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A WWE Superstar's character or gimmick is based on their in-ring ability, what they say on the mic as well as their appearance. To get all the three right takes a while, with a lot of chopping and changing done to eventually get the right balance.
Some Superstars can do so in 6 months; others take years to find the right fit. The way a Superstar looks, from the ring attire they wear, down to the smallest change to their physical appearance, every detail matters.
Here, we take a look at 13 Superstars who look unrecognizable from their WWE debuts:
#13 Tommaso Ciampa
Not many know that former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa was with WWE at the start of his career between 2005 and 2007. A young Ciampa was in a segment with an icon, The Undertaker, way back in 2005, where he looks very different to the Ciampa fans are used to seeing in NXT.
He played the lawyer of Muhammad Hassan, who was then in a feud with 'Taker on SmackDown. After a run in the independent scene and then later with Ring of Honor and TNA, Ciampa returned to WWE in 2015. He has been a key part of the brand over the last five years.
#12 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler is one of the veterans in WWE, having been with the company for over 15 years. Ziggler was signed in 2004 and debuted on WWE TV as the caddie of Chavo Guerrero, who portrayed the Kerwin White character. Ziggler was known by his real name Nick Nemeth while playing this character.
He was then a part of The Spirit Squad, before being repackaged as Dolph Ziggler in 2008. Ziggler, who has an entirely different and meaner look to him, has gone on to win several championships in WWE.
#11 Curt Hawkins
Curt Hawkins came through WWE's system – having joined the company way back in 2006 – and quickly moved to ECW, where his tag team with Zack Ryder continued. The duo had been a tag team before WWE and they have since wrestled together as a team.
Hawkins wrestled in FCW, RAW and NXT, following which he left the company for indie promotions and TNA, before returning to WWE in 2016.
#10 Zack Ryder
Unlike Hawkins, Ryder has been with the company since joining in 2005. Ryder had his first match in 2005 at Madison Square Garden where he wrestled against Matt Morgan when he was 19 years old.
Ryder teamed with Hawkins on ECW and was then in a faction with Hawkins and Edge called the Edgeheads. He had a great run to capture the United States Title, before becoming a lower card Superstar. He and Hawkins had their WrestleMania moment when they won the RAW Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35 after defeating The Revival.
#9 Luke Gallows
Luke Gallows is another Superstar that had a run in the WWE in the mid-2000s that fans would have forgotten about. Gallows played Imposter Kane, and then Festus before he became Luke Gallows when he was repackaged and added to CM Punk's Straight Edge Society.
Anderson revealed on Sam Roberts' podcast that Vince McMahon doesn't even know that Gallows played the Festus character:
"The best part of the Festus character is that we heard from Talent Relations, or the Head of Talent Relations is that Vince doesn’t even remember that he was Festus."
Gallows left WWE in 2010 and went on to have a successful career as part of the Bullet Club in NJPW, before returning to WWE in 2016.
#8 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has been given a massive push in the last 6 months, and rightly so, as the former NXT Champion has looked a million bucks in his feud with Brock Lesnar. The Scotsman signed with WWE in 2007 and made his debut later in the year before having a brief run in FCW.
He returned to the main roster in 2009 and was handpicked by Vince McMahon to be the next big thing in WWE. It didn't pan out the way McMahon or McIntyre would have liked and he left the company in 2014.
He then made his way back to WWE in 2017 after a run in the indies as well as TNA, and has not looked back.
#7 Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks is one of the many Superstars on RAW and SmackDown that have come through NXT to become the most recognisable faces on WWE television. She is regarded as one of the key players in the women's revolution.
Banks debuted in WWE in 2012 on NXT, after a few years in indie wrestling, facing Paige in her WWE debut. She won the NXT Women's Championship and was moved to the main roster, where she has won the RAW Women's Championship four times.
#6 Charlotte Flair
Like Banks, Charlotte Flair has also been instrumental in the growth of the WWE's women's division. When her father, the legendary Ric Flair introduced her to the WWE Universe in 2013, no one would have thought that she would go on to have such an incredible career in WWE.
She is the most successful women's Superstar in WWE history, having racked up 4 RAW Women's Titles, 5 SmackDown Women's Titles, an NXT Women's Title and a Divas Championship.
#5 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan has had an incredible pro wrestling career and will go down as one of the best wrestlers in WWE history when he finally hangs up his boots. Bryan has been in and out of WWE on several occasions, with his first, very brief run coming in 2000.
He was a part of WWE's (then known as WWF) developmental territory, Memphis Championship Wrestling, and was about to get called up to the main roster for a match in the Royal Rumble in 2001. Between 2002 and 2003, he had several matches on Heat and Velocity, even wrestling a young John Cena.
After runs in ROH and the indie circuit, Bryan returned to the WWE in 2009 on FCW and then was a part of NXT, where he was mentored by The Miz. He was released by WWE only to return later in the year after which he had a dream run, capturing the WWE Championship on multiple appearances.
#4 Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas is the son of the legendary Mike Rotunda – who was known as IRS in WWE – and the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan, both of whom are WWE Hall of Famers, while his brother is former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt.
So, it was quite obvious that Dallas too would be a part of the pro wrestling world. He joined WWE in 2008, first being a part of FCW and then moving to NXT, where he became the NXT Champion. He was then called up to the main roster, where he has one RAW Tag Team Title to his name.
#3 Bray Wyatt
Dallas' brother, Bray Wyatt, has had far more success than him in WWE, having won the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship, while wowing fans with his Fiend gimmick.
Like his brother, Wyatt too came through the ranks at FCW, before being called up to the main roster as part of Nexus. He then went on to lead the Wyatt Family, before branching off on his own, winning several titles.
#2 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy was a prodigious talent, who made his WWE debut way back in 1994 as a 16-year-old in a match against Razor Ramon. After a few more matches as an enhancement talent, he made his return to WWE along with his brother Matt, in 1998.
The duo had an incredible run, where they had memorable feuds against the likes of Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz. After a brief run outside of WWE, Jeff returned in 2006 and won world titles in singles wrestling, before once again leaving in 2010. The Hardy Boyz returned to WWE in 2017 at WrestleMania and had another brief run before Matt left the company earlier this year.
#1 Kane
Another WWE legend who debuted way back in the 90s and who has had several gimmicks is Kane. His first gimmick was a dentist called Isaac Yankem, back in 1995, and then fake Diesel before he was repackaged as Kane.
He was a major part of the Attitude Era, feuding with The Undertaker and then tag teaming with The Phenom. Kane is a Grand Slam Champion having won numerous titles in his career, and is now a part-time Superstar in WWE. Kane, whose real name is Glenn Jacobs, is the mayor of Knox County.
