3. Sting
In 1996, Sting... wait, hold on, wrong picture.
There we go. In 1996, Sting took up a change in character after being betrayed by those in WCW in their ongoing feud against the nWo. Going into seclusion as a free agent, Sting went from sporting shorter hair and colorful face paint to a darker visage, complete with long, dark hair and a trenchcoat, topped off by a new black-and-white face paint design that was undeniably- and later, by admission- inspired by the late Brandon Lee's character in the 1994 film The Crow. As blatant as it was, Sting wore it well. So well, in fact, that he is better known in this persona today than he is by his original California surfer style, which stands to reason: He's spent nearly twice as long (two decades come 2016) in some form of the gimmick, whether in WCW, TNA, or his recent appearances for WWE. Four of his six WCW World Heavyweight Championship reigns came after taking up this gimmick, as well as two of his three WCW World Tag Team Championships. He would then go on to TNA to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once, TNA's homegrown version four times after, and one run with their Tag Team Championship alongside Kurt Angle. He also scored a title reign with the World Wrestling All-Stars World Heavyweight Championship, along with numerous accolades from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and The Wrestling Observer. Incidentally, it should probably come to no one's surprise that Scott Hall is to be credited for the creation of Sting's "Crow" gimmick. Who knew that impersonating popular movies could be so good for business outside of the independents?