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When it comes to pro wrestling and WWE Superstars, their character is perhaps equally important to their in-ring skills. This is what maintains the interest of the fans towards a wrestler.
Everybody loves the timeless "Lie, Cheat & Steal" motto of Eddie Gurrero or the "Live for the Day" daredevil character of Jeff Hardy. The audience connect with a wrestler's fighting style, attire and choice of colors, catchphrases, and so forth.
Over the years, we have witnessed a plethora of talents who struggle at first to connect but thrive after finally finding a gimmick that suits them best. In some cases, however, the creative team and superstar himself manages to hit it out of the park more than once.
Here's a look at five wrestlers who have portrayed more than one character on-screen.
#5. Bray Wyatt - Cult Leader, Firefly Fun House, and The Fiend
The Eater of Worlds is a former three-time World Champion, once as the evil cult leader of The Wyatt Family and the other two times as The Fiend.
In 2013, Bray Wyatt debuted on the main roster, along with Luke Harper and Erik Rowan, in a segment with Kane. Wyatt's gimmick was that of a backwoods cult leader, drawing comparisons to Charles Manson, wrestler Waylon Mercy and Max Cady from Cape Fear.
The Wyatt clan was special, and everybody knew that from the onset. Even today, the WWE Universe fondly remembers his entrance theme and original run.
Despite this, he took a hiatus from WWE in 2018. Upon his return the following year, Wyatt debuted a new horror-themed character, suffering from a transformative multiple personality disorder, dubbed The Fiend.
He switched between his good side of a Mr. Rogers-esque children's television host and his bad side of a grotesque monster clown.
After being released in 2021, Wyatt returned to WWE at Extreme Rules earlier this year. This time, albeit more or less a real-life version of himself, he yet again introduced a new character called "Uncle Howdy," who interrupted his promo on the October 28 episode of SmackDown.
#4. The Undertaker - From Zombie Mortician to The Deadman, and The Biker in between
Mark Callaway is an industry legend best remembered as The Deadman. He has portrayed variations of this gimmick in his three-decade-long career.
The Undertaker made his debut in the 1990 Survivor Series as an expressionless, impervious-to-pain Zombie Mortician. At a time when the internet didn't exist, people were utterly terrified of this gimmick.
In 1994, with an aesthetic upgrade that saw him don purple gloves as opposed to grey ones, he moved on to his Deadman gimmick. This was the initial phase of his character that went on to define him in later years.
After being buried alive in October 1996, he returned as The Lord of Darkness a month later. This version saw him combing his hair back and a painted teardrop under his eye, wearing an all-black attire. It's the little details.
During the Attitude Era, he formed an evil cult dubbed The Ministry of Darkness, with pseudo-witchcraft-themed storylines that included rituals and sacrifices.
Between 2000-03, the audience saw a drastic change in his persona when he came out on a Harley Davidson with Limp Bizkit's Rollin' as his entrance theme.
The American Badass and Big Evil gimmick were in stark contrast to his Deadman gimmick, which he returned to in 2004, before ultimately presenting a variation of both gimmicks in his last storyline in WWE with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.
#3. Kane - Dr. Isaac Yankem to The Big Red Monster to Corporate Kane
Glenn Jacobs first appeared in WWE as Kane in 1997 - during the closing moments of the first-ever Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
Before debuting as Kane, Jacobs first appeared as a dental hygienist dubbed Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS. He was introduced as Jerry Lawler's private dentist, whom the latter hired to get rid of long-time rival Bret Hart. In 1996, a heavily criticized storyline involved Jacobs portraying Kevin Nash's Diesel version 2.0 after the latter left the company.
He struggled to find his footing during this time. However, all that changed in 1997. After months of build-up, he was repackaged as Kane, the half-brother of The Undertaker.
In his long, prolific career, Kane would alternatively feud and team with Taker as The Brothers of Destruction, become a three-time World Champion, unmasked and masked again, and was one-half of Team Hell No, all before shifting to a new gimmick in 2013 dubbed Corporate Kane, as part of the heel faction The Authority.
Kane has been the Republican Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, since 2018 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. To this day, the "Kane" character remains one of the best stories in WWE history.
#2. Seth Rollins - From The Architect to The Visionary
Upon his debut at Survivor Series 2012 as part of The Shield faction, he was known as The Architect of the group. This continued through 2014-15, when he aligned himself with The Authority, during which he had his first run with the WWE Championship.
After turning face in 2017, he attained the moniker Monday Night Rollins after show-stealing performances weekly on RAW.
By 2019, however, he reverted to being a heel. This version of Seth Rollins, dubbed The Monday Night Messiah, saw him turn into a delusional narcissist who recruited "disciples" such as Buddy Murphy and Austin Theory so as to lead them as their saviour.
Since 2021, he has embraced the "Visionary" persona, a boastful, delusional character who had a reputation for eccentricity and wore flamboyant suits.
Honourable Mention: The many faces of Chris Jericho in WWE
Chris Jericho has remained fresh in the eyes of the WWE Universe owing to his ability to transition through various gimmicks and personas since his debut to the company at the turn of the millennium.
Whilst his entire body of work goes beyond WWE, here we look at some of the characters he portrayed during his run with the company.
The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla appeared on RAW is Jericho in 2000 for the first time, interrupting The Rock during an in-ring promo. His debut quickly established him as someone who was a force to be reckoned with in WWE.
In 2008, he took a 180 turn by adopting a darker tone inspired by No Country for Old Men. The suit-clad Jericho was calm and collected while cutting promos but brutalized his opponents in the ring. This version was arguably his best, and along with it came a feud of the decade quality story vs. Shawn Michaels.
Since leaving the company in 2010, he has made sporadic appearances in the early portions of the new decade before making a full-time return to the company in 2016. Once again, he got creative while teaming up with Kevin Owens that year.
As a lovable goofball, Jericho wore thousand-dollar scarves, sporting a goatee, and walked around with The List of Jericho, where he would write the names of all his enemies and stupid idiots. He was irresistible to the fans, who rallied behind him despite Jericho being a heel.
#1. Drew McIntyre, From The Chosen One to Jobber, and ultimately finding Redemption
When Drew McIntyre made his debut in 2009, he was Vince McMahon's "Chosen One". He went on to win the Intercontinental Championship from John Morrison at the December Premium Live Event, TLC.
He had a solid run with the title, competing in matches against both The Undertaker and Kane and competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 26 before dropping the belt to Kofi Kingston.
After a brief stint as Tag Team Champion with Cody Rhodes in 2010, McIntyre found himself lost in the shuffle before forming 3MB alongside Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal.
They were certified jobbers, called "The Band" by commentators, after a backstage interview with Matt Striker where they joked about considering forming a band. Still, they all played the same instrument, the drums, leading to Striker calling them "The International House of Hits".
In 2014, McIntyre was released from WWE.
Upon return to the company in 2017, McIntyre was a man on a mission. Gradually, he rose up the ranks, attaining the moniker The Scottish Warrior. He became a one-time NXT Champion, RAW Tag Team Champion alongside Dolph Ziggler, and a two-time WWE Champion.
He also won the 2020 Royal Rumble match, which was arguably his biggest moment, after years of scratching and clawing to become a made man.
Like Drew McIntyre, could you think of other wrestlers who redeemed themselves after a gimmick change? Let us know in the comments section below.
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