10 Best Gimmick Changes in Wrestling History

These superstars showed the importance of a spectacular second impression.
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[@IVORYSPANDEX]

Johnny Polo/Scotty Flamingo changing to Raven was one of the best!

[@jeremywilliams5141]

Honorable mentions: 1. Ric Flair. Let's not forget that he wasn't the Nature Boy when he started wrestling in 1972. That would be four years later. 2. Hulk Hogan to Hollywood Hogan 3. Tommy Dreamer from pretty boy to the Innovator of Violence. 4. Taz from the Tazmaniac to the Human Suplex Machine 5. Roman Reigns from the Big Dog to the Tribal Chief

[@nicholaschristie8699]

I would like to add Sandman from literal surfer dud to beer drinking *ss kicker, Tazz from Tazzmaniac to Human-Suplex Machine, and Rhea Ripley from smiling babyface to Mami

[@PhysicalMediaPreventsWea-bx1zm]

Flair's idea when he first started was to be Dusty Rhodes kayfabe brother Rambling Randy Rhodes!

[@thetruej7872]

Rock, Austin, HHH, and Cena gimmick changes saved their careers

[@CarlosCruz-ox9wc]

Roman reigns change to the tribal chief not being on here is criminal

[@DateMike22]

Steve Austin from "Ringmaster" to "Stone Cold", "Rocky Maivia" to "The Rock" and "Greenwich Snob Hunter Hearst Helmsley" to "Triple H" are three of my all-time favorite gimmick changes in wrestling history.

[@tompatchak8706]

3 of the biggest too

[@Watkins106]

To be honest Toni is absolutely amazing and is really showing her acting abilities with it

[@jackmackakaheavyguyhaiku545]

While Sting's work as part of the Main Event Mafia and the Wolfpack were slight missteps, his Joker Sting persona is dang near as iconic as Crow Sting and Surfer Sting. So much so that allusions to Joker Sting were made during his epic AEW run. Lest we forget "more pompoms" and his interactions with Orange Cassidy.

[@All5Horizons]

I don’t think it’s true that joker Sting is anywhere near as iconic as Crow or Surfer. Cool gimmick and everything, but not nearly as iconic.

[@Highostrich]

Simon Miller still Carrying Whatcutlure wrestling 🗿

[@dubbmoon]

Like his name was Atlas. 😂

[@cliffordjackson3]

FACTS.

[@JACKHAMMER82A1]

Only good thing at what culture

[@razorramon7573]

What Culture sucks and so does Simon! 🤮

[@jcast23]

I remember going to a house show at MSG in 1997 (A week after the Montreal Screwjob) and seeing "Rocky Sucks" shirts at the merch tables.

[@BrainDamage922]

How was Hulk to Hollywood Hogan and/or Undertaker gimmick changes not get on this list?

[@user-fb1ce7uh1u]

You mean Terry Boulder to hulk hogan, and mean Mark to undertaker

[@JSI82]

Hulk to Hollywood would be on my list.

[@kbreslin7289]

Why was a man literally called Steve Austin was paired with a character called The Million Dollar Man... coincidence? Apparently so!

[@tompatchak8706]

That joke would only apply for people 35 and over. Like if you’re not a certain age, you won’t know the $6 million man who is his name Steve Austin.

[@PhysicalMediaPreventsWea-bx1zm]

​@@tompatchak8706... Jim Ross certainly knew. That's why he called him the "Bionic" Redneck!

[@Dr_1212]

Jailing predator vince will make history

[@zanethind]

Jay Lethal's macho man impression and Ric Flair impression are two freaking good 😂😅. I legit hope we can get to see it in the WWE one day and Jay Lethal does do the best impression of the two hall of famers. And I can't believe we have to thank Kevin Nash for the Macho Man impression my god how quickly things can change when someone discovers your amazing talent

[@lukelee7967]

Big Jim Martin from Faith No More chose to write that sign in German. It says "The Rocky The"

[@DaveyMan8868]

Every single wrestler has had a gimmick change. All time greats and all...

[@liorpapismedov2519]

If you want to mention international wrestling then there's naito from NJPW going from a vanilla Babyface to los ingobernables naito

[@chrissayeranderson5710]

Rocker Shawn Michaels to Boy Toy to Mr Wrestlemania was pretty good. Austin changed his move set to a brawler by necessity which probably makes him the best gimmick change on top of how successful the character was.

[@CartoonProWrestling]

Big Dog ➡️ tribal chief should be acknowledged to say the least

[@loganmurry7368]

Not trying to be "that guy" but although Toni is a 3-time womens champion she didn't break the record since Hikaru Shida got there first. Toni's still amazing in this gimmick, just wanna give Shida her flowers!

[@isaacs.9383]

I think American icon red and yellow Hogan switch to all black and evil Hollywood hogan was also a great character change

[@andyt6363]

Cool concept vid!

[@SethDMills]

Edge as “The Rated R Superstar” is legendary.

[@PhysicalMediaPreventsWea-bx1zm]

Well according to the thumbnail Rocky Maivia changed into Triple H! That IS impressive!

[@burnedsmackdown4209]

Matt Hardy said the Broken character came from when he got himself clean and he thought on how he was 'broken' during this addict days and wanted to put himself back together

[@jamesbonnen]

6:43 He hired the dentist to get the taste out of his mouth after he had kiss his own foot that he made dirty for weeks after a match with Bret Hart

[@robertwithey4911]

Where is Chris Jericho on this list? He's had so many great gimmick changes, you could probably do him his own list

[@CallumCooke01]

Kenny Omega turning into The Cleaner. We wouldn't have Kenny like He is now without the change from blonde hair and bright colours to black leather and silver curls.

[@tomferguson9250]

NGL I wish they could show the OG "Crow Sting" where the makeup matched the movie. Looked way more ominous & creepy compared to later versions but I'm guessing trademark/copyright came into play so they had to change things up.

[@hyunvrse]

how tetsuya naito or kazuchika okada didn’t make this list is beyond me

[@marksharpley6348]

Hulk Hogan turning into Hollywood Hulk Hogan?

[@jessebunnell6442]

Toni Storm is basically Cruella Deville and I LOVE IT!

[@BEMSmarky]

What about the greatest gimmick of them all? Michael "Vintage Mcmahon behind his ears" Cole into Michael "Flop Dolla" Cole

[@KARMA-nt1vp]

Am I the only one that is surprised that Simon didn’t mention Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns or John Cena? John Cena almost got fired until he started rapping on the bus and Stephanie heard him which changed his career forever. Roman almost killed his own career as the big dog and when he came back as the tribal chief, he turned into one of the best heels of all time. And Cody Rhodes had a dead-end gimmick in Stardust but left become the American nightmare and now is the biggest name in wrestling. Like I get the others 100% but these had to be an honourable mention at least.

[@vishbar4262]

Roman and cody should have also been in the list i believe.. . The tribal chief and the nightmare changed the game tbh..

[@joshuastrawser9160]

Clearly Leapin' Lanny Poffo becoming The Genius was the greatest gimmick change of all time. 🙄

[@danwilson25]

How is Hulk Hogan or John Cena not on this list!?

[@nurotox764]

what about 'Taker? Mean Mark with Paul was not really anything remarkable but then in 1990 survivor series, a Legend was born.

[@markjagger2412]

Bret Hart in 1997- Anti American heel in the States but still the babyface abroad

[@shanitawilliams4783]

Brey Wyatt and Kanevare my favorites

[@jonpoon3896]

I do wonder if Triple H or Vince ever considered changing his name when his gimmick changed

[@exilhamburger4802]

By limiting this list to gimmick changes, while staying in the same company, there are some major ones missing, maybe next time! Natural Dustin Rhodes to Golddust Mean Mark Callous to the Undertaker Plain Ted DiBiase to the Million Dollar Man

[@user-ed4lu2hr7e]

RIP bray wyatt u are missed

[@tommycreamer2001]

What about stars that had a bad gimmick in WWE/WWF and went to other promotions and won championships

[@georgebermudez9101]

Stone cold is the reason wwe still around to this day

[@Naruto0s44]

for it has to be 1. hbk from going to asshole to born again christian man 2. surfer sting to crow sting 3. ringmaster steve austin to stone cold steve austin, rocky Mavia to the rock, hunter hurse hemlsley to triple h, Dustin Rhodes to goldust

[@johndoiron9615]

John Cena belongs on this list. No gimmick change would have gotten him fired.

[@arielargueta1734]

How is Cody Rhodes not on the list? He basically had to three different gimmick changes to become the American Nightmare

[@craigcarlock8910]

Jay lethal doing his ric flair impression is pure gold

[@jhonnyhex14]

Why did you forget about the dead man Undertaker you had Kane?

[@haleriggs4015]

Is Chris Jericho a joke to you? YOU JUST MADE THE LIST!!

[@jsmith3946]

ya he is the guy is a hack

[@chadwcmichael]

Not going to mention The Undertaker going from Dark and Gloomy to American Badass?

[@CarlosCruz-ox9wc]

That was a huge downgrade

[@All5Horizons]

Nor should he

[@stlfatman]

I loved that version of Undertaker. No idea why it's so hated.

[@All5Horizons]

@@stlfatman Personally, I didn't hate it at the time. I just don't think it was one of the "best" gimmick changes. I actually think he largely got away with it because his reputation was already firmly established and he probably could have done anything he wanted to. Had that been his initial gimmick in the WWE, I don't think it would have taken him that far.

[@Unitenotfight]

Batista wasn’t underrated, he was massively overrated. Just another immobile muscle guy that could NOT go, aka the Vince special. He may have had the worst looking spear I’ve ever seen. Goldberg puts him to shame.

[@briwanderz]

really, how many popular wrestlers didn't go through a gimmick change?? i could almost say Ray Mysterio... he did change his gimmick a bit, when he unmasked, but that certainly didn't make him a star, it brought him down if anything.. and he went back to the mask after.. so, basically no gimmick change.

[@TheCyanideSmoker]

I can never forgive Vince/ Goldberg killing 'The Fiend' and his momentum. Let us give a temp the Title just earned by true fan favorite in seconds with a boring nothing squash because your temp refused to not win.

[@tompatchak8706]

Festus to Gallows?

[@jamalvargas6146]

This Has Nothing To Do With Wrestling But Hearing About these Wrestling Gimmick changes reminds me of the Time I went from the TV Show Cops and It's Adjacent spinoff Jail to Geoff Pierson TV Shows Grace Under Fire and Unhappily Ever After 30 bloody years with several other Sitcoms and Miscellaneous TV Shows In between thank you Laff TV you're the best

[@tjames5143]

Yup

[@bubbajoshproductions3990]

What about Sharkboy becoming a Stone Cold copycat

[@mikeblaaaah9230]

Jericho???

[@pleasantoverthinking]

I really like Sam but Jesus, stop the inflections

[@bobbyfagan7760]

Undertakers fake brother. Good joke

[@jsmith3946]

Bray wyatt first gimmick was taken from another wrestler and his heart attack was the best thing to happen to wrestling so we no longer have to watch him stink up the ring it's obvious he didn't inherit his father talent

[@mynamedoesntmatter4345]

Hollywood hogan 02-03 Cena

[@d.anthony4363]

John Cena is on the list I just can't see him

[@claymathewselevator8121]

John Cena

[@cameroncrisamore2871]

Big dog to Tribal Chief

[@seansummers5383]

JBL

[@JayStephens8]

Roman?

[@exilhamburger4802]

Well he did a heel turn and leaned more into his samoan heritage, but the gimmick wasn't completely different, was it!?

[@Will_Parker]

"Deacon" is a title related to church leaders, Batista wasn't named Deacon, that was his title

[@jamesmcgeachy5433]

🎉

[@matthewhostetter8974]

Too Bad, Lethal is a complete afterthought and joke in AEW now. Also had to laugh when you started by mentioning a Plumber, and you have the ACE Plumber of AEW, Moxley one of the biggest embarrassments in the business. One that could be added to this list in the future is Drew's transformation, his current persona has completely elevated to new levels. He's deranged, unhinged, and cutting the best promos of his career.

[@stlfatman]

So AEW lives in your head rent free. Got it.

[@matthewhostetter8974]

@@stlfatman Wrong snowflake but thanks for playing. Now scurry back to the basement. You need to keep hate-watching RAW.

[@waitselljones8068]

So a quick KZbin search shows that WhatCulture has done this exact topic 3 times now. Even more if you include the opposite "Worst gimmick changes" Running out of things to make lists about eh?

[@stlfatman]

Cry me a river.

[@dannyaraya8017]

nah hardy boyz suck without each other. team extreme or f off

[@daltonhowell7262]

Gotta disagree on timeless toni storm, it's hammy and cringy. Totally outdated, would've been great in '95 wwf

[@stlfatman]

It's one of the most over acts in wrestling today. Deal with it.

[@lukasvitullo3751]

Kane is overrated

[@GoBigRed24]

Triple H is the best heel of all time

[@anthonylucero6650]

Haven’t they done this topic already?