10 Great Wrestlers Who Started Out With Terrible Gimmicks
2. Steve Austin As The Ringmaster
Whether working with the Dangerous Alliance or Hollywood Blondes, Steve Austin was always a solid hand who could never quite break out of WCW’s midcard. Eric Bischoff decided he wasn’t a marketable wrestler in the mid-90’s, and after brief sojourn in ECW, Austin showed-up in WWE as part of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation.
If Austin thought jumping to WWE would bring the opportunities that eluded him in WCW, his early days must have been very disappointing. His Ringmaster gimmick seemed to doom him to an eternity of midcard mediocrity, even with DiBiase by his side. A blonde-haired, largely silent technical wrestler, The Ringmaster looked like a toned down Chris Candido, and had a relatively aimless run through WWE’s midcard.
Austin eventually jettisoned DiBiase as manager, and The Ringmaster was no more. He went on to win the 1996 King Of The Ring tournament, cut one of the most influential promos in wrestling history, and lay the groundwork for his all-conquering, era-defining run as Stone Cold. It’s a shame he had to jump over so many hurdles to get to that point, though: as good as Stone Cold was, Austin’s career lasted just five more years before injury forced his retirement.