THE MANY FACES OF...

Mick Foley wasn't and isn't the only wrestler to have many "faces", or characters/gimmicks as their called in wrestling. It was almost the norm back in the day for almost everyone to have more than one persona. Some were lucky and/or good enough to basically remain the same through out their careers, Hulk Hogan is slightly an example of this, having only made small changes to his character with the exception of his Hollywood Hogan days (which was more of just a basic heel turn). But, most had to have multiple looks and persona's. It kept them fresh when things ran stale, and that was key as the territories began to finally die out leaving only WWE and at the time WCW, now there is TNA and ROH.

For some it was really a matter of going through failed attempts before finally finding something that works. Look at The Undertaker, there was Mean Mark Calloway before there was The Deadman. Here are some others who had many faces through out their careers...

Stone Cold Steve Austin

He will forever known as The Texas Rattlesnake. However, before there was "What?", there was The Ringmaster. And even before that, he was Stunning Steve Austin. Which was pretty successful with runs with the WCW United States championship, and Tag Team Championship with the late Brian Pillman as the Hollywood Blondes. Austin just wasn't able to break the glass ceiling with it.

Kevin Nash

Most will remember him as himself, Kevin Nash. The rest will remember him as Diesel. Very few will remember the persona's that preceded these two. Vinnie Vegas wasn't too bad considering that era. Plus it was a taste of the future when Nash was part of the stable, The Diamond Mine, which included Scott Hall. Master Blaster member Steel and Oz? Not so much.

Bray Wyatt

The Easter Of Worlds may have found the gimmick that he will use the rest of his career. It is really too early to say, but it is one that has been really working well (understatement). His real name is Widham Rotunda, and although his career is still in the early stages, he has had persona's that came before Bray Wyatt. Axel Mulligan, Duke Rotunda. He even went by Husky Harris during the initial NXT. Which was actually getting over with fans before a punt to the head from Randy Orton wrote the character off.

JBL

From rough and tough Texan cowboy, followed by beer swilling brawler, to Wall Street tycoon. That pretty much sums up all of JBL's gimmicks over the years, and has had many names, but he made them work. As Blackjack Bradshaw it was hard to believe that he wasn't the stereotypical Texas tough guy cowboy. When teamed with Ron "Farooq" Simmons to form The Acolytes/A.P.A. he was able to get over with the fans at times as a beer drinking, cigar smoking, professional butt-kicker. He followed up and ended with his money maker (pun intended), JBL. Taking from real life, a Wall Street tycoon and even won the WWE Championship. Which he holds the record for longest run as WWE Champ in Smackdown! history.

It will be interesting to see if the days of someone having multiple persona's will continue on or cease to exist. With WWE attempting to build their own wrestlers through their system (training facility to NXT to main roster), will they take those who fail character wise and rebrand them until something works given their investment? Or will we see a one-and-done way of things?

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