6 WWE Superstars whose careers took off after they changed their look drastically

Sometimes in the packed and crazed world of professional wrestling, it can be hard to stand out and get ahead.

In a world defined and ruled by characters, stories and rivalries, how WWE Superstars look and sound plays a huge role in how fans perceive them and, more crucially, how they respond to them.

The appearance of a character plays such a significant part of a gimmick. If it goes down well, a star can be born and incredible careers can get the ultimate lift-off. However, if the look and feel of a Superstar doesn't quite hit the mark, WWE Universe are rarely shy about voicing their opinion or disapproval!

Of course, sometimes there are instances where careers are going along well enough, only to take on a whole new lease of life thanks to a drastic change in appearance for the character in question.

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Here, we're taking a look at some of the most drastic appearance changes undertaken by WWE Superstars - and how they fared afterwards.

#6 Jeff Jarrett

You may know WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett as the short-haired, sharp-tongued Superstar that starred in Impact Wrestling in recent years and, prior to that, WCW and WWE.

For the vast majority of those years, Jarrett wrestled as you see him on the right (above), but that's not the look with which he first gained notoriety and fame in WWE back in the early and mid-1990s.

Making his debut as a country music star, he said he was coming to use WWE as stepping stone to stardom in Nashville - claiming he was the world's greatest singer, world's greatest entertainer and, most definitely, the world's greatest wrestlers. He did all that with long, blonde flowing locks of hair!

It was the look with which Jarrett won the Intercontinental title from Razor Ramon in 1995, and one he carried all the way through the majority of his WWE career up until 1998. That year, he battled X-Pac at Summerslam in New York in a Hair vs Hair match. After spending months shaving the heads of his opponents after matches, Jarrett suffered the ultimate irony in falling to defeat on this night - his long hair was chopped off and was never seen again.

Short-haired Jarrett competed in WWE for another year or so after that before moving on.

#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin

Think about Stone Cold Steve Austin and, more than likely, your first thought will be of the Texas Rattlesnake, the no-nonsense, beer-swilling, finger gesturing fan favorite who epitomized the Attitude Era and blasted professional wrestling into an entirely new dimension. As a Hall of Fame Superstar and a multi-time former WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, tag team champion and King of the Ring, his accomplishments are beyond compare, and his character was one that inspired millions.

But what do you, even subconsciously, really think of when you picture Austin? It is, of course, his shimmering, trademark bald head. After all, how odd would Stone Cold Steve Austin look with hair? Well, he used to wrestle with it!

Back in his USWA and WCW days, he tag-teamed with Brian Pillman as the Hollywood Blondes and, after that, he even debuted in WWE with hair as the Ringmaster.

Whatever the look, Austin had quite the career both inside the squared circle and beyond...

#4 Duane Gill

During the Attitude Era, it was par for the course for the World Wrestling Federation (then WWF, now WWE) and their arch-rivals, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to take shots at each other and even openly ridicule one another on their programming. While WCW made fun of the likes of Jim Ross among others, WWE's best assault was that on the character of WCW star Goldberg who, at the time, was running through the competition like a knife through butter and establishing himself as their most prominent name.

WWE countered that by creating a mock character by the name of 'Gillberg', a weedy-looking, slim man who dressed in Goldberg's 'outfit', but rarely managed to get as far as the entrance ramp without damaging himself. The man tasked with playing this character was Duane Gill, a relatively little-known enhancement talent who worked in WWE throughout the 1980s and early 1990s - albeit with long, blonde hair! Gill would invariably lose his matches, the audience barely giving him a second thought.

His hair would be cut off, though, and Gill 'repackaged' as Gillberg - a star that WWE - and likely WCW - fans remember with fondness and amusement.

#3 Christian

Christian - but not as you may recognise

When you think of some of the most accomplished and decorated Superstars in WWE, it's most likely that some names come to mind more often than others.

You might, for instance, consider the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Triple H and others. How many of you, though, would consider Christian? Perhaps you should! He's a two time former World Heavyweight Champion, one of the greatest tag team performers in WWE history and also had memorable runs as ECW Champion, a European Champion and an Intercontinental Champion.

The largest majority of all of this came, however, while Christian was sporting the short hair you'd now most likely associate with him. Yet, did you know that for much of his early tag team run with Edge, and from his WWE debut, he actually had long hair?

Christian first appeared in WWE in the late 1990s as Edge's brother and, alongside Gangrel, later formed The Brood, a Goth-inspired faction that saw more long, blonde hair flowing than you can shake a stick at. Christian later said he hated to look at pictures of his 'old' hair - he certainly succeeded without it!

#2 CM Punk

CM Punk has been arguably one of the most polarising figures in recent memory in WWE. The Chicago native divides opinion across the WWE Universe, from those feeling his anti-company comments in recent years went too far, to those who believe his mantra that he is indeed the Best in the World.

Given his run as, just as the song says, the Cult of Personality in WWE, it's easy to see why so many are high on Punk. He was accomplished in the ring, a multi-time former champion, and someone who delivered many a memorable promo. While we're more than sure it is just a coincidence, one could argue that Punk only truly started to gather real momentum in WWE after he cut short his long, black hair. It was only after that that the Straight Edge Society gave way to the likes of The New Nexus, his WWE Championship runs, and his memorable feuds with the likes of the McMahons and Triple H.

One thing you can't deny - a short-haired Punk was a different animal altogether.

#1 Baron Corbin

Just what was the most vital part of Baron Corbin's appearance, in terms of a change in recent years? No, no, it wasn't, despite what you may think, the ditching of the waistcoats that became the butt of a million jokes on screen and online. It was, in our view, the cutting of his hair.

After graduating from NXT to the main roster, Corbin's character was that of the Lone Wolf - he'd enter areas, swaying his head and long hair all around before making his way to the ring. Now, though, with a virtually bald head, that's altogether more difficult.

Corbin's ditching of his locks coincided with a complete reinvention of his character - which was timely when you consider he became the General Manager of RAW not long after. In fact, Corbin is now so recognisable in his current style, that's hard even to imagine him with long, black hair.

The observant among you will know that Corbin is a little different to some who we've featured here, in as much as he went from having short hair after long hair - despite having short hair prior to that. A close-cropped Corbin wrestled in NXT before he let his hair grow out.

Edited by Amar Anand