5 WWE Legends Who Had Terrible Gimmicks Before They Made It Big

#3 Stunning Steve Austin/The Ringmaster – Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stunning Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the greatest WWE superstar of all time. He was the face of WWE at its peak during the Attitude Era, helping Vince McMahon put WCW out of business. Austin was the ass-kicking, beer-drinking anti authority figure that everyone loved.

But before becoming the Texas Rattlesnake, he was known as Stunning Steve Austin in WCW. He was part of a tag team with Brian Pillman, the Hollywood Blondes. This was a time Austin had blond hair and sparkling vests. The legend then moved on to WWE in 1995 as The Ringmaster.

Generic as they come, The Ringmaster lasted less than a year as Austin became Stone Cold and rose to stardom by winning the 1996 King of the Ring and cutting the famous “Austin 3:16” promo. At the height of his popularity, Stone Cold Steve Austin was untouchable. The WWE dodged a bullet since they went with Stone Cold rather than these really bad ideas: Otto Von Ruthless, Ice Dagger, Fang McFrost and Chilli McFreeze.