10 Wrestling Stars Who Reinvented Their Way To Longevity

If necessity is the mother of invention, ingenuity is the mother of reinvention.

Reinvention isn't necessarily a requirement for longevity. Many stars have led successful careers without significantly altering their character - or even their character alignment.

Rey Mysterio, given his lack of size and his inherently dazzling offensive repertoire, doesn't really make for a believable heel - so he's been stuck on the face side of the fence for the majority of the North American portion of his career. There's little else he can do as a masked luchador, other than play the grounded hero in peril before taking flight.

But for every John Cena - who continues to draw massive reactions despite his un-turnable standing and ubiquitousness - there's a Dolph Ziggler, who seems to have been playing the same entitled smart aleck to diminishing returns for years now.

All of the men on this list have demonstrated that, unlike the static likes of Roman Reigns, they are as creative and revolutionary outside of the ring as they are between the ropes.

And, given the incredible amount of TV WWE produces on a weekly basis, we need their like more than ever.

Shawn Michaels began life in the WWF as a veritable hot tag machine, one whose naturally cocky presence earmarked him for a post-Rockers heel singles run.

The precipitating angle was legendary, both in action (the use of glass was shocking for the time) and reaction (Bobby Heenan's insistence that Jannetty was "trying to escape" is an all-time great heel commentator call).

From there, Michaels would hone his bad boy act to climb the ranks, before nailing his flag to the top of the mountain with his Boyhood Dream babyface character. Michaels, however, was very much a real-life heel in the 1990s.

He became a slight extension of himself to form his degenerate act in the nascent stage of the Attitude Era, thrusting his hips suggestively towards anyone in his vicinity like "the stripper he must have been in a previous life", according to Bret Hart's autobiography.

Michaels found Christianity in his pro wrestling wilderness years, which he used alongside his inspiring recovery story to find lasting acceptance as a bonafide babyface, something he'd struggled to claim during his original singles run.

He still had a bit of the devil in him, though, as he proved during his memorable feud with Hulk Hogan, revelling for the only time since 2002 in the black hat. Hogan really did infuriate him by refusing to lay down in their scrapped sequel bout.