWE.

4 Made A Star: Kane

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If you ever happen to underestimate the important of a suitable gimmick, then Kane is a great example of what it can do to your career. After having flopped with several gimmicks - most noticeably a run as Fake Diesel - Kane was finally give the masked monster gimmick. Being portrayed as the brother of The Undertaker immediately put him in a great position to succeed, and Kane turned around his career for the better.

RELATED: How Kane And Other WWE Stars Came Up With Their Gimmicks

It is said that Kane was on the verge of being released from the company before switching to his now popular character, so not only did it make him a star but the gimmick also saved his career. Kane has had several character changes since then from being masked to unmasked, and more recently as Corporate Kane, and although he wasn't always on top - Kane remained relevant even today at an advanced age.

3 Lost Them Their Job: Big Daddy V

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Big Daddy V had his fair of terrible gimmicks during the course of his career yet managed to remain in the WWE for over a decade. His worst gimmick was perhaps saved for last, as he turned into a heel monster machine known as Big Daddy V. He had been portraying Viscera for many years, which did get a bit over with fans but certainly not enough to be feature often on Raw.

And when most thought that WWE would finally give up on him as a wrestler or at least continue to be known as Viscera, they decided to completely revamp his character. His appearance was even worse than usual and fans wouldn't take him seriously after years of being booked terribly. Big Daddy V had a run on WWE's ECW brand which lasted briefly before being released from the company - a gimmick that was doomed to fail from the start.

2 Made A Star: Bray Wyatt

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Bray Wyatt went through different phases before adapting the gimmick that we have known for the past few years. Upon his roster debut, he was apart of The Nexus group as Husky Harris, which was a bland character to say the least. WWE saw that he wasn't ready yet to be competing on the major league and sent him back for further development. After two years, he became Bray Wyatt and returned to the main roster with his new persona.

Although some may argue that WWE has wasted him with bad booking, Wyatt has still had some memorable moments including a WWE title win. He is currently engaged in a feud with Matt Hardy, which could turn out to put him back on the map. But if it wasn't for his initial gimmick change, Wyatt wouldn't have even been on the roster to be put in that position.

1 Lost Them Their Job: DDP

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Not many WCW wrestlers were more over than DDP in his prime years. Despite being a late bloomer, he still managed to have a great career. And although he arrived late to the WWE, DDP still had the chance to carry on his legacy with the company, but sadly, he ended up with two terrible gimmicks that ruined his character. The first one being the stalker of Sara, The Undertaker's wife, which ended up showing DDP in a terrible light as a creepy stalker.

He followed it up with another goofy gimmick that was overly positive and always smiling, which ended up being the nail in the coffin for his WWE career. Some believe that WWE buried DDP on purpose since he was previously a WCW star, yet was booked like a non-important figure throughout his WWE stint. With DDP Yoga, he was able to create a new legacy for himself.

NEXT: WWE Gimmicks And Storylines That Were Meant For Someone Else