10 Gimmick changes that saved Superstars' careers (Part I)

Professional wrestling is all about telling engaging stories that pit heroes against villains, with the hero coming out on top at the end to send the fans home happy.

When a wrestler kicks off his or her career, they are given a gimmick. The gimmick helps them to stand out in the crowd of fellow Superstars and engage with the audience on a personal level. There are instances when a particular gimmick just doesn't work on a wrestler and the crowd ends up getting tired of seeing them play it out every single week inside the squared circle.

In these scenarios, the promotion gives a makeover to the Superstar and completely changes the gimmick, in an attempt to change the audience' perception towards the wrestler.

Let's take a look at five of the greatest gimmick changes of all time, that eventually saved wrestlers' careers.

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#5 Nicky becomes Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler during his Spirit Squad days

Nick Aldis came into the WWE as a part of the male cheerleader group, "The Spirit Squad". The faction consisted of five green rookies who assisted Mr McMahon on various occasions against his longtime rivals, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. In fact, it was during Triple H's match against Spirit Squad that the WWE Universe got to witness the rebirth of DX, the notorious faction from WWE's Attitude Era.

The group didn't last long and the leader, Kenny Dykstra, ended up having a short run on the main roster. Soon, WWE repackaged Kenny's lackey, Nicky, into an obnoxious, arrogant heel named Dolph Ziggler. His fast-paced wrestling style helped him become a mainstay in WWE, winning the World Heavyweight Title on two separate occasions.

#4 Surfer Sting becomes Crow Sting

Sting, rocking the Surfer gimmick

Sting was quite possibly the most over Superstar in WCW in the early 90s. His feud with Vader is still regarded as one of the greatest David vs Goliath stories ever told in professional wrestling.

After the nWo had taken over, Sting disappeared for a while and came back as the dark-cloaked, mysterious character with a baseball bat in his hands. He began coming down to the ring from the rafters and attacking nWo members on random occasions. Sting's popularity shot off to the sky and he became the knight in shining armour who was going to save the WCW from nWo. The storyline led to Sting defeating Hollywood Hogan for the WCW Title at Starrcade 1997.

Sting's 'Crow' persona revitalized his waning career and helped him cement his place among the all-time greats of pro-wrestling. Steve Borden was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.

#3 Husky Harris becomes Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt in action

The Eater of the Worlds, Bray Wyatt, was one of the contestants on the second season of NXT. He joined the Nexus in late 2010 and went on to become a regular on Monday Nights.

Soon, it dawned upon WWE that the Husky Harris character wasn't going to work at all. He was sent back to developmental soon after.

Harris returned to WWE in 2013, after months of bizarre promos featuring The Wyatt Family. He made his debut in an Inferno match in a winning effort against Kane at SummerSlam 2013. Wyatt went on to have main event level feuds against the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, and Daniel Bryan. Wyatt won the WWE Title at the Elimination Chamber PPV in 2017 and defended his title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33.

A gimmick change turned Harris from a jobber to the stars, to a WWE Champion!

#2 Mean Mark becomes The Undertaker

Mean Mark and Paul Heyman

Widely regarded as being the best pure athlete in WWE history, as well as the greatest WWE Superstars of all time, The Undertaker was a bland character back in WCW, during the early 90s. His Mean Mark character in World Championship Wrestling didn't do his career any favours.

When Mark Calaway moved to WWE, he was repackaged as The Undertaker, a mysterious and spooky character who preferred to let his punches do the job instead of running his mouth. He debuted at Survivor Series 1990, as a part of Ted Dibiase's dream team.

Today, The Undertaker is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who has done it all in the wrestling world. He has won 24 matches at The Show of Shows and has won multiple World Championships. If it hadn't been for the gimmick change, The Undertaker would never have become a living legend.

#1 Rocky Maivia becomes The Rock

The Rock's blunder years

Rocky Johnson's son came into the WWE in the mid-90s, as a curly-haired babyface who always smiled at the audience.

The gimmick bombed gloriously and Rocky began getting chants of "Die Rocky, die" everywhere he wrestled. This led WWE to think of a gimmick change for the 3rd generation Superstar, and the rest is history.

Maivia dropped his last name and came back as an extremely arrogant heel who liked to insult the fans repeatedly. The Rock instantly became a hit among the audience and he was put in the Nation of Domination, alongside the likes of Mark Henry and Ron Simmons.

Today, The Rock is one of the highest paid movie stars in Hollywood and is a globally recognized face. There was no way he would have ended up achieving this glory if he hadn't transformed himself into The Rock.