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@@turtletcp1598 Yes i love this one. Just told someone that the Miz is hateable by just looking at him and that alone makes him worth the money xD Undeniable, love to hate The Miz!
Kane has probably the greatest debut ever. Hyping it up for weeks, only for him to come out and rip the door off the cell, AND lay waste to the Undertaker?! That is one intense and insane debut.
It also just happened to be during one of the best matches ever. Shawn gets forgotten on that night bit I still stand by that was the greatest Hell in the Cell ever, one of the greatest matches full stop and with the Kane reveal at the end it just knocks it out the park.
Regal’s pronunciation was nearer the correct one than anyone else’s. He was Samoan. In Samoan, a ‘g’ has a sound very similar to an ‘m’ before it. There used to be a rugby player called Joe Vagana. His name was pronounced ‘fangana’. So ‘umanga’ was as close to accurate as an English speaker could get!
JBL's first promo was incredible especially the realistic heelish way he turned his back on Farooq, arguing that he wasn't responsible for his former tag partners bad choice (kayfabe Farooq staked his career on the Acolytes re-winning the tag belts). Managed to go from a perennial babyface for most of the last decade to a hated heel in under 10 minutes.
I loved the jbl gimmick I always wanted Brody lee Aka Luke Harper to cut his hair shave his beard and do tha jbl gimmick he would’ve done a great job with that Rest In Peace
Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin saved the WWE, combined with Rocky Miavia to The Rock it took the WWE to new heights and buried WCW. The two greatest gimmick changes of all-time based on impact alone.
How so? Hulk Hogan was obviously a much bigger star back in the 80's than as a member of the NWO. Sure it revitalized his career and "third man" was a great angle but it doesn't really compare to how guys like The Rock & Steve Austin went from irrelevant midcarders to the biggest names in the history of the sport after a gimmick change.
@@evanwestendorf9667 I wasn't implying that they should've been covered on the video, just comparing their importance to the heel turn of Hogan that the original post suggested was the greatest gimmick change.
YES!!! Umaga is one of my favorite gimmicks ever, mostly because he was one of the only people I could never picture out of character. He did such a great job acting like a true Umaga character
Umaga became so memorable even though he only had the gimmick for 3 years, it's a shame that he passed away caused he could've been one of the biggest monster heels in other companies like impact or NJPW
@@winstoncannady4224 i dont think those gimmicks died, they just haven't had the perfect ppl playing those roles anymore. We lost Umaga. He was special. (i know different culture, but they'd try the cultural monster gimmick with a: Veer for example, Amos, etc.) They don't stick the roles quite like Umaga's potential. If Umaga had more time with the gimmick he'd have been viewed differently w/or w/o wwe. special-special talents
@@thenotoriousroc3508 We may have to agree to disagree. I believe there is no place for a savage of any background in the world of wrestling today. Even with having to suspend disbelief, no one would believe that someone went to the jungles of Samoa(Umaaga), Uganda(Kamala) etc. And found someone taught them to wrestle without them speaking any English and managing them in the WWE. Especially when the USO's and Kofi broke that foreign stereotype. Among other people. I personally think that trope is dead. Foreign = evil heel should be dead as well.
@@winstoncannady4224 Fair-minded fam. We'll agree to disagree on this one. I understand where you're coming frm, there are characters that would affect suspension of disbelief (if we weren't aware of what we're going into prior; but its pro-wrestling; its a little zany, & we know that going in.) thus i just think if the superstar has enough charisma & abilities, JUST-ABOUT any gimmick could be pulled-off (to various degrees). Again, it's pro-wrestling its not meant to be taken so seriously. but i hear u though
Gotta love the logic of Vince when it came to Kane: "seriously if he doesn't make this next character work we're letting him go! The frickin man can't get over! I mean we gave him such brilliant gimmicks like the evil dentist and being the imposter of one of our most popular wrestlers, those were million dollar ideas dammit!!!"
Kane has to be one of the best and iconic gimmicks in wwe history. He matched the undertaker in strength personality and athletism and created his own legacy
I wish I could separate the man from his political stance .gloating because women lost their rights to dictate what they could do with their bodies was/is disgusting
@@damaionfrancis6540 its not what they want to do w/their body(ies), Its making a decision that involves another life (the child) & the decision would also affect the potential fathers. It's a deeper issue than to just say "woman's decision". It's a matter of human rights in more ways than 1.
@@thenotoriousroc3508..nope. It's pretty easy to conclude that a woman has the right to CHOOSE what to do...whether she decides abortion or birth...I'm not pro or anti..but denying women the right to dictate is unreal
@@damaionfrancis6540 must've never been a father nor ever close. If 2 ppl consent unprotected, knowing the potential outcome, & the father to be is a law abiding citizen & doesn't want their child to be aborted, the father should have rights to more input in the matters. It's the taking of a life that took 2 ppl to create, its not just a decision of 1 woman to make. In all reality that's even more unreal. Simping for some u know what isn't going to help any fam. js
Fandango to me was similar to what Elias became on the main roster in a way Both had a music gimmick, the crowd actually loved playing along with them despite them being heels and both never really got the chance to truly shine on their own as a babyface Until Fandango teamed with Tyler Breeze and we all met Elias’ younger bro Ezekiel
I dig ur opinion boss you seem to enjoy ur wrestling with some good knowledge. i have a comedy wrestling review id love for a real wrestling fan to check out and let me know what you think. ua-cam.com/video/Sg8DAi6UUcQ/v-deo.html
Curtis' repackaging as Fandango was admittedly ridiculous and probably didn't help his career in the long run, but it did bring Tyler Breeze into his life, so it may have been worth it.
Mick Foley never had a struggling Gimmick, but he repackage himself so many times and every gimmick was successful. Cactus jack, Man kind, Dude love, Man kind again with Socko. I mean even Mr Socko was over. Then finally Mick Foley
Kane's gimmick change would have to be the best ever. He literally went from being a nobody, a vanilla giant that no one liked to being one of the most iconic and memorable superstars ever and arguably the best giant in the history of WWE
The problem is that despite both gimmicks we're over, he needed 2 gimmick changes, with one of them being sucessful. Vince just wanted nothing to do with Bray at all, which is sad
@@vDeadbolt I believe Bray's Character is like that of a horror multi personality disorder. His main Character is that of Husky Harris he then started going nuts and Bray Wyatt his dark sinister alter ego with a family of his own instead of Nexus. He then had a Fun loving Bray Wyatt with Firefly funhouse and his even more sinister personality in the Fiend. I know he has been working on a few other personalities that he wanted to bring to life in WWE but Vince shot each one down. Triple H though liked the ideas so maybe he will bring him back and allow Bray to have all of his Personas come to life. A Man that has 6 different personas that he can snap into with some creepy head movements would be awesome story telling in the WWE.
I can't believe a video about wrestlers who changed their gimmicks didn't mention Matt Hardy. He has been praised with by other wrestlers of how many times he has reinvented himself
One could say that The Undertaker had one of the most successful gimmick changes ever, if not THE most successful gimmick change ever. His personalities of Mean Mark Callous and Texas Red nearly killed his character, but it was his turn to become The Undertaker that made him a household name, and arguably one of the most successful wrestlers of the Silver Age of the WWF/WWE, the Attitude Era of the WWF/WWE, the Ruthless Aggression Era of the WWE, and even the PG Era of the WWE.
These are WWE wrestlers that were either in NXT or making a 2nd run in the WWE. Undertaker was never in WWE prior to the undertaker gimmick, he came from the WCW as Mean Mark Calloway.
Mean mark is almost the same as Big evil/the american badass. It was more the name of "Mean" mark, with a shit finisher and bad booking. Big evil is my all time favourite Undertaker gimmick.
It seems that many of the biggest stars in wrestling had a major change at some point. Hollywood Hogan, Sting, Austin, Rock, Cena, Undertaker just to name a few. Konnan is an underrated one; once he got past the Dungeon of Doom, and the nWo Wolfpac later became huge, K-Dogg was a big part of that.
Kane was the best example of a successful gimmick change. He went from a stupid evil dentist (seriously what was Vince thinking) to a silent, mask wearing big red machine, destroying every opponent that was put in front of him.
I was nearing the end of my viewing of wrestling when Umaga hit the mat. I stuck around for awhile longer. I don't know why I liked his gimmick so much, but he just had his own way of doing things. When he was let go, I did the same as I had to really turn attention to a new career myself. Learning of his passing so soon after was a sad day. I just cannot get into the current era, but that's fine, there is plenty of past material to always go back to.
Seem like 96-97 had a lot of gimmick changes or character reinventions that worked out...hulk hogan to Hollywood hogan, sting to the crow, ringmaster to stone cold, rocky mavia to the rock, issac yankem to Kane, HHH snob character into D-generate, even Billy gunn and road dog changed gimmicks
Dirty Curt's repackaging as Fandango was admittedly ridiculous and probably didn't help his career in the long run, but it did bring Tyler Breeze into his life, so it may have been worth it. And in fairness, Fandango is a memorable, creative, charming, fun and one-of-a-kind wrestling gimmick, so it counts as a big success whether you like it or you don't.
@@ryanpulliam8987 so did Umaga he used to do sweet chin musics five star frog splashes backflips while being closelined and also doing other stuff like jumping over people heads like cruiser weights do he was a hoss man
@@daleholbert8032 True, but between that, his fued with the Bossman and his tag run in The Mounties it was clearly a success. Also, anything that gets us a theme as good as The Mountie's can only be a good thing.
@@winstoncannady4224 I've just listened to both, and while I agree the Rougeau Brothers theme is fantastic, I still prefer The Mountie Theme. Mr Perfect also had a great theme around the same time.
Jbl's character was part true to life because at the time he was married to a woman who was considered one of the most listened to people in the stock market at EF Hutton she helped invest his money and made him a lot of money
I was a huge a fan of Umaga as a boy. I remember in Cincinnati during Cyber Sunday, he was picked to face Kane. The roar of the crowd was deafening when Kane came out and I was about the only one rooting for Umaga. And when Umaga spiked Cain I jumped out of my seat and felt like king of the world as I celebrated and everyone else cried LOL.
John Morrison is awesome. He came to my little town irvine KY, and was actually extremely athletic like doing back flips and stuff. Then after he talked to my dad forever about his back surgery’s and stuff, then let us take pics with him for free. Cool ass dude! He was also still with Melina back then (2015) not sure if he is now
What about Raven, starting out as Johnny Polo (thank you WWE Network) and repackaged as the dark, brooding Raven. Or Shawn Michaels, going from Rocker to Heartbreak Kid really elevated his career. Even John Cena's career was saved by repackaging him from "The Prototype" John Cena to villainous rapper John Cena. He went on to become one of the GOATs.
You gonna bring up Kane but not mention his mayor turn. Dude came back from the dead, buried his own brother alive, and now works 9-5 for the government
Other than changing his last name to whatever promotion he’s in aside from WWE, I don’t think Johnny Nitro’s character has evolved enough to be number one. I think that goes to Chris Jericho.
I was thinking the same thing about Morrison and to end it on that too... But with Jericho it wasn't as much of him changing character i think. It was him thru his whole career just different catchphrases and whatnot
@@Slugger2492 Jericho has always been a star. I remember using him on wcw revenge. He never had to change his gimmick. That’s like saying triple h turning to the game was a gimmick change. When it’s really just a rebranding
15:00 - if you’ve never seen it and can find it, you need to find the Triple Threat (Shane Douglas & Chris Candido) vs Lance Storm and Al Snow surprise tag team match. One of the most over moments I’ve ever experienced
I legit that Umaga was crazy for real because of the outstanding performance he did with the character. You know a gimmick is good when it blur the line of fake and real. Awesome list!!!
Umaga could have been one of the best who ever wrestled. He had strength, mad agility for a big man, and the gimmick of a psychopathic samoan. Pretty scary combo. To bad he couldn't get his pill addiction under control. Was a sad day when I heard he passed away, I was a huge fan. RIP Ed Fatu.
Yes Glenn Jacobs was able to shape and change the Kane character into any monster he could imagine. Until he reached the apex of all diabolical, twisted, sick, demented monster possible: A REPUBLICAN *GASP*
On the Johnny Nitro/John Morrison entry, a large part of his going out on his own was the unfortunate accident with a ladder that Joey Mercury suffered in a match with the Hardys.
If you're going to talk about the best gimmick changes, you have to mention the change Sting did in the 90s in WCW. That was a masterful transition from Surfer Sting to The Crow Sting and was one of WCWs best storylines in the era where they had a plethora of good storylines, including the NWO line, the Goldberg streak story, DDPs organic raise story and so many more. Not to mention Rotanda's pair of masterful gimmick changes, first form his self named gimmick to the Wayland Mercy inspired Swamp Cult leader Bray Wyatt and his Wyatt Family entourage. Then when that one was burned out by a barrage of bad booking, he reinvented himself again as The Fiend.
So cool how so many wrestlers from the New Generation Era grew and developed new personas in the Attitude Era From Fatu to The Sultan to Rikishi From 123 Kid to X Pac From Sparky Plugg to Hardcore Holly From Issac Yankem to Fake Diesel to Kane
Like Paul Heyman said, JBL was only champion because Triple H didn't wanna work Tuesday's 😂 This video just goes to show that no matter how much athleticism you have, how talented you are in-ring, or how good you are on the microphone, if your gimmick is lame you don't stand a chance of getting over. This video also shows how Vince McMahon was very inconsistent with his choices of who to push and coming up with good gimmicks
Its crazy that wrestlers literally get told if they are going to face or heel by back office and have their characters outlined by the creatives and then have to deal with the outcome. So basically someone else gives them a character and says "go make it work" but then can come in and say "do this instead now". Then they tell you if you win or lose. If it doesn't go over with fans win or lose, face or heel they are like "oh well nothing we can do with you" or if it was WCW "we wish you best of luck with future endeavors"
I loved JBL and when he was Bradshaw before that. Back in the days of Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy on the the N64 I created myself as a wrestler. I ended up selecting Bradshaws face for my wrestler on both games, purely by coincidence. I didn't know who's face it was prior to choosing. It was only after I went through the edit a wrestler to see who's face I chose. It was eerie when realising I chose his for both
JBL is my favorite heel of all time 😂 I remember kids at school would be so mad to see him win, they really hated him. As a fan of heels tho, I was arguing against them everyday 🤣 it sure made high school sweeter.
Rikishi made a good heel, he was always temperamental and Too Cool were getting stale by then. The problem was whoever ran over Stone Cold would get buried in the matches. It's also questionable how much time Rikishi had because his knees were wrecked and he was forced to lose weight. He didn't mind the paycheck boost of doing it for the Rock at least.
Hate 2 admit.. but Hogan refreshed his character during his nWo run.. Steve Austin was the biggest name left out.. The Rock truly transformed his character.. Shawn Michaels, Hardcore Holly, Randy Orton, biker Taker and many others
Kane for me was the Michael Myers of the WWE, the never can keep down wrestler. 3 tombstone to finally beat him at wrestlemania. The Undertaker will always be my G.O.A.T., but the storyline with these 2 are forever my favorite childhood memory. I miss the Attitude era so much, it's crazy thinking about how many things would go viral in today's "sensitive times"
Al Snow got super over in ECW. I remember the fans throwing the mannequin heads in the rings at some shows 😂 That whole segment with the Big Boss Man must be erased from wrestling history immediately 😂
Kane and Bray Wyatt had the two best character reinventions ever in my opinion. Going from a jobber or many failed gimmicks to being one of THE top stars in WWE and having the two best gimmicks I've ever seen. Yes, even more than Undertaker (Taker is my third favorite). I'd also say Stone Cold is another top tier character reinvention.
Loved Ryback as a kid. Could've had a triple threat with Brock and Goldberg at some feasible point. Sad to see him fall from the biz but at least he still hangs around social media!
Have you done a video on WWE’s heaviest Bleeders? Cause JBL would certainly make that list. Along with Flair, Triple H, Mick Foley, John Cena and Vince McMahon
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UNDENIABLE | Wrestlers You Hate To Love
Tap out!!@ Great Technical Wrestlers
@@zemox2534 More ECW wrestlers
@@turtletcp1598 Yes i love this one. Just told someone that the Miz is hateable by just looking at him and that alone makes him worth the money xD
Undeniable, love to hate The Miz!
@wrestlingwithandy have you done one on Roddy Piper yet? Also a good one would be 80s indy wrestling stars who were buried/ruined by Vince.
Kane has probably the greatest debut ever. Hyping it up for weeks, only for him to come out and rip the door off the cell, AND lay waste to the Undertaker?! That is one intense and insane debut.
It also just happened to be during one of the best matches ever. Shawn gets forgotten on that night bit I still stand by that was the greatest Hell in the Cell ever, one of the greatest matches full stop and with the Kane reveal at the end it just knocks it out the park.
I definitely was a fan of Umaga’s run. But his high point for me was whenever William Regal would publicly call him UMAINGA!!!!!
🤣
@@WRESTLEWITHANDY You're Do A Marvelous Job ✅👍
How it’s pronounced: Ooh-mah-gah.
How I used to pronounce it: You-mah-gah.
How Regal pronounces it: You-main-gah.
@@kidz4p509 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Regal’s pronunciation was nearer the correct one than anyone else’s. He was Samoan. In Samoan, a ‘g’ has a sound very similar to an ‘m’ before it. There used to be a rugby player called Joe Vagana. His name was pronounced ‘fangana’. So ‘umanga’ was as close to accurate as an English speaker could get!
JBL's first promo was incredible especially the realistic heelish way he turned his back on Farooq, arguing that he wasn't responsible for his former tag partners bad choice (kayfabe Farooq staked his career on the Acolytes re-winning the tag belts). Managed to go from a perennial babyface for most of the last decade to a hated heel in under 10 minutes.
I loved the jbl gimmick I always wanted Brody lee Aka Luke Harper to cut his hair shave his beard and do tha jbl gimmick he would’ve done a great job with that Rest In Peace
I do like how, even years later, he'll bring out the Bradshaw character and get Ron Simmons to come down to beat down heels as the old APA.
Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin saved the WWE, combined with Rocky Miavia to The Rock it took the WWE to new heights and buried WCW. The two greatest gimmick changes of all-time based on impact alone.
Its called the WWF
WCW buried WCW
@@OSEsean facts but it was the pressure WWF put on 'em that made 'em mk the most stupid wrestling decisions like the finger poke of doom🤦
100% agree
Stone cold was alright I guess but he's no chilly McFreeze
Hulk hogan changing to Hollywood Hogan May be the greatest gimmick change of all time. Other than Rocky Maivia changing into The Rock!
AGREED! so much lol
Stunning Steve & The Ringmaster changing into Stone Cold is a very close 2nd
How so? Hulk Hogan was obviously a much bigger star back in the 80's than as a member of the NWO. Sure it revitalized his career and "third man" was a great angle but it doesn't really compare to how guys like The Rock & Steve Austin went from irrelevant midcarders to the biggest names in the history of the sport after a gimmick change.
@@psynque yeah but we've got millions of videos talking about those superstars careers already.
@@evanwestendorf9667 I wasn't implying that they should've been covered on the video, just comparing their importance to the heel turn of Hogan that the original post suggested was the greatest gimmick change.
YES!!! Umaga is one of my favorite gimmicks ever, mostly because he was one of the only people I could never picture out of character. He did such a great job acting like a true Umaga character
In Rikishi's defense, "He did it for The Rock!"
IF YOU SMELL, WHAT THE KEESH, IS COOKIN.
Then it was retconned into Triple H being the mastermind behind it all.
Rikishi in that bad man character was the best for him, he could've had a run like mark Henrys hall of pain type run, maybe a world title run
You look fiiiine today~
“Da Rock”
Umaga became so memorable even though he only had the gimmick for 3 years, it's a shame that he passed away caused he could've been one of the biggest monster heels in other companies like impact or NJPW
Still alive in wwe being that
He’s the USO’s uncle he would
Have been the enforcer of the bloodline
@@Stevecrawl624 nah. Gimmicks like his passed away the moment the Usos and Tamina made their debut.
@@winstoncannady4224 i dont think those gimmicks died, they just haven't had the perfect ppl playing those roles anymore. We lost Umaga. He was special. (i know different culture, but they'd try the cultural monster gimmick with a: Veer for example, Amos, etc.) They don't stick the roles quite like Umaga's potential.
If Umaga had more time with the gimmick he'd have been viewed differently w/or w/o wwe. special-special talents
@@thenotoriousroc3508 We may have to agree to disagree. I believe there is no place for a savage of any background in the world of wrestling today. Even with having to suspend disbelief, no one would believe that someone went to the jungles of Samoa(Umaaga), Uganda(Kamala) etc. And found someone taught them to wrestle without them speaking any English and managing them in the WWE. Especially when the USO's and Kofi broke that foreign stereotype. Among other people. I personally think that trope is dead. Foreign = evil heel should be dead as well.
@@winstoncannady4224 Fair-minded fam. We'll agree to disagree on this one. I understand where you're coming frm, there are characters that would affect suspension of disbelief (if we weren't aware of what we're going into prior; but its pro-wrestling; its a little zany, & we know that going in.) thus i just think if the superstar has enough charisma & abilities, JUST-ABOUT any gimmick could be pulled-off (to various degrees). Again, it's pro-wrestling its not meant to be taken so seriously. but i hear u though
Gotta love the logic of Vince when it came to Kane: "seriously if he doesn't make this next character work we're letting him go! The frickin man can't get over! I mean we gave him such brilliant gimmicks like the evil dentist and being the imposter of one of our most popular wrestlers, those were million dollar ideas dammit!!!"
Kane has to be one of the best and iconic gimmicks in wwe history. He matched the undertaker in strength personality and athletism and created his own legacy
How many career has been buried under bad gimmicks!
Kane's character was great. Prior to that? Poor guy.
I wish I could separate the man from his political stance .gloating because women lost their rights to dictate what they could do with their bodies was/is disgusting
@@damaionfrancis6540 its not what they want to do w/their body(ies), Its making a decision that involves another life (the child) & the decision would also affect the potential fathers. It's a deeper issue than to just say "woman's decision". It's a matter of human rights in more ways than 1.
@@thenotoriousroc3508..nope. It's pretty easy to conclude that a woman has the right to CHOOSE what to do...whether she decides abortion or birth...I'm not pro or anti..but denying women the right to dictate is unreal
@@damaionfrancis6540 must've never been a father nor ever close. If 2 ppl consent unprotected, knowing the potential outcome, & the father to be is a law abiding citizen & doesn't want their child to be aborted, the father should have rights to more input in the matters. It's the taking of a life that took 2 ppl to create, its not just a decision of 1 woman to make. In all reality that's even more unreal.
Simping for some u know what isn't going to help any fam. js
Fandango to me was similar to what Elias became on the main roster in a way
Both had a music gimmick, the crowd actually loved playing along with them despite them being heels and both never really got the chance to truly shine on their own as a babyface
Until Fandango teamed with Tyler Breeze and we all met Elias’ younger bro Ezekiel
Nooooo!!!
Fandango was pathetic
I dig ur opinion boss you seem to enjoy ur wrestling with some good knowledge. i have a comedy wrestling review id love for a real wrestling fan to check out and let me know what you think. ua-cam.com/video/Sg8DAi6UUcQ/v-deo.html
The thing is fans don’t appreciate them while they were there now almost most of them miss Fandango now that he’s not here no more
Elias is great as a babyface
Curtis' repackaging as Fandango was admittedly ridiculous and probably didn't help his career in the long run, but it did bring Tyler Breeze into his life, so it may have been worth it.
Mick Foley never had a struggling Gimmick, but he repackage himself so many times and every gimmick was successful. Cactus jack, Man kind, Dude love, Man kind again with Socko. I mean even Mr Socko was over. Then finally Mick Foley
Kane's gimmick change would have to be the best ever. He literally went from being a nobody, a vanilla giant that no one liked to being one of the most iconic and memorable superstars ever and arguably the best giant in the history of WWE
2:50 - Kane is my favorite gimmick from 1997 - 2002
Lot of Kane fans here today. He was my favorite as a child, before I even understood what sports entertainment or pro wrestling was🔥
Breezango was a gift.
The fashion files were hilarious.
Th best show-within-a-show since Miz & Marrison's Dirt Sheet.
These guys had some real good changes that took off. Bray should be up here too Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt to The Fiend.
The problem is that despite both gimmicks we're over, he needed 2 gimmick changes, with one of them being sucessful. Vince just wanted nothing to do with Bray at all, which is sad
@@vDeadbolt I believe Bray's Character is like that of a horror multi personality disorder. His main Character is that of Husky Harris he then started going nuts and Bray Wyatt his dark sinister alter ego with a family of his own instead of Nexus. He then had a Fun loving Bray Wyatt with Firefly funhouse and his even more sinister personality in the Fiend. I know he has been working on a few other personalities that he wanted to bring to life in WWE but Vince shot each one down. Triple H though liked the ideas so maybe he will bring him back and allow Bray to have all of his Personas come to life. A Man that has 6 different personas that he can snap into with some creepy head movements would be awesome story telling in the WWE.
I can't believe a video about wrestlers who changed their gimmicks didn't mention Matt Hardy. He has been praised with by other wrestlers of how many times he has reinvented himself
He never had a bad gimmick to come back from. They were all great.
One could say that The Undertaker had one of the most successful gimmick changes ever, if not THE most successful gimmick change ever. His personalities of Mean Mark Callous and Texas Red nearly killed his character, but it was his turn to become The Undertaker that made him a household name, and arguably one of the most successful wrestlers of the Silver Age of the WWF/WWE, the Attitude Era of the WWF/WWE, the Ruthless Aggression Era of the WWE, and even the PG Era of the WWE.
Nah
These are WWE wrestlers that were either in NXT or making a 2nd run in the WWE. Undertaker was never in WWE prior to the undertaker gimmick, he came from the WCW as Mean Mark Calloway.
Mean mark is almost the same as Big evil/the american badass.
It was more the name of "Mean" mark, with a shit finisher and bad booking.
Big evil is my all time favourite Undertaker gimmick.
It seems that many of the biggest stars in wrestling had a major change at some point.
Hollywood Hogan, Sting, Austin, Rock, Cena, Undertaker just to name a few.
Konnan is an underrated one; once he got past the Dungeon of Doom, and the nWo Wolfpac later became huge, K-Dogg was a big part of that.
Lol Konnan!
Bray wyatt/the Fiend = Husky Harris
Kane was the best example of a successful gimmick change. He went from a stupid evil dentist (seriously what was Vince thinking) to a silent, mask wearing big red machine, destroying every opponent that was put in front of him.
You forgot fake Diesel in the middle.
I was nearing the end of my viewing of wrestling when Umaga hit the mat. I stuck around for awhile longer. I don't know why I liked his gimmick so much, but he just had his own way of doing things. When he was let go, I did the same as I had to really turn attention to a new career myself. Learning of his passing so soon after was a sad day. I just cannot get into the current era, but that's fine, there is plenty of past material to always go back to.
Seem like 96-97 had a lot of gimmick changes or character reinventions that worked out...hulk hogan to Hollywood hogan, sting to the crow, ringmaster to stone cold, rocky mavia to the rock, issac yankem to Kane, HHH snob character into D-generate, even Billy gunn and road dog changed gimmicks
Don't forget the 3 faces of Foley
The face of wrestling it's self was changing as well during that time. All these gimmick changes were the product of that.
Dirty Curt's repackaging as Fandango was admittedly ridiculous and probably didn't help his career in the long run, but it did bring Tyler Breeze into his life, so it may have been worth it. And in fairness, Fandango is a memorable, creative, charming, fun and one-of-a-kind wrestling gimmick, so it counts as a big success whether you like it or you don't.
Kane hands down is the greatest "Gimmick" in wrestling history. All the respect to the Undertaker, but Kane was superior in my opinion.
Umaga was a awesome character really the only heavy set wrestler I seen that athletic and flexible
Go watch some Vader bam bam matches no hate on umaga but they are some athletic big men
Go watch some Vader bam bam matches no hate on umaga but they are some athletic big men
@@liamgillett9068 oh I know all about Vader and bam but they didn't have shit on Umaga respectfully
@@malachi3002 Vader had moves like a cruiserweight tho
@@ryanpulliam8987 so did Umaga he used to do sweet chin musics five star frog splashes backflips while being closelined and also doing other stuff like jumping over people heads like cruiser weights do he was a hoss man
Rocky Miavia to the Rock, Hulk Hogan to Hollywood and who can forget the Ringmaster? 😂😂😂
I'd also add Rougeau turning into The Mountie and gaining both the IC Title and one of the greatest wrestler entrance themes ever made.
I C champ for 48 hours
@@daleholbert8032 True, but between that, his fued with the Bossman and his tag run in The Mounties it was clearly a success.
Also, anything that gets us a theme as good as The Mountie's can only be a good thing.
@@grahambirch8563 I'd contend that the Rougeau Brothers theme is better than the Mountie theme
@@winstoncannady4224 I've just listened to both, and while I agree the Rougeau Brothers theme is fantastic, I still prefer The Mountie Theme. Mr Perfect also had a great theme around the same time.
Jbl's character was part true to life because at the time he was married to a woman who was considered one of the most listened to people in the stock market at EF Hutton she helped invest his money and made him a lot of money
I was a huge a fan of Umaga as a boy. I remember in Cincinnati during Cyber Sunday, he was picked to face Kane. The roar of the crowd was deafening when Kane came out and I was about the only one rooting for Umaga. And when Umaga spiked Cain I jumped out of my seat and felt like king of the world as I celebrated and everyone else cried LOL.
John Morrison is awesome. He came to my little town irvine KY, and was actually extremely athletic like doing back flips and stuff. Then after he talked to my dad forever about his back surgery’s and stuff, then let us take pics with him for free. Cool ass dude! He was also still with Melina back then (2015) not sure if he is now
The "Uso's" from WWE and "Solo" from NXT look just like their father, Rikishi. And just as talented.
Never forget Damien Sandow. Most underrated dude of all time.
As an ECW guy, seeing Tommy Dreamer go from squeaky pretty boy to hardcore fan favourite was fantastic
Speaking of ECW, Andy should make more videos on ECW wrestlers.
1. Ringmaster to Stone Cold
2. Rocky Miavia to The Rock
3. Fake Diesel to Kane
What about Raven, starting out as Johnny Polo (thank you WWE Network) and repackaged as the dark, brooding Raven. Or Shawn Michaels, going from Rocker to Heartbreak Kid really elevated his career. Even John Cena's career was saved by repackaging him from "The Prototype" John Cena to villainous rapper John Cena. He went on to become one of the GOATs.
When MNM first started, they came out & Melina dropped down & hit that SPLIT on the ring apron, my pre-teen self immediately fell IN LOVE 😅
The Anoa’i family did indeed continue with folks like The Rock, Roman Reigns, and even Rikishi’s own sons, the Usos.
The Usos and Solo Sikoa.
You gonna bring up Kane but not mention his mayor turn.
Dude came back from the dead, buried his own brother alive, and now works 9-5 for the government
No mention of the One Man Gang becoming Akeem? He went from a white man to a black man from deepest darkest Africa. That has to count for something
Ah, fellow old basterd here, I remember that. lol
Other than changing his last name to whatever promotion he’s in aside from WWE, I don’t think Johnny Nitro’s character has evolved enough to be number one. I think that goes to Chris Jericho.
I was thinking the same thing about Morrison and to end it on that too... But with Jericho it wasn't as much of him changing character i think. It was him thru his whole career just different catchphrases and whatnot
@@terrancec8953 more than just catchphrases. Jericho 2008 was special lol. His character has always evolved. Terrance D.
@@Slugger2492 Jericho has always been a star. I remember using him on wcw revenge. He never had to change his gimmick. That’s like saying triple h turning to the game was a gimmick change. When it’s really just a rebranding
Fa-Breeze? Too cleeshay. FA-Taylor? Too derivative
BREEZANGO? I LIKE IT
Loved your transitions between wrestlers bro. New follower 🙌
Andy, clearly you're a mark for Fandango, and I love it ❤️
15:00 - if you’ve never seen it and can find it, you need to find the Triple Threat (Shane Douglas & Chris Candido) vs Lance Storm and Al Snow surprise tag team match. One of the most over moments I’ve ever experienced
I legit that Umaga was crazy for real because of the outstanding performance he did with the character. You know a gimmick is good when it blur the line of fake and real. Awesome list!!!
Umaga could have been one of the best who ever wrestled. He had strength, mad agility for a big man, and the gimmick of a psychopathic samoan. Pretty scary combo. To bad he couldn't get his pill addiction under control. Was a sad day when I heard he passed away, I was a huge fan. RIP Ed Fatu.
Jacob Fatu could have a similar run if they ever sign him
Fandango repeatedly became WWE champion on my cousin's 2K game whenever he left it unattended, wonder how that happened... 🤔
Umaga the Samoan Bulldozer…definitely one of the best gimmick changes!✊🏾🤙🏾
Yes Glenn Jacobs was able to shape and change the Kane character into any monster he could imagine. Until he reached the apex of all diabolical, twisted, sick, demented monster possible: A REPUBLICAN *GASP*
Kane was awesome.
Isaac Yankum looked like David Schultz.
The hair!!! He definitely did
When Kane showed up AOL chats blew up about it. It was a good time.
On the Johnny Nitro/John Morrison entry, a large part of his going out on his own was the unfortunate accident with a ladder that Joey Mercury suffered in a match with the Hardys.
I also have an issue with the fact that they didn't name the tag team of Fandango and Tyler Breeze as Fabreeze LOL!
If you're going to talk about the best gimmick changes, you have to mention the change Sting did in the 90s in WCW. That was a masterful transition from Surfer Sting to The Crow Sting and was one of WCWs best storylines in the era where they had a plethora of good storylines, including the NWO line, the Goldberg streak story, DDPs organic raise story and so many more.
Not to mention Rotanda's pair of masterful gimmick changes, first form his self named gimmick to the Wayland Mercy inspired Swamp Cult leader Bray Wyatt and his Wyatt Family entourage. Then when that one was burned out by a barrage of bad booking, he reinvented himself again as The Fiend.
So cool how so many wrestlers from the New Generation Era grew and developed new personas in the Attitude Era
From Fatu to The Sultan to Rikishi
From 123 Kid to X Pac
From Sparky Plugg to Hardcore Holly
From Issac Yankem to Fake Diesel to Kane
From Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin
I definitely liked jbl more when he was in the apa.
Like Paul Heyman said, JBL was only champion because Triple H didn't wanna work Tuesday's 😂
This video just goes to show that no matter how much athleticism you have, how talented you are in-ring, or how good you are on the microphone, if your gimmick is lame you don't stand a chance of getting over. This video also shows how Vince McMahon was very inconsistent with his choices of who to push and coming up with good gimmicks
Its crazy that wrestlers literally get told if they are going to face or heel by back office and have their characters outlined by the creatives and then have to deal with the outcome.
So basically someone else gives them a character and says "go make it work" but then can come in and say "do this instead now". Then they tell you if you win or lose.
If it doesn't go over with fans win or lose, face or heel they are like "oh well nothing we can do with you" or if it was WCW "we wish you best of luck with future endeavors"
I’m rewatching old episodes of Raw and I had no idea that Rikishi was the Sultan and Make A Difference Fatu
Before JBL, there was also Justin Bradshaw and Blackjack Bradshaw... Talk about reinvention.
As you said a new coat of "paint" had helped many wrestlers to go on to greater things... Awesome video 👌🏻👌🏻
JBL was literally just an updated Ted Debiasi!
I loved JBL and when he was Bradshaw before that. Back in the days of Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy on the the N64 I created myself as a wrestler. I ended up selecting Bradshaws face for my wrestler on both games, purely by coincidence. I didn't know who's face it was prior to choosing. It was only after I went through the edit a wrestler to see who's face I chose. It was eerie when realising I chose his for both
I remember hearing "ramen noodle" chants or something like it whenever Ziggler came out with his bright blonde hair 🤣
Stone colds was number one nobody can change my mind he went from stunning Steve Austin who I had never heard of to stone cold the rattlesnake. Legend
You are forgetting his Ringmaster persona.
Damn young Rikishi look jus like jimmy and jey uso. He spit them boys out🤣 #RipUmaga
I'm old school but I must say this....... Glenn Jacobs is a genius...,. and Ryback could have came up with something better...
I knew Al Snow from watching WWE Tough Enough in 2003, also where I saw Bob Holly beat the tar out of one of the contestants and hurt him for real....
You’ve been putting in hard work Andy! We see ya buddy!
that’s it, now i need to see Elias and Sandow as a tag team🤯
Kane easily the most popular rebrand of all time in the wwe 🤞🏽 she should be number one !
JBL is my favorite heel of all time 😂 I remember kids at school would be so mad to see him win, they really hated him. As a fan of heels tho, I was arguing against them everyday 🤣 it sure made high school sweeter.
Rikishi made a good heel, he was always temperamental and Too Cool were getting stale by then. The problem was whoever ran over Stone Cold would get buried in the matches. It's also questionable how much time Rikishi had because his knees were wrecked and he was forced to lose weight. He didn't mind the paycheck boost of doing it for the Rock at least.
@ No. 6, it's YOUUUU-MANGAAAA! 🤗🤗
Kane Is The Greatest Best Change Wrestler 🤼♂️ Of All Time In WWE History.
Great Video, you always have excellent content!
Kane is one of my all time favorite wrestlers but 90s mask Kane best Kane
I've heard you mention ten-gallon hats a few times. It's not the same as any cowboy hat, it's very tall. Look up the TV character Hoss Cartwright.
Hate 2 admit.. but Hogan refreshed his character during his nWo run.. Steve Austin was the biggest name left out.. The Rock truly transformed his character.. Shawn Michaels, Hardcore Holly, Randy Orton, biker Taker and many others
Kane, jbl and ugama were great
Ugmama!
@@Ken9284 loved when regal said it
Nah Ryback was never over. He was just a horrible wanna be goldberg. The fans were making fun of him when they chanted his name.
Stunning Steve Austin to Stone Cold Steve Austin.... nice video but this should have been a no brainer 😅
Shawn Michaels becoming Skinner is a very underrated gimmick change.
Kane for me was the Michael Myers of the WWE, the never can keep down wrestler. 3 tombstone to finally beat him at wrestlemania. The Undertaker will always be my G.O.A.T., but the storyline with these 2 are forever my favorite childhood memory. I miss the Attitude era so much, it's crazy thinking about how many things would go viral in today's "sensitive times"
Missed this 1,sorry Andy ,but I'm here now ..👍
Appreciate you bro, hope you enjoy the video 🤘🏻💪🏻👊🏻🤟🏻
usos gimmick change was really a good one especially due to them bein given time to flow
Al Snow got super over in ECW. I remember the fans throwing the mannequin heads in the rings at some shows 😂 That whole segment with the Big Boss Man must be erased from wrestling history immediately 😂
5:26 I've always wondered if that creature from the goonies ever found more work
For the next video could you do goofy tag teams that surprisingly worked like Too Cool and Billy and Chuck😁😁😁😁
Even though he wrestled every now and then Mr McMahon character was much needed. Those promos.... When I die I wanna to go straight to hell lmao!
I always thought JBL was based on George W bush.
If he was, then he'd have to be stupid
Kane and Bray Wyatt had the two best character reinventions ever in my opinion. Going from a jobber or many failed gimmicks to being one of THE top stars in WWE and having the two best gimmicks I've ever seen. Yes, even more than Undertaker (Taker is my third favorite). I'd also say Stone Cold is another top tier character reinvention.
From mean Mark to Undertaker
From Ringmaster to Stone Cold
From Roadie to Jesse James To Road Dogg
Best gimmicks of KANE is..
Full-masked...Full sleeves outfits MONSTER KANE ..... 🔥 ... !!!!
😱😲😰
Loved Ryback as a kid. Could've had a triple threat with Brock and Goldberg at some feasible point. Sad to see him fall from the biz but at least he still hangs around social media!
What's with all the blurry footage?
If my wrestling knowledge is correct, blood
Rosie deserved to be on this list, R.I.P. Super Hero, you made it.
You're right. He went from 3 minute warning to a superhero
Have you done a video on WWE’s heaviest Bleeders?
Cause JBL would certainly make that list. Along with Flair, Triple H, Mick Foley, John Cena and Vince McMahon