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Legends don't always appear to be the major stars they later become from the beginning of their careers in WWE. Some superstars need time to find out who they are. Their evolution may be gradual or instantaneous, but they evolve their persona and grow.
Other times, performers may switch their gimmicks completely. They don't evolve their current personality but instead flip their gimmick on its head. A subtle attitude change isn't enough. They needed a complete refresh.
One side effect of these changes is that stars often have a new name when the transition is complete. This could be a name they desire or a name given to them by WWE. While it has become common practice, fans are usually caught off guard by it. Despite that, the promotion has been doing it for decades.
Below are five WWE legends who underwent surprising name changes.
#5. The Ringmaster became WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin made his televised WWE debut on January 8th, 1996. On an episode of the Brother Love Show, hosted by Brother Love, a character portrayed by Bruce Prichard, Austin was interviewed along with his manager Ted Dibiase.
The Million Dollar Man rewarded Stone Cold with the Million Dollar Championship, but he wasn't the Texas Rattlesnake the audience now knows and loves. Austin was billed as The Ringmaster.
The name didn't stick around for long. Over the next few months, The Ringmaster moniker became a prefix for Austin before it was tabled altogether. With an improved look and a new attitude, the era of Stone Cold Steve Austin kicked off.
#4. Rocky Maivia became The Rock
The Rock may be better known to the masses as Dwayne Johnson, but not to pro wrestling fans. The WWE Universe will forever associate The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment with the name he went by in WWE, The Rock. That wasn't the name he started with, however.
The Rock made his World Wrestling Entertainment debut in November 1996. He debuted with the name Rocky Maivia, which was a combination of his dad, Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather, Peter Maivia. As a young upstart, The People's Champion came in smiling, gladhanding the audience with the hopes they'd eat up what he had to offer. Unfortunately for him, the crowd spit it out instead.
The audience turned on Rocky, chanting "Rocky sucks" and "die Rocky die." After the young blue-chipper went down with a knee injury, he'd change his persona upon his return. The star joined the Nation of Domination, became The Rock, and soon took over WWE and then Hollywood.
#3. Bradshaw became JBL
John Bradshaw Layfield made his WWE debut in 1996 as Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw. His initial gimmick was that of a Texas cowboy, similar to the legendary Stan Hansen. He was paired up with Uncle Zebakiah and later formed a tag team with Barry Windham. Eventually, most of his name was dropped, and he thus became known as Bradshaw.
Early in his career, JBL struggled to find his footing in WWE. His fortunes changed when he was paired up with Farooq, and the duo became The Acolytes. They evolved into the APA, and the pair is one of the most memorable tag teams in history. The team couldn't last forever, and Bradshaw soon required a significant change.
In 2004, Farooq was released, and Bradshaw turned heel. He started going by John "Bradshaw" Layfield and traded his beer drinking for stocks, suits, and limousines. This dramatic character change led JBL to the WWE Championship. The name change felt sudden at the time, but it paid off for the star.
#2. The Godfather became The Goodfather
During his runs with the promotion, The Godfather had several names and gimmicks in WWE. In the early 1990s, he was known as Papa Shango. He had a painted-up face, and the gimmick was that of a voodoo doctor. He left but later returned in 1994 and became Kama. The Supreme Fighting Machine was inspired by the rise of the UFC and mixed-martial arts. He left again when the gimmick didn't take off.
In 1997, he returned to the company again. This time, he was known as Kama Mustafa. Kama was a member of the Nation of Domination, but he slowly evolved into The Godfather. The character was a pimp who always had a hat, bright colors, a can, and women around him. The Godfather was very popular among the WWE Universe.
In 2000, The Godfather underwent a subtle name change but a dramatic character change. He joined the Right To Censor faction led by Stevie Richards. The faction was made to mock political correctness. As a result, The Godfather denounced his ways and became The Goodfather. This version of the character only lasted for a year, but fans were shocked by the changes.
#1. Mankind became Dude Love
Mick Foley has gone by many names in WWE. Fans best know him today by his real name, but he was known as Mankind when he joined the promotion in 1996. The character was a masked outcast who turned violent. While different, the character had similarities to his Cactus Jack persona prior to joining World Wrestling Entertainment.
While those personas were similar yet different, his next would be a dramatic shift. In an interview, Mankind revealed that he always saw himself as the next Shawn Michaels. He used to pretend to be a famous pro wrestler while wrestling his friends back in the day. He went by the name Dude Love.
Fans got behind the Hall of Famer, and he would ditch the Mankind persona temporarily in favor of Dude Love. He teamed up with Stone Cold Steve Austin and later battled the Texas Rattlesnake with this persona. Of the three faces of Foley, Dude Love was the most rarely seen but also the most dramatically different. The name change really surprised fans.
All five of these tremendous stars have gone on to become WWE Hall of Famers. Sometimes their personalities clicked with the audience; sometimes, they didn't. Eventually, they all made their mark on wrestling history regardless of what their names were.
You can also check out: 5 legends to never step foot inside Hell in a Cell.
