10 Wrestlers Who Completely Changed To Become Main Event Stars

Going from 'Stunning' to 'Stone Cold' made Steve Austin red hot...

Ric Flair CHAMP
WWE

A bleach-blonde legend once said, "to be the man, you have to beat the man". Let's bastardise that famous quote and rephrase it: to be the man, you have to become the man. Ric Flair certainly did, and he defied rather generic beginnings to transform into one of wrestling's best ever and most flashy main-eventers.

There are countless examples of others doing the same, and they too were able to turn mid-card mediocrity into marquee success.

None of the men listed here were exactly no-hopers before making the change. No, really, they weren't, not even when they were asked to dress up as wheeling, dealing con men or pale imitations of former WWF World Champions. A job's a job and all that, but there was a ceiling to how far such gimmicks were going to take them.

They needed something more, something that would sell both fans and their bosses on main event runs, title wins and riches beyond their wildest dreams. These are the stories of performers who either thought outside the box long enough to alter the directions their careers were heading in or lucked out.

The result was a lot more bang (bang) for their buck...

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.