5 WWE Superstars whose careers took off after their gimmick was changed

#3 Rocky Mavia hit superstardom as The Rock

Dwayne Johnson used the negative fan reaction to his advantage

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.