Over 6 decades, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has become one of the most popular and profitable entertainment industries in the world. Its famously die-hard fans have long been delighted by the in-the-ring drama and bone-crunching athletics.
One of the biggest contributors to this success is the talent. Wrestlers with larger-than-life personalities sell the storylines and ramp up the soap opera style drama. Some are heroes, some are villainous heels, some are sidekicks, but all of them try to find a gimmick that will etch them into wrestling history.
Some WWE stars go on to become stars outside of the ring.
For example, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the biggest movie stars working today, while Dave Bautista and John Cena pop up in Hollywood tentpoles. Andre the Giant is also one of the most recognizable faces in the world as the template for the now legendary and ubiquitous OBEY street art design.
However, other WWE stars aren’t so well-known. Some of them stay in the WWE or work behind the scenes, while others move on to find steady work elsewhere, and still others fall on hard times.
For every recognizable face, there’s a handful of other former stars who have changed dramatically from their heady days in the ring. Sometimes this change is part of a carefully choreographed character choice, but for some, the ravages of time simply take their toll.
It's time to take a look back at the WWE stars who have changed in big ways, with the 10 WWE Stars Who Are Unrecognizable Today.
Jesse "the Body" Ventura Then
Born James George Janos, Jesse Ventura has had an impressive career by anyone’s standards. He was a Navy Seal who served time in Vietnam. He got his start with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) before ing the WWE (then called the World Wrestling Federation, or the WWF).
He unsuccessfully tried for the WWF world title, losing to Bob Backlund in the early '80s, but by the middle of the decade he had a run of high profile victories in the ring.
He also had a handful of tag team victories, wrestling with some of the biggest names of the era like Randy Savage and Roddy Piper.
Ventura had some of the most high-profile feuds with wrestling mainstays like Jimmy Snuka and Hulk Hogan.
While Ventura may be one of the most well-known wrestlers in history, his time with the WWF was relatively short compared to other wrestling stars.
In fact, health issues and other career opportunities took him out of the ring relatively early (he claims that exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam is to blame for blood clots in his lungs).
Despite this, he continued to work with the WWF and its iterations in different capacities. He was a commentator in the late '80s and early '90s, and many fans fell in love with his colorful, unorthodox commentary.
Jesse "the Body" Ventura Now
Ventura is arguably more famous for his career outside the ring than in it.
As his wrestling career winded down, he appeared in Predator.
A lively, spirited commentary and radio career eventually led him to get involved in politics.
He won a surprise election victory to become mayor of Brooklyn Park in the '90s, and in 1998, he was elected as the governor of Minnesota as the candidate of the Reform Party.
He served one term, deciding not to run for a second after his health problems resurfaced. Since then, he has continued to be an outspoken political voice, promoting libertarian ideals as an author and conspiracy theorist.
His controversial ideas, and a lawsuit against now-deceased American Sniper author Chris Kyle, have given him pariah status over the last few years.
In recent years, he took a job with the controversial RT America network, which has been become synonymous with the “fake news” panic. His show, The World According to Jesse, is said to offer a different take on current events and conspiracies.
As a self-professed opponent of the mainstream media, Ventura’s persona has changed from his WWF days. His image as the stereotypical California surfer bum with long blond hair and pink tights has been replaced by the older, more grizzled face of a fiercely outspoken, wispy-haired celebrity.
He’s also gotten rid of the mustache that was a defining feature of his political years.
The Undertaker then
The Undertaker is one of the most famous wrestlers in WWE history, and a lot of this is down to his look and in-the-ring persona.
While his macabre alter ego predates g with the WWF, it was in the 1990s when the Undertaker really came to life.
Clad in his trademark Stetson hat, trench coat, boots, gloves, and suit, with an exclusively black and gray (and sometimes purple) color scheme, he took the wrestling world by storm with his infamous motto and claims that he had ties to the supernatural.
He frequently appeared in the ring with an urn of ashes that gave him powers and similarly themed managers, like the legendary Paul Bearer.
However, all of this would be moot if it didn’t translate to in-the-ring glory, and the Undertaker has that in spades. His defeat of Hulk Hogan in 1991 forever endeared him to fans and made him a WWF champion.
An earlier victory against Koko B. Ware showed off his famous Tombstone Piledriver. This trademark move and others like the Choke Slam strengthened his reputation as a consummate showman.
He is also famous for The Streak, a stretch of time in the mid-2000s when he had 21 consecutive wins in the ring.
The Undertaker Now
The wrestler born Mark William Calaway has stayed with the WWE and remains both a fan favorite and a force in the ring.
In the late '90s, the Undertaker had a dramatic storyline with the often-masked wrestler Kane. Kane was purported to be the Undertaker’s younger brother, seeking revenge for the Undertaker destroying their family.
This culminated in an Inferno match where the two wrestled surrounded by fire, with the Undertaker emerging victorious, but just barely.
They went from rivals to teammates, wresting under the moniker Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker’s later career has been marked by breaks from wrestling.
In 2016, the physical demands of his work began to take their toll, with concussions and physical strain taking the blame. Images floated around the web of Calaway out of costume, with a receding hairline and his hair undyed and gray.
Some fans raised concerns that the wrestling mainstay needed to slow down, but he has since returned to the ring.
He performed at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, notching a decisive victory against WWE champion Rusev in a Casket Match.
The Undertaker has married former WWE diva Michelle McCool, and her social media posts show an older Undertaker who has a life outside the ring. The trenchcoat is still there, but the hat and tie are gone.
Trish Stratus then
Trish Stratus lit up the WWE during its Attitude Era in the 2000s with intense feuds and a lot of in-the-ring drama. She’s credited with shaking up a lot of the WWE and changing the way that women were portrayed in the industry.
Stratus began as a fitness model, acting as a manager in the WWE. Her career was initially defined by her feud with fellow WWE diva Lita. She fought Stephanie McMahon in the No Way Out 2001, losing the match but surprising fans and piquing their interest.
She also dated WWE honcho Vince McMahon on air, which, coupled with her loss to his daughter, led a string of humiliating episodes, including being ordered to bark like a dog by McMahon while crawling around the ring.
The payoff for the humiliation came at WrestleMania X-Seven where she effectively changed the narrative by trouncing her tormentors, becoming a fan favorite and a role model for female WWE fans in the process. Her team-up with rival Lita for the Battle of the Sexes resulted in a loss but a lot of respect and good will.
She went on to win the women’s championship seven times, beating rivals like Molly Holly and Sasha Banks and becoming one of the most, if not the most, respected female wrestlers in WWE history.
As a heel, she had notable storylines. Besides her rivalry with Lita, a feud with unstable fan-turned-enemy Mickie James delighted fans. She retired in 2006.
Trish Stratus Now
Despite some very uncomfortable moments, Stratus’ reputation as one of the best remains intact.
Aside from period reappearances in the WWE, she has resumed her pre-WWE work as a fitness model.
She popped up in TV shows and movies like Armed & Famous and Bounty Hunters before moving on to launch her own health and fitness business ventures.
She has a line of health products and an ecofriendly yoga studio in Toronto called Statusphere that has won several local business awards.
After retiring from the WWE, she married her longtime sweetheart and now has two kids. She has become a prolific charity worker, working with health and children’s wellness organizations like the Ronald McDonald House, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, and the Special Olympics.
She entered the WWE Hall of Fame and 2013, becoming the youngest inductee in the organization’s history. She was inducted by her rival Stephanie McMahon.
She’s returned to the ring in 2011 and 2016, and most recently participated in the Women’s Royal Rumble in January of 2018.
Though she itted that she doesn’t always follow WWE these days, she is proud of her role in the Women’s Revolution that paved the way for female wrestler’s to have more active roles in the ring.
Hillbilly Jim then
During his heyday, Hillybilly Jim was a huge fan-favorite. As a protégé of Hulk Hogan, Jim’s wrestling prowess was bolstered by good business sense and an awareness of what fans wanted in a match.
Clad in overalls and a bushy beard, he was introduced to audiences as a die-hard Hulk Hogan fan who was compelled to enter the ring when his idol was in trouble.
This stunt helped him cultivate two aspects of his enduring image— one as the earnest protégé of Hogan, the other as a down-to-earth, blue collar fighter.
Always seen as a funnier or lighter character than some of the more serious wrestlers, Jim began each match with a mini hoedown, entering the ring to the tune of “Don’t Go Messin’ With a Country Boy”, dancing and making a spectacle.
His matches are the stuff of fan adoration. He became known for fighting monster-themed wrestlers like King Kong Bundy. His tuxedo matches against Mr. Fuji, so-called because they fought in tuxedoes, displayed a knack for giving audiences both humor and physicality in matches.
In the 1988 Survivor Series, he wrestled alongside Hogan and Randy Savage and was a common sight in tag team matches throughout the '80s. He was often eliminated before the win, but he provided and humor.
He appeared on trading cards and in a Saturday morning cartoon alongside his mentors and fellow wrestlers. A neck injury during a team bout in 1986 slowed his career, and he had his last match in 1990.
Hillbilly Jim Now
Some WWE stars leave the organization bitter and resentful. Hillbilly Jim is not one of those people. Alongside stints with the WWE, he’s had a successful career in music and radio.
"I don't have my Sirius XM radio show because I'm Jim Morris. I've got it because I'm Hillbilly Jim…This company gave me Hillbilly Jim,” he told the Bleacher Report.
He stayed with the company that gave him his big break through much of the 9'0s and the first half of the 2000s. He had stints as a guest referee and as the manager of the similarly-themed Godwinn’s for a while.
He later became an ambassador for the WWE, working as a sales representative, emceeing regional events, and sometimes returning to the ring for nostalgia matches.
Leaving the company in 2005, he has hosted the Moonshine Matinee, a radio program that features southern rock on Sirius XM. He is also a member of the Kentucky Blues Society and appears at local events.
In his career, he has accrued a lifetime of anecdotes and famous friends, doing charity work for causes like Farm Aid and sports events for the disabled.
In 2018, it was announced that he would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Even though his wish of being inducted like Hulk Hogan was a no-go, Hillbilly was characteristically enthusiastic, saying that the honor was “as good as I could ever hope for.”
AJ Lee then
AJ Lee stepped out of the ring at the peak of her career. A self-described “one girl revolution” that made the WWE ask if she was “the figment of some Manga-geek’s adolescent imagination," her geeky, tomboy personal differentiated her from the other WWE divas, even as she racked up fans, wins, and championships.
She came in third in NXT season 3, debuting in Smackdown in 2011. She made waves with an appearance in WrestleMania 28, largely due to her on air relationship with fellow wrestler Daniel Bryan, purportedly costing him a victory by distracting him with a kiss.
This kickstarted a period of telegraphed instability where Lee was just as famous for her ringside romances as she was for her work in the ring.
Her on-air persona included a rocky stint as a manager before she won the Divas Championship in 2013 by manipulating her best friend and soon-to-be rival Kaitlyn.
During this time, Lee played the role of the heel, constantly sniping at her female rivals like the Bella Twins and retaining the title until she was dethroned by Paige.
This began a rivalry that would continue through events like Battleground and SummerSlam.
She recovered her title before losing to the Bella Twins in 2014 and then recapturing it, even teaming up with her onetime rival Paige to fight off her other rivals, the Bellas.
AJ Lee Now
Lee, whose real name is April Jeannette Mendez, retired from the WWE after Wrestlemania 31. Rumors circulated that her departure was due to bad blood between the WWE and her husband/fellow wrestler CM Punk.
There were also rumors of Lee’s own problems with roster and of a neck injury. Lee had also been vocal about disparities in the treatment and payment of women in the WWE.
In 2016, Lee published her autobiography Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules. A TV show based on the book was in development as of 2017, with Lee acting as executive producer.
She has remained in the limelight following her departure from the WWE. In addition to publicity for her book and possible TV series, she has worked to raise awareness for mental health issues and challenges the stigma around mental illness.
She has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to raise funds through a GoFundMe campaign called “Call Me Crazy for a Cause.”
She also works with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and on her Twitter , she describes herself as “New York Times Best Selling author, Animal Avenger, former wrestling champ, foul-mouthed gamer.”