6 Forgotten gimmicks of WWE Superstars before they became legends

Every wrestler goes through different gimmicks until the finally land on the right one. Gimmicks can sometimes be as important as charisma and in-ring ability. Today, we take a look at some WWE legends who overcame terrible early gimmicks to become legends of the squared circle.

Triple H - Terra Ryzing

Terra Ryzing

We start off our list with the 'King of Kings' Triple H and one of his first gimmicks when he started off - Terra Ryzing. The terrible play of the term 'terror rising' was the idea of the man who brought Triple H into the wrestling business and helped train him - the legendary Killer Kowalski.

After Triple H signed with WCW he was told that he would not be going forward with the Terra Ryzing moniker but in classic WCW fashion, someone overlooked this and he made his debut under the Terra Ryzing name itself. Here's what 'The Game' said about it in an interview years later:

"When I went to WCW, I was never supposed to go in there as Terra Ryzing. That was a name (Killer) Kowalski had given me, and they said, 'Oh, we're going to repackage you. Don't worry about it. You'll never be on TV with that name.' But then they put my tryout match on TV, and I started working as Terra Ryzing."

Batista - The Leviathan

Leviathan

We move onto Guardians of the Galaxy star Batista who has transitioned into film as well as anyone following his career in WWE. When he was in developmental, he wrestled as The Leviathan - the right hand man of Satan. Yeah, it was a ridiculous gimmick.

Thankfully, WWE brought him onto the main roster in a much more grounded gimmick before pairing him up with Reverend D-Von.

Check out a young Brock Lesnar taking on Leviathan below:

Hulk Hogan - Terry Boulder

Terry Boulder

We move on to Hulk Hogan next. Hogan may have courted some controversy in recent years for the infamous racially charged comments he made but you can't deny that has one of the most famous pro wrestlers of all-time.

When Hogan started wrestling, he started under the name Terry Bollea but soon after moving to Memphis, changed his name to Terry Boulder. Following an interview with Lou Ferrigno, Hogan added the Hulk moniker to his name before switching to Hulk Hogan.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage - The Spider

Rnady Savage as The Spider and the Macho Man

Randy Savage was drafted to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals straight out of high-school. He went on to also play for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox in the minor leagues.

He started wrestling at this time and had to work under a mask because his baseball contract wouldn't allow him to risk injury. Savage wrestled in the off-season under a mask, calling himself The Spider.

John Cena - Prototype

John Cena as The Prototype

John Cena is one of the biggest stars in WWE history but if his first gimmick in the company had continued, it could have all gone so wrong. In developmental Cena was a Terminator-esque half-cyborg character called The Prototype.

Thankfully, the gimmick was pushed aside before John Cena was moved up to main. Cena said the following about his Prototype gimmick:

“My first try was the Prototype which was half-man and half-machine & 100% ***p. I used this ability to talk rather monotone and would say things authoritative and just when I said I’d kick your ass at the fairgrounds on Sunday I would rewind it and say it again for you."

The Undertaker - Master of Pain

A lot of fans know about The Undertaker's WCW gimmick Mean Mark Callous but some may have forgotten one of his first gimmicks during his time in USWA. Taker was managed by Zeb Coulter and he was called The Master of Pain.

His character was an ex-con, just out of the Atalanta State Penitentiary after a 5-year stint for taking out two men in a fight.