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In WWE, a wrestler's gimmick is what can make or break them in the eyes of the audience. A performer can be immensely talented in the squared circle, but if the character is all wrong, then it will be impossible to get over with the fans.
Wrestlers often undergo character changes. Even some of the biggest WWE Superstars have overhauled their wrestling personas at the top of their game.
Most of the time, wrestlers undergo a refresh, or even a complete overhaul to their characters when they don't quite reach the level in WWE that they deserve. Here are five wrestlers who became more successful after changing their gimmick.
#5 Becky Lynch went from Irish dancer to the Lass Kicker, to The Man
Becky Lynch was always a star that was loved by WWE fans, but never quite reached the same level as her fellow Four Horsewomen. Long before her days of becoming The Man, Lynch debuted in NXT with a comedy Irish dancer gimmick, but her look and theme were quickly changed to something a little less silly.
Lynch always seemed to be the one who just missed out; she was the only one of the four who didn't win the NXT Women's Championship, and when she moved to RAW in 2015, she was dubbed "the least relevant of all of us" by PCB teammate Paige.
The future face of WWE was involved in big moments, but always seemed to be the one pushed aside. For instance, when she battled it out against Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair for the Women's Championship at WrestleMania, Banks and Flair had commemorative dolls made by Mattel, but Lynch did not.
Lynch later became frustrated with her position in WWE. A big turning point for the star came at the 2018 SummerSlam. She faced Flair and Carmella in a triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Lynch was seconds away from winning when Flair hit her with the Natural Selection to win the title. After the match, Lynch appeared to hug her on-screen best friend but slapped her, leading to the birth of The Man.
When Lynch became The Man, she showed fans a different side of her. Before she became The Man, Lynch was often quite happy-go-lucky and goofy in backstage segments and ran excitedly to the ring in her entrances. However The Man was more of a tough-talker, and slowly swaggered down the to the ring.
After Lynch established herself as The Man, she became the top face of WWE, winning the 2019 Royal Rumble, being one of the first women to headline WrestleMania and also the first dual SmackDown and RAW Women's Champion.
The star headlined numerous PPV's and was even the co-cover star of WWE 2K20. The Man held the RAW Women's Championship for a record-breaking 399 days, before relinquishing the title to start a family.
#4 Before he was Stone Cold Steve Austin, he was The Ringmaster
Steve Austin debuted in WWE in 1995 as The Ringmaster, managed by Ted DiBiase. When he was The RingMaster, Austin was involved in the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania matches, but he felt as though the character wasn't making enough impact and asked for a change. Austin was inspired by a documentary on the hitman "The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski and suggested a persona based on him for his new gimmick.
WWE creative suggest names such as "Chilli McFreeze" and "Otto Von Ruthless" to Austin, which he dismissed. He later came up with the "Stone Cold" moniker after his then-wife made him a drink of tea and encouraged him to drink it "before it goes stone cold". Whilst traveling with Dustin Rhodes, Austin shaved his head with a razor, claiming to be inspired by Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction.
After undergoing these changes, Stone Cold Steve Austin managed to reach the finals of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Following the match, Austin cut his infamous "Austin 3:16" promo, coining one of the most popular catchphrases in WWE history. Merchandise bearing this slogan is still sold on the WWE website, 24 years later.
This began the rise to stardom for Austin. He was a key player in the Attitude Era of WWE, being involved in the infamous "Pillman's got a gun" segment and won his first Royal Rumble in 1997. The Superstar was then involved in one of the most talked-about matches in WWE ever, when he refused to submit to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, despite being covered in blood. Austin passed out and Hart continued to hold the Sharpshooter on him, establishing a double-turn for the pair.
Austin continued to be involved in huge WWE moments through his in-ring career, becoming a three-time Royal Rumble winner, a six-time WWE Champion, and a four-time WWE Tag Team Championship winner. Stone Cold was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, and still makes sporadic appearances in WWE, the most recent being a 3:16 day celebration with Becky Lynch.
#3 Rocky Mavia hit superstardom as The Rock
It's strange to think that Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson was hated by fans when he debuted in the ring, but that's just what happened in 1996. The Superstar made his first appearance on WWE with the name Rocky Mavia, a combination of his father and grandfather's names. His heritage was a big part of his character, and his status of being a third-generation wrestler.
Although Rocky Mavia was lacking in experience, he received a huge push and was a prominent feature on television, defeating Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship, and was successful in many title defences. Although he was being pushed as a face, the crowd often chanted "Rocky sucks".
After he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart in 1997, he had to step away for a while due to a knee injury, and then returned as The Rock, a heel who criticised the fans who had booed him and became a member of The Nation of Domination, a faction which he later took over. After this revamp, The Rock took off with fans, and The Nation of Domination became involved with one of the other top factions in WWE history, D-Generation X.
The Rock later broke up The Nation of Domination and not long after, became WWE Champion for the first time, entering an intense feud with Mankind. Out of this rivalry, a tag team was born. The pair became the Rock N Sock Connection and won the WWE Tag Team Championship.
During his WWE career, The Rock won the WWE Championship a total of eight times and won the 2000 Royal Rumble. Since stepping away from WWE, he has established himself as a huge Hollywood star, and still makes sporadic appearances in WWE.
#2 Husky Harris transformed into Bray Wyatt... and The Fiend
In 2010, Husky Harris made his WWE debut as a part of The Nexus. Back then, NXT programming was a little different, and the star was assigned Cody Rhodes as his pro. Although he was voted off the show, he continued wrestling in WWE's developmental promotion, Florida Championship Wrestling.
The performer was a skilled in-ring competitor, but his gimmick was holding him back. Around the time FCW was rebranded to become the NXT that we all know and love today, the character of Husky Harris also changed, and Bray Wyatt was born.
Wyatt rebranded himself as the leader of a unique faction, dubbed the Wyatt Family. The backwoods cult led by Wyatt took in Luke Harper and Erick Rowan as "sons", and the group quickly debuted on RAW, and won fans over with their one-of-a-kind entrance through the darkness.
The Wyatt Family targeted numerous members of the RAW roster with attacks, before feuding against Kane, and then moving on to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Wyatt had many high profile feuds as the cult leader and was involved in numerous big matches, including one against John Cena at WrestleMania XXX. The line-up of The Wyatt Family varied between the years, with Braun Strowman being a temporary member, and legend-killer Randy Orton even joining in on the action at one point.
In 2017, The Wyatt Family disbanded, and Harper and Rowan reunited as a tag team named The Bludgeon Brothers. Wyatt went solo following this and briefly worked alongside Matt Hardy as the Deleters of Worlds.
The character of Wyatt then changed again in April of 2019, when a series of haunting vignettes were shown on WWE programming. Fans were also treated with video clips of Bray Wyatt as the host of a fictional children's TV show, featuring puppets that were callbacks to his previous WWE gimmicks.
In July of the same year, Wyatt made his debut as a brand new character, The Fiend. On his first outing on RAW, The Fiend attacked Finn Balor, moving on to do the same to many WWE legends including Kurt Angle, Kane, Jerry Lawler, and Mick Foley.
The Fiend later defeated Seth Rollins to win the WWE Universal Championship. He later lost the championship to Goldberg. The star is currently engaged in an intense rivalry with former Wyatt Family member Braun Strowman, and Strowman's former Mixed Match Challenge partner, Alexa Bliss has become entangled in the storyline.
#1 Hunter Hurst Helmsley waved goodbye to being a privileged pretty boy to lead D-Generation X
When Triple H made his WWE debut, he was a fry cry from his hell-raising D-Generation X persona. Back in 1995, he was known by his full title of Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a snobbish blueblood who came to the ring in a tailcoat and gave fans lessons on correct etiquette.
During this era of Triple H, the star came under fire for breaking kayfabe. After a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden between Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Scott Hall entered the ring and the four members of The Klip hugged, and later raised their arms to the crowd in a curtain call honouring Nash and Hall, who were departing for WCW.
Following this, Triple H's push was halted. Not long after, the character was dropped, along with the fancy outfits and he re-emerged as a more risque character, with Chyna acting as his bodyguard. The star also shortened his name from Hunter Hearst Helmsley to Triple H. The duo then formed D-Generation X with Shawn Michaels and Rick Rude. D-Generation X was famed for their audacious antics, and big rivalries, the first being against the legendary Hart Foundation.
After making these changes, Triple H found himself at the top of WWE and was a part of some huge WrestleMania matches. His character developed further after D-Generation X dissolved, growing more menacing and dubbing himself "The Game". Triple H continued to dominate WWE TV and won the WWE Championship for the third time in January 2000.
The Game has enjoyed one of the most successful WWE careers in history, and has been a nine-time WWE Champion, and has held both the WWE Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championships five times each, as well as winning the Royal Rumble in 2002 and 2016.
Triple H has had a lengthy and fulfilling in-ring career, and still makes sporadic appearances in the squared circle. Currently, he is more likely to be found behind the scenes, and is the founder and brains behind NXT.
