10 Current WWE Wrestlers Who Had A Completely Different Gimmick Before Joining WWE

Gimmicks are one of the most fundamental parts of wrestling. Successful gimmicks can range from the simple - a wrestler's real-life personality 'turned up a few notches,' as the cliche goes - to the outlandish.

Sometimes, it takes a wrestler a round or two (or several...) of 'trial and error' before they find the gimmick that works for them. After all, before Terry Bollea was the 'Hulkster,' he was Sterling Golden and before Steve Austin was 'Stone Cold,' he was 'Stunning.'

Each of the following current WWE wrestlers has tried different gimmicks before becoming a WWE Superstar. Some were quite popular, however, WWE often prefers to own their performers' intellectual property when possible - it's why the 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson became Daniel Bryan when he first arrived in NXT. In some other cases, though, it's easy to see why the wrestler thought a change was needed before debuting on such a grand stage.

10 Rhea Ripley - Demi Bennett (Indies)

Current WWE fans will know Rhea Ripley best for her success in NXT under her current heavy metal and punk-inspired gimmick, as well as her ongoing month-long reign as Raw Women's Tag Team Champions with Nikki A.S.H. (who underwent a gimmick change of her own very recently). Fans who are unfamiliar with Ripley's origin story may be shocked to see footage of an almost-recognizable Ripley - then known by her real name, Demi Bennett - wrestling in her native Australia in 2016. Who knew then that the smiley, blonde-haired Aussie would one day find herself defeating Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37?

9 Jeff Hardy - Willow The Wisp (Indies/Impact)

Matt and Jeff Hardy's backyard and indie wrestling past is well-documented, with both Hardy Boyz having taken on creative gimmicks either in place or alongside their standard personas. While for many wrestlers, early gimmicks are best left in community centers and high school gyms in front of 50 spectators, Jeff has gone back to his Willow The Wisp character multiple times - both before he and his brother made it to WWE in 1998 and during his runs in Impact Wrestling.

An updated version of the WIllow character even became involved in the much-publicized 'Broken' Matt Hardy/Brother Nero storyline. Although it got weird at times, the creative freedom ultimately breathed new life into both Hardys and helped them transition to the next phase of their respective careers.

8 Sami Zayn - El Generico (ROH/PWG)

This one is no secret to many current WWE fans, as the El Generico is an indispensable part of the origin story to the ongoing, long-term Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens feud (and at times, partnership). Zayn used the masked luchadore gimmick from his days wrestling in Canadian indies in 2002 through higher-profile stints in Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

While the 'official' story is that El Generico retired in 2013 to run a Mexican orphanage, any fan with a keen eye can spot the similarities between Generico and Zayn and come to the perfectly reasonable conclusion - that Zayn must have been an El Generico fan and watched hours of footage in preparation for his own wrestling career, of course!

7 Drake Maverick - Rockstar Spud (TNA/Impact)

Rockstar Spud's time in Impact Wrestling saw the diminutive underdog character go from winning an X Division championship to seeing his contract expire due to a clerical error, resulting in his release from the company. For the future Drake Maverick, however, Impact's poor business dealings led to an opportunity to reinvent himself as the 205 Live General Manager, which eventually led to the native Brit's run as one of many 24/7 Championship contenders.

6 Doudrop - Viper (Indies)

The wrestler currently known as Doudrop began her career in her native Scotland as Piper Niven, the moniker she would also use during her two-year stint in NXT UK. The Doudrop character would be introduced alongside the returning Eva Marie, although their partnership would be short-lived as Doudrop became fed up with Eva Marie's antics and turned on her at Summerslam, eventually squashing her on the August 30 episode of Monday Night Raw.

5 The Viking Raiders - War Machine (ROH/New Japan)

There was a lot of hype around the tag team of War Machine - known at the time as Raymond Rowe and Hanson, respectively - when rumors of their impending move to WWE began swirling in late 2017. Having enjoyed success both in Ring of Honor and New Japan, the burly, bearded men debuted on NXT with largely unchanged gimmicks, with the team now going by the name 'War Raiders'. By the time the team would join the Raw roster, however, Rowe and Hanson were rechristened as 'Erik' and 'Ivar' and the team was given the name 'the Viking Experience,' which was immediately panned by fans and critics alike. Although they mostly retained the same demeanor and movesets, now they were assumed to be actual Vikings - perhaps frozen in time? By the following week, the team was renamed again - this time as the much less-baffling 'Viking Raiders' - and some say they've never really recovered from creative's botching of their first Raw appearance.

4 Ricochet - Prince Puma (Lucha Underground)

This entry is a bit different, as the gimmick in which Trevor Mann appears in currently for WWE, the high-flying Ricochet, was actually the same gimmick he made his in-ring debut with back in 2003. Making his mark in a series of increasingly high-profile indies such as Chikara, Evolve and Dragon Gate USA, as well as overseas in New Japan, Mann joined the then-nascent Lucha Underground promotion as Prince Puma, a masked cat-like character. Puma saw immediate success in LU, becoming the first Lucha Underground Champion in January 2015. He would remain in LU until the end of its third season, joining NXT as Ricochet in early 2018.

3 LA Knight - Eli Drake (TNA/Impact/NWA)

Eli Drake as Impact World Champion Cropped

LA Knight may be a relative newcomer to NXT, first appearing on the NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day pre-show in February 2021. However, the Eli Drake character made quite the name for himself in Impact, debuting in 2015 and lasting through 2019, when he would leave after refusing to lose to Tessa Blanchard in an intergender match. A former GCW and Impact World Champion, Drake would sign a contract to appear for the NWA. He spent roughly a year with the organization before being quietly released. However, they say when one door closes, another opens and this was certainly the case when Drake was soon offered a WWE contract.

2 Karrion Kross - White Rabbit (Lucha Underground)

paul london and white rabbit lucha underground

Karrion Kross debuted on Raw in July with great anticipation, and although his initial booking and gimmick - including a two-minute loss to the otherwise-languishing mid-carder Jeff Hardy in his first match on the red brand - drew criticism, especially since his character had gone largely unchanged through successful stints in Impact, AAA and MLW. Skeptical fans who were unsure of Kross' ability to work outside of his usual gimmick could have been pointed to Lucha Underground's White Rabbit, a member of Paul London's nefarious Rabbit Tribe in Season Four of the series. While the character would be short-lived, it allowed Kross to flex his creative muscles and show a different side - one which we might see again one day, if his WWE stay doesn't pan out.

1 Edge - Damon Striker (WCW)

What is there to say about Edge's career that hasn't already been said? The 'Rated-R Superstar' has, without hyperbole, seemingly done it all in WWE - when he was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame after his abrupt retirement in 2012 due to a neck injury, he'd be its youngest member. While he and his best friend/on-screen brother Christian Cage's humble beginnings as fans, and then wrestlers, on Canadian's indie circuit (and Edge's Sexton Hardcastle gimmick) have been well-documented, some fans might be surprised to know that before Edge was one of WWE's most-decorated Superstars, he appeared on WCW programming, jobbing under the name Damon Striker in early 1996. As Striker, Edge would have at least two matches, both on WCW's syndicated 'Pro Wrestling' program, to zero fanfare.