5 WWE Legends Who Had Terrible Gimmicks Before They Made It Big

#4 The Prototype – John Cena

The Prototype

John Cena was the face of the WWE for almost 15 years before transitioning to a full-time Hollywood actor in 2018. But, before he became a WWE legend, Cena started his WWE career in Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2001. In OVW, he had a gimmick called The Prototype who was an engineered genius and 50 percent man, 50 percent machine.

A clear ripoff of the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, the Prototype, thankfully, did not cut promos in a robotic voice. The character had a great energy to it but Cena’s blonde haircut made it look bad. Nevertheless, Cena ditched the Prototype persona a year later when he made his WWE debut against Kurt Angle.

The rest is history. Cena became one of the greatest WWE superstars ever. He carried the company for a decade and a half wherein he was a record-tying 16-time World Champion. His accolades are too many to list and he has followed the path of The Rock and Batista as the next great wrestler to make it big in Hollywood.