10 Wrestlers Who Made Drastic Late Career Changes

3. Sting

Sting's decision to heed Scott Hall's advice and mimic Brandon Lee's character The Crow (from the 1994 movie) in 1996 proved a shrewd one. By ditching the bleached-blond locks and colourful ring gear of the late-80s and early-90s, Sting became WCW's first true antihero babyface. The "Crow" Sting was born, and he never looked back.

The legend did look sideways though, mainly at Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight flick.

Three years after that film's release, Sting began using a combination of Ledger's face paint, Jack Nicholson's prior work as Batman's chief villain and even added a splash of Cesar Romero's slapstick approach to The Joker character. Almost overnight, a new Sting was born in TNA, and it happened when the icon was in his 50s.

Again, he didn't need to do it. TNA weren't exactly going to force Sting to try anything new. They were happy to wheel him out for matches or present him as a legend who had managed to transcend his "Crow" gimmick. It was Sting's idea, one he was clearly excited about.