7) Triple H
Triple H has become one of the biggest stars in WWE history. It wasn’t always smooth sailing for ‘The Game’ as he went through a number of bad gimmicks before coming into his own.
After being trained by Killer Kowalski, he began wrestling under the name: Terra Ryzing. After wrestling for various promotions, he eventually got a chance in WCW first wrestling under the Terra Ryzing name. He was eventually repackaged as Jean-Paul Levesque, which is a play off his real name. He spoke in a French accent, even though he did not know any French.
After signing with the WWF in 1995, he used a modified version of his WCW gimmick. He was known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a snobby french man who would insult the audience and think that he was superior to them.
If you ever wondered where the name Triple H came, it is a play off the Hunter Hearst Helmsley name. He would go on to become ‘The Game’ and have one of the most successful careers in WWE history.
6) John Cena
John Cena is one of the most polarizing and successful wrestlers in WWE history. Love him or hate him, he has been a staple of the WWE for the past 15 years.
Cena began his career in Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW). His first gimmick was: The Prototype, which was a semi-robotic character. Cena described the character as: “I was half-man, half-machine, a hundred percent mayhem. And they called me The Prototype”. His finishing move was “The ProtoPlex”
He continued this gimmick after signing with WWE and wrestling in the developmental system: OVW:
Cena would eventually make his debut on the WWE main roster under his real name. He has gone on to become a 16 time World Champion and one of the biggest stars in wrestling history.
Good thing he didn’t stick with the half man, half robot gimmick.
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