R-Truth and 9 Other Cases Where a Major Gimmick Change Worked Wonders

It is incredible that a simple change in character from lovable rapper to delusional psychopath can transform a career and prevent R-Truth from winding down his wrestling career in a forgettable fashion.

The IWC exploded in outrage when R-Truth was scheduled to compete with John Cena and The Miz for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules.

A few weeks later, wrestling fans were waiting with anticipation to witness Truth's first pay-per-view main event in a title match with Cena.

There are many examples in the past of a gimmick change transforming a career and, in some cases, transforming the course of wrestling history.

The following is a list of 10 wrestlers that can thank a character transformation for their rise to superstardom.

JBL

John Bradshaw Layfield is a perfect example of a mid-card wrestler whose gimmick change elevated him to main-event status and a long run as the WWE Champion.

Bradshaw was a beer-swilling, card-playing, bar-frequenting big man who was not expected to ever break out of tag team wrestling and draw money as a singles star.

But when he became the arrogant, superior and self-satisfied millionaire, JBL, his career transformed and he became the longest-reigning WWE Champion in SmackDown history.

He had just the look, the personality and the mannerisms to make the crowd hate him, and he seriously contributed to a rise in the quality of the "B-show."

Stone Cold Steve Austin

After WCW fired the precocious talent that was "Stunning Steve Austin," a spell in ECW preceded Austin's debut in the WWF.

The man that would become the face of the company debuted as the "Ringmaster," a gimmick where he was managed by Ted Dibiase.

Austin demonstrated his in-ring ability at this time, feuding with Savio Vega, but the name and the character had mid-card act written all over it.

It was only after Austin dropped Dibiase and set out to forge his own path that his epic main event push began.

Austin completely reinvented himself by coming up with the moniker, "Stone Cold" and translating his love of beer and bad language into his wrestling character.

It has often been said that the most successful wrestling gimmicks are natural extensions of the wrestler's own persona "turned up to 11."

Steve Austin would go on to set the company on fire with a white-hot run that took the WWF to record ratings and a victory in the "Monday Night Wars" over WCW.

The Rock

All of the Rock fans that constantly criticise John Cena for being too good to be true may have forgotten that Rocky Maivia was once one of the most despised characters in the World Wrestling Federation.

Dwayne Johnson was supposed to portray a character that always did the right thing and was basically a "nice guy."

He had no depth and at the start of the "Attitude Era," he was getting booed out of the building while desperately trying to get the fans to like him.

Johnson would change his character to the Rock and join the "Nation of Domination," which ultimately led to his ultra-successful singles run.

The Rock had attitude in abundance and could talk trash better than anyone in the history of the business.

It took a simple reinvention for the Rock to develop his mic skills and let his natural charisma shine through, which would lead to him going down as one of the greatest promo men of all time. 

Randy Orton

Randy Orton was extremely adept at portraying the narcissistic, cocky heel in his Evolution days, and he even won multiple World Titles with this gimmick.

But this character had been done multiple times before and Orton was in danger of exhausting his potential.

That is, until he completely changed his gimmick to a mentally unstable, sadistic "Viper" who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

His feuds with John Cena and Triple H in 2009 brought out the best in Orton as a the top heel in the company and led to many memorable matches and moments.

R-Truth

R-Truth is very convincing at portraying a demented and psychopathic man, desperate to overcome a non-existent "conspiracy" against him.

He has elevated himself to main-event status, which he could never have achieved in his previous incarnation as a rapper that danced his way to the ring.

Even R-Truth's rambling promo technique now is the perfect fit for his new character and his habit of muttering to himself further establishes his mental failings.

He was able to appear violent and dangerous in his destruction of John Morrison and Rey Mysterio, and he is one of`the heels with the most pull in the company right now.

CM Punk

CM Punk has consistently reinvented his character in the WWE as a means of staying fresh and keeping the fans on their toes.

Punk was an extremely successful babyface enjoying a run as the ECW Champion before winning the Money in the Bank ladder and reaching the main event level on Smackdown.

It was during this run that Punk first became the World Heavyweight Champion before a punt from Randy Orton caused him to forfeit the title.

But after Punk cashed in his second Money in the Bank contract on Jeff Hardy the following year, he went from popular babyface to top heel.

Punk always used elements of his "straight edge" lifestyle in his character, but while feuding with Hardy, he became an extremist that attempted to force his beliefs on others.

This led to the formation of the "Straight Edge Society," which provided many entertaining segments, and Punk was the highlight of Smackdown for weeks on end.

But it was Punk's change from the cult leader of the "New Nexus"  to the underground "Voice of the Voiceless" that really caused a stir.

The "Second City Saint" is arguably the most popular superstar in the company right now and his series of worked shoot promos have gone some way to revolutionising the business.

Triple H

Hunter Hearst Helmsley was brought into the company as a "blue-blooded snob" from Connecticut.

But the era of outlandish gimmicks was in the past and Helmsley would have struggled to stay afloat had he not attached himself to Shawn Michaels and become a member of the "Kliq."

Helmsley eventually became known as Triple H and his run in DX with Michaels elevated him to a level where he was ready to headline pay-per-views.

After Michaels "retired," Triple H took over the group and went on to become a 13-time World Champion with a character that was elitist and self-centered as a heel and charismatic and convincing as a face.

Chris Jericho

One of the best promo men of the modern era, Jericho was able to hold his own as a babyface while competing with the Rock and Austin during the "Attitude Era."

Jericho was one of the highlights of the WWE in those days, providing comedy in abundance as Y2J never had problems making people laugh.

But it was the more psychotic and sadistic incarnation of his character that brought out the best in Jericho.

Jericho was the top heel in the WWE from 2008-10 and provided some extremely entertaining feuds with Shawn Michaels in particular.

The arrogance and the narcissism that he was trying to portray was extremely convincing, and the intellect with which he insulted the crowd led to one of the most convincing heel turns of all time.

The change in expression during HBK's appearance on the "Highlight Reel" started what was arguably Jericho's best run with the company as he was involved in most of the memorable feuds of the PG era.

Booker T

Booker T had had a good, long career that had seen him win the World Heavyweight Championship in the dying days of WCW.

But after the "Invasion" angle where Booker T entered the company as the alternate World Champion and was given a run in the main event, including a WrestleMania match with Triple H, his WWF career petered out.

Booker T would become a tag-team wrestler and a mid-card superstar, but was never considered for a push with the premier title in the company.

After Booker T won the "King of the Ring" tournament in 2006, he went from United States title contention to the World Heavyweight Championship.

The tag-team specialist completely transformed his character and attempted to become a literal king with his very own court and subjects.

He started talking with a fake British accent and made his wife, Sharmell, his queen.

This gimmick was interesting enough and was met with sufficient reaction for the WWE to give King Booker a good run as the World Heavyweight Champion.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan can claim to have been the most popular superstar in wrestling history with his white-hot run as the "Hulkster" in the WWF in the 1980s.

But after Hogan left for WCW, his superhero character started to become out-dated and unpopular.

Attitude and controversy in wrestling had already started in 1996 with the rise of ECW and the formation of groups like DX in the WWF.

Before the world-famous heel turn at "Bash at the Beach 1996," Hogan was starting to be booed and jeered.

Then came a much-needed character change that shook up the world of professional wrestling and started one of the most successful angles of all time with the NWO.

"Hollywood Hulk Hogan" was arrogant and claimed to be "in it for the money," exactly the opposite of what Hogan's old character had stood for.