Reinvention is one of the keys to success in pro wrestling.
A superstar changing their gimmick to ensure they don’t become stale is one of the ways
superstars such as Chris Jericho and even Daniel Bryan have stayed relevant for so long.
However, there are also times superstar changes their appearance and it doesn’t work and they
are usually forced to change their look back within a few weeks, or it was just so random
it only appeared once in their career. But which times were they? Well, join us
know as Wrestlelamia looks at ten wrestlers who changed their look for a short period of time.
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10: The Undertaker With A One Time Beard
The end of the 2005 Survivor Series PPV featured the return
of the legendary, The Undertaker. The Undertaker had been set on fire after losing a casket match
to Randy and Bob Orton the prior month at No Mercy and was now seeking his revenge.
The Undertaker should show no signs of any burns on his skin, but during his month off,
he did grow a full-face beard, making it the first time that The Undertaker had appeared
with a full beard since his debut 15-years prior. The new-look would only last a brief
period of time and would revert back to his clean-shaven look and his trademark goatee.
9: Emma To Emmalina
In 2016, WWE made plans to change Emma’s gimmick to a throwback style gimmick which had nods to
traditional female talents in WWE such as Sable and The Kat. Even though the gimmick idea was
extremely out of date, WWE would try it out one time and one time only on the 13 February 2017
edition of RAW. Emmalina would come onto the entrance ramp looking particularly different
to how Emma would traditionally look. The hair, make-up and clothing were noticeably different.
However, Emmalina would announce during the segment that the makeover from Emmalina to
Emma was complete, basically stating that the gimmick was over. [Segment] It was believed that
WWE had no faith in Emma pulling off the gimmick, which would explain why the gimmick was dropped
with immediate effect and Emma would go back to their former gimmick with her prior appearance.
8: CM Punk Bleached Blonde Hair
CM Punk has had bleached blonde highlights in his hair before during his WWE career. However,
what many fans don’t know is that Punk once actually bleached his hair completely.
It occurred for a one time only appearance and Punk would debut the look at a house show
in October of 2010. However, by the next time Punk was next on WWE TV, the look had reverted
back to his traditional hair colour. [Segment]
No doubt, WWE management including Vince McMahon
must not have been too keen on the change in Punk’s appearance.
7: Robert Roode’s Tache
In April of 2019, the superstar formerly known
as Bobby Roode would debut a new look and gimmick on RAW. [Segment]
Roode would now go under the name of Robert Roode and it was clear
from the start that this would be an homage to the late, great Rick Rude.
The gimmick never really took off and the mustache was quickly shaven. His name change however would
remain intact to this very day, but the infamous mustache would never return.
6: Triple H Buzz
In late 2012, fans were shocked when images surfaced online of Triple H sporting a new
haircut. Gone was his trademark long-hair and in its place was an extremely short
haircut. However, by the time Triple H would finally appear on WWE TV with the new haircut,
Triple H was virtually bald, the WWE Executive clearly decided that the short haircut didn’t
work and he needed to go bald in order to pull off the new look. Triple H would offer some insight
into why he changed his look during an interview with The Morning Buzz. Triple H would state:
5: The Undertaker Temp Bandana
When The Undertaker reverted back to the Deadman persona at WrestleMania XX,
gone was the trademark bandana and gone were any patterns or artwork
that would regularly feature on his ring attire. [Segment]
However, when The Undertaker made his first appearance on SmackDown after WrestleMania 20,
a bandana would be added to the new look of The Undertaker, but it would only last
one single week and it would be dropped by the time The Undertaker appeared on WWE TV again.
4: Mojo Rawley’s Bizzare Facepaint & Hoodie
Mojo Rawley would debut a completely new character in late 2019. He would
talk to an off-screen figure and he would blame them for his lack of success before
it was ultimately revealed that he was talking to a mirror all along. [Segment]
Mojo would also briefly debut a new appearance to match the gimmick, he would wear a long sleeveless
hoodie for his entrance and he would have some kind of bizarre markings on his face. The gimmick
made little sense and it was quickly dropped along with the new appearance. Mojo would revert back
to the hype persona a short time after and the prior gimmick would never be mentioned again.
3: Randy Orton’s Mask
The feud between Randy Orton and The Fiend Bray Wyatt was taken to a whole new level when Alexa
Bliss would throw a fireball at Orton’s face, yes a LITERAL fireball! We were led to believe that
Orton suffered major burns to the face as the next time that Orton would show up on WWE TV,
he would wear a lightly colored mask and you could actually see burn marks it. [Segment]
This marked the first time that Orton had modified his appearance in any way shape or form in around
15-years. However, when Orton would enter the Royal Rumble match just a few weeks later,
the mask had completely gone and the burns had magically healed.
2: Cesaro‘s Eyepatch
There was a time in 2014, when Cesaro actually wore an eye patch. It was during Cesaro’s time
alongside Paul Heyman and Cesaro would wear an eye patch for an extremely brief period to sell
an eye injury. In fact the eye patch was ripped off during the first match that Cesaro wore it,
and Cesaro would never put it back on. [Segment]
The eye-patch would never make another appearance on Cesaro again,
clearly implying that WWE didn’t like the way it looked on the former US Champion
and they would find an alternative way for him to sell the eye injury.
1: Dolph Ziggler’s Brown Hair
Dolph Ziggler randomly showed up to the April 18, 2011 edition of RAW sporting
a new hairstyle. Instead of sporting his gold locks which made Ziggler stand out,
Ziggler had cut his hair short and had dyed it brown. [Segment]
He looked incredibly generic and it didn’t suit him in any way. Luckily, Ziggler was allowed to
dye his back shortly after and the brown hair would thankfully never make a return.
Taking to Twitter, Ziggler shared some insight as to why WWE made
him cut and dye his hair. The former World Champion revealed: