10 Great Wrestlers Who Totally Reinvented Themselves

Longtime TNA favourite AJ Styles found himself at a crossroads in 2013. After a lengthy, ridiculous angle with Bad Influence and Claire Lynch, coupled with a litany of losses, Styles needed a break.

Depressed and disillusioned, he vanished from TV to bulk up, grow out his hair, and dress only in black. Returning as a friendless, mysterious antihero, Styles enjoyed a hit-and-miss 2013 before leaving TNA in protest of taking a pay cut.

After years of hopping between noble, conservative babyface and comedy heel, Styles stuck with his newer, darker image. Joining New Japan in 2014, 'The Phenomenal One' made a huge impact as the Bullet Club's new ace. In a nice bit of cross-promotional storytelling, the antihero Styles who got ran out of TNA via a shenanigans-laden bout with Magnus had now become a full-blown villain, embracing the exact same tactics he'd fallen victim to.

Much to the shock and horror of the New Japan faithful, the increasingly sociopathic Styles defeated long-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champ Kazuchika Okada in his debut match as a Bullet Clubber. With excellent character work and a god-tier work rate, Styles became a huge draw in Japan and on the indies by 2015.

His post-TNA success lead to a WWE contract in 2016 where he ultimately resumed a similar heel character during his popular feud with John Cena. In 2022, Styles is widely regarded as one of the greatest stars of his generation and much of his later success stems from that initially polarising character switch-up in 2013.