In nature, a chameleon is an animal in the reptile family that is able to change its surroundings and adapt in order to survive. This lizard basically reinvents itself! I decided to use "chameleon" as a term to describe certain wrestlers in the history of the industry. There are very few wrestlers that have been able to do this and I think it's fun to discuss them.
The Undertaker
Adapting and reinventing oneself is common for the Undertaker. He always managed to change with the times and had many different looks over his legendary career. Those of us old enough to remember can recall the Undertaker's WWE debut in 1990 at the Survivor Series. He was this tall, pale, menacing figure with long red hair. He wore all black with a gray boots, gray gloves, and a large gray tie. He was the walking dead before there was "The Walking Dead." He simply couldn't be hurt and often sent his opponents away in a body bag. For his entrance, he wore a black hat and a long trench coat.
Over the next few years, the Undertaker changed a little bit. After his Casket Match loss to Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble, he wasn't seen again until SummerSlam. When he returned to dismantle his impostor, he changed his accent colors from gray to purple. In the fall of 1995, he was injured by Mabel and started wearing a mask as a result. He slowly started to ditch the original look he had and just wore all black. Things changed in 1996 when his longtime manager Paul Bearer turned on him to join Mankind. Bearer tried to make things difficult for his former client and this really came to be in late 1997 when he found the Undertaker's long lost brother Kane. By the end of 1998, the Undertaker became very demonic and created the Ministry of Darkness.
After an injury in the fall of 1999, he returned in mid-2000 with a completely different look. He started to adopt a biker look, wearing a bandana and sunglasses instead of his dead-man look. He became "The American Bad Ass" and rode a motorcycle to the ring. These are what my friends and I refer to as the amnesia years as we hated this gimmick. He used this attire and entrance until his Buried Alive Match with Vince McMahon at the 2003 Survivor Series. When he returned to face Kane at WrestleMania in 2004, he returned to the persona we knew and loved. He continued on as the Dead Man until as recent as this year, slightly tweaking his look but maintaining that persona.
After an injury in the fall of 1999, he returned in mid-2000 with a completely different look. He started to adopt a biker look, wearing a bandana and sunglasses instead of his dead-man look. He became "The American Bad Ass" and rode a motorcycle to the ring. These are what my friends and I refer to as the amnesia years as we hated this gimmick. He used this attire and entrance until his Buried Alive Match with Vince McMahon at the 2003 Survivor Series. When he returned to face Kane at WrestleMania in 2004, he returned to the persona we knew and loved. He continued on as the Dead Man until as recent as this year, slightly tweaking his look but maintaining that persona.
Matt Hardy
When you talk about someone who has reinvented himself, look no further than Matt Hardy. In the tag team ranks, Matt used a similar look with his brother Jeff as the Hardy Boys until their break-up in 2002. For a brief period, they started wearing mostly black when they joined Gangrel to form the New Brood. In 2002 when Matt went into singles competition and turned heel, he created a persona known as Matt Hardy Version 1. It was an Internet-based gimmick and he started listing things about himself called "Matt Facts" and called his antics "Mattitude." He even gained a couple of Mattitude Followers in Shannon Moore and Crash. He dropped weight in order to compete in the Cruiserweight Division and ended up having a successful reign as the Cruiserweight Champion.
Real life changed Matt Hardy in 2005 when his girlfriend at the time Lita cheated on him with Edge. Hardy was let go from the company but returned for a big storyline with Lita and Edge with art imitating life. Hardy started going by the motto "Matt Hardy will not die." During this time, Jeff Hardy was not in the company. When Jeff returned a few years later, the Hardy Boys reunited until Matt turned on Jeff.
After both left the company, they went to TNA. While there, Matt created what is known as the "Broken" gimmick. Broken Matt Hardy is something that can't truly be described. This is now Hardy's best known gimmick. After a loss to brother Jeff, Matt was so defeated he was "Broken." After a rematch with Jeff, Jeff became "Broken" and as a result, became Brother Nero. Hardy enlisted the services of wife Reby, Senior Benjamin, his baby son Maxel, and a drone named Vanguard One. He started using the word delete to refer to losses of his opponents and claimed people to be obsolete, often speaking in a unique accent and rambling incoherently. Matt reverted back to the Hardy Boys persona upon returning to WWE due to a lawsuit trying to save the "Broken" gimmick for himself. We've seen slight teases of Broken Matt since his return and now it appears he has won the lawsuit and may become Broken once again before the year is out.
Chris Jericho
Real life changed Matt Hardy in 2005 when his girlfriend at the time Lita cheated on him with Edge. Hardy was let go from the company but returned for a big storyline with Lita and Edge with art imitating life. Hardy started going by the motto "Matt Hardy will not die." During this time, Jeff Hardy was not in the company. When Jeff returned a few years later, the Hardy Boys reunited until Matt turned on Jeff.
After both left the company, they went to TNA. While there, Matt created what is known as the "Broken" gimmick. Broken Matt Hardy is something that can't truly be described. This is now Hardy's best known gimmick. After a loss to brother Jeff, Matt was so defeated he was "Broken." After a rematch with Jeff, Jeff became "Broken" and as a result, became Brother Nero. Hardy enlisted the services of wife Reby, Senior Benjamin, his baby son Maxel, and a drone named Vanguard One. He started using the word delete to refer to losses of his opponents and claimed people to be obsolete, often speaking in a unique accent and rambling incoherently. Matt reverted back to the Hardy Boys persona upon returning to WWE due to a lawsuit trying to save the "Broken" gimmick for himself. We've seen slight teases of Broken Matt since his return and now it appears he has won the lawsuit and may become Broken once again before the year is out.
Chris Jericho
In a previous blog, I mentioned Jericho as one of the most adaptable wrestlers. In Mexico, Japan, ECW, and his early WCW days, he was known as Lion Heart. When he became a whiny villain in 1997, he started referring to himself as the "Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla" and started using quite a few catchphrases. When he came to the WWF in 1999, he debuted as Y2J, a gimmick based upon the upcoming millennium change. He maintained some old catchphrases and adopted a few more. He used this gimmick throughout his tenure until he left in 2005. He was both popular and hated during those years.
Upon Jericho's return two years later, he became a little more serious and stoic, reigniting a personal feud with old rival Shawn Michaels. He took another hiatus and when he returned, he changed yet again. He said nothing for weeks and then started a routine of coming to the ring all excited and then leaving shortly thereafter doing nothing in his matches. He started using a tweaked version of his last gimmick. After teaming with Edge and winning the Tag Team Titles, Jericho turned to the Big Show when Edge was sidelined. Together, they became Jeri-Show and ran roughshod over the tag team division.
Upon Jericho's return two years later, he became a little more serious and stoic, reigniting a personal feud with old rival Shawn Michaels. He took another hiatus and when he returned, he changed yet again. He said nothing for weeks and then started a routine of coming to the ring all excited and then leaving shortly thereafter doing nothing in his matches. He started using a tweaked version of his last gimmick. After teaming with Edge and winning the Tag Team Titles, Jericho turned to the Big Show when Edge was sidelined. Together, they became Jeri-Show and ran roughshod over the tag team division.
Since then, Jericho kept tweaking his gimmick and character until his latest stint. He started calling himself the "Gift of Jericho." He told us to "drink it in, maaaaaan!" He created what became known as the "List of Jericho" or just "The List" and started putting people on it. He used this gimmick during his friendship with Kevin Owens until Owens turned on Jericho after the "Festival of Friendship." Jericho popped up from time to time after that with this, which has been probably his most entertaining gimmick yet. Chris Jericho is a true chameleon.
Mick Foley
Mick Foley is one of the true originators when it comes to being a chameleon in wrestling. He is famous for using three very distinct gimmicks called the "Three Faces of Foley." In his time in WCW, Japan, and ECW, he was known as the crazy, hardcore legend Cactus Jack. When he came to the WWF, he was known as Mankind, a very demented and disturbed individual, wearing a mask "Dr. Lector" would be proud to wear. He pulled out his hair, rocked back and forth, and dwelt in boiler rooms.
Somewhere along the line, he tapped into his teenage self and became a ladies man in the form of Dude Love. His Dude Love character changed briefly when he went Corporate, trying to win the approval of Vince McMahon. He reverted back to his Mankind character but wore a shirt and tie. He maintained that look but changed his character to a more lovable version when he was screwed over in favor of The Rock. Foley had a few stints as the WWF Champion and even reverted back to Cactus Jack shortly before his first retirement. He started using just his name after that.
Those are some of the main wrestlers that have been able to adapt to their surroundings and changed to evolve with the wrestling industry. An honorable mention would be Kane, who has worn several evolutions of his mask. He's been unmasked at times and even went corporate every once in a while. Not to mention, he had several gimmicks before the Kane character, mostly notably Isaac Yankem and the Fake Diesel, among others. Kane is also a true chameleon. What are some other wrestling chameleons I may have missed?
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by TagMeADate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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