Among guys with actual major careers, I believe the correct answer is Stan Frazier, with 20. Uncle Elmer in the WWF, The Convict out west, and a ton of different gimmicks in Memphis ranging from Plowboy Frazier to Playboy Frazier--with Kamala II, The Lone Ranger, and The Giant Rebel in-between.
Randy Colley would be next with 17: Moondog Rex, Demolition Smash, Randy Colley/Culley, The Nightmare, various Assassin gimmicks in Memphis, Deadeye Dick, Shadow #1, and others.
Depends on what you count as a "gimmick" change, really. I mean, are Brutus Beefcake, male stripper from the Dream Team, and Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake the same gimmick really?
Nobody cares that Jerkoff McGee played a slightly different outlaw for 20 different territories. That's why the question involves major national promotions.
I don't have an answer by the way. I just think Jerkoff McGee the Outlaw would be a cool indy name.
When the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 2004 to advance to the World Series, the Brawler briefly switched his allegiance from Brooklyn to Boston for a SD! taping in New York.
He's not breaking any records, but Matt Bloom has had quite a few gimmicks. Before coming to WWE in 1999 he had a few different names, but no noteworthy or varying gimmicks. From 1999 onward: - Prince Albert, tattoo artist - Albert, powerhouse member of the T&A tag team and X-Factor stable. - Albert, the Hip Hop Hippo with Scotty 2 Hotty. - A-Train, no-nonsense bad ass. - Giant Bernard, Gaijin power wrestler. - Lord Tensai, North American wrestler rich with Japanese culture, knowledge and skill. - Sweet-T, dancer.
Cody Rhodes deserves recognition for keeping the gimmick change alive in modern WWE even though he's kept the same name.
So far he's been
--"Generic blue chipper" Cody Rhodes with Hardcore Holly and then subservient to Randy Orton. --"Dashing" Cody Rhodes who gave out grooming tips. --Crazed Dr.Doom Cody Rhodes who wore a mask, put paper bags on people's heads and cut weird promos. --Mustached Cody Rhodes who knows what the lights look like in at least 150 different arenas.
And they'll probably give him a new gimmick when he fails to get over as a face.
Beefcake also went by the names Eddie Boulder, Golden and Hogan when he was supposed to be Hulks brother. Not sure if you would count those as three different gimmicks, since it was just a different different names, but it's at least one more for Brutus
Ah... See, I've blacked out most of the month after the fourth game of the ALCS. It was weird that they just cancelled the end of the season like that...
I always thought it was strange that one half of one of the most popular tag teams of all time would get repackaged at all (in WWE at least, I get it in WCW).
Would Clipmaster count for Leslie too, even though it never made TV? Also, I've meant to bring this up for a while...I do not recall Beefcake between the Faces of Fear and Zodiac being called The Man With No FACE outside of SK's writings. Just "...No Name."
Oh, what about "Brute Force"? Or was that another Brother Bruti case?
Ron Reis might have the highest ratio to gimmicks to matches wrestled.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Haas
ReplyDeleteX-Pac might be up there too.
ReplyDeleteIf it isn't Beefcake, I'd probably go with the Shockmaster/Typhoon/Tugboat/Big Bubba/Uncle Fred/.....you get the picture lol
ReplyDeleteBig Bubba was actually Ray Traylor, aka Big Boss Man, Guardian Angel, The Boss etc.
ReplyDeleteMay I submit for consideration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Taylor
ReplyDeleteFred Ottman was also a Big Bubba in Memphis... just not the Big Bubba anyone remembers
ReplyDeleteBecause wrestling needed two Big Bubbas
Ottman wrestled as Big Bubba in Memphis.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some of the journeyman indy guys have had dozens of gimmicks.
ReplyDeleteWell I´ll be damned. I stand corrected then!
ReplyDeleteAmong guys with actual major careers, I believe the correct answer is Stan Frazier, with 20. Uncle Elmer in the WWF, The Convict out west, and a ton of different gimmicks in Memphis ranging from Plowboy Frazier to Playboy Frazier--with Kamala II, The Lone Ranger, and The Giant Rebel in-between.
ReplyDeleteRandy Colley would be next with 17: Moondog Rex, Demolition Smash, Randy Colley/Culley, The Nightmare, various Assassin gimmicks in Memphis, Deadeye Dick, Shadow #1, and others.
Depends on what you count as a "gimmick" change, really. I mean, are Brutus Beefcake, male stripper from the Dream Team, and Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake the same gimmick really?
ReplyDeleteuh yeah?
ReplyDeleteHe cut people's hair... and before he didn't.
That's a gimmick change.
Nobody has more gimmicks that Clipmaster
ReplyDeleteAnd then he turned heel and became Superstar Bubba. So Bill Dundee kicked him in the nuts.
ReplyDeleteNobody cares that Jerkoff McGee played a slightly different outlaw for 20 different territories. That's why the question involves major national promotions.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an answer by the way. I just think Jerkoff McGee the Outlaw would be a cool indy name.
Al Snow?
ReplyDeleteGodPapa Shango the Supreme Fighting Machine?
ReplyDeleteBrutus:
ReplyDelete- Brutus Beefcake V.1
- Brutus "The Butcher" Beefcake
- Furface
- The Butcher (I don't count "Brother Brutii" as a separate gimmick, since it was just a legally obligated name change.)
- The Man With No Name/Face
- Zodiac
- THE BOOTY MAN
- Disciple
That's not counting the rumored gimmicks that never came to fruition, like the "Indiana Jones" one in WCW.
Lombardi:
- The Brooklyn/Boston Brawler
- Kimchee
- Doink
- MVP/Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz
- Jerry Lawler's "Red Knight"
Armstrong:
- Mr. R
- Fantasia/Badstreet
- Arachniman
- Candyman
- Freedom Fighter
- B.A.
- Buzzkill
- Dos Hombre #2
So it looks like Beefcake and Armstrong are tied at eight apiece.
What were all of Lombardi's gimmicks anyway?
ReplyDeleteI can only recall Brooklyn Brawler, Doink and Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz.
Kimchee
ReplyDeleteScratch the red knight. That was Horowitz.
ReplyDeleteWith Big Show, the Showster, Showkishi, etc nipping at his heels
ReplyDeleteGlen Jacobs was on pace to set the all-time record until he stumbled onto Kane. As his reward, he changed face/heel roughly 15 times since then.
ReplyDeleteLol whoa.....I do remember that! Fred Ottman breakdancing!
ReplyDeleteTraylor has had a lot too! (Ray Traylor, Big Bubba Rogers, The Boss, The Guardian Angel, The Big Bossman.....and The War Machine!)
ReplyDeleteBoston Brawler?
ReplyDeleteWhen the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 2004 to advance to the World Series, the Brawler briefly switched his allegiance from Brooklyn to Boston for a SD! taping in New York.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Daniels, The Fallen Angel, Daniels, Suicide, Curry Man, Bad Influence (do those count as separate entities? I don't know)
ReplyDeleteTerry Boulder, Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan, Mr. America, Sex-tape Hogan
ReplyDeleteYeah,Colley's another good one.
ReplyDeleteHe's not breaking any records, but Matt Bloom has had quite a few gimmicks. Before coming to WWE in 1999 he had a few different names, but no noteworthy or varying gimmicks. From 1999 onward:
ReplyDelete- Prince Albert, tattoo artist
- Albert, powerhouse member of the T&A tag team and X-Factor stable.
- Albert, the Hip Hop Hippo with Scotty 2 Hotty.
- A-Train, no-nonsense bad ass.
- Giant Bernard, Gaijin power wrestler.
- Lord Tensai, North American wrestler rich with Japanese culture, knowledge and skill.
- Sweet-T, dancer.
Cody Rhodes deserves recognition for keeping the gimmick change alive in modern WWE even though he's kept the same name.
ReplyDeleteSo far he's been
--"Generic blue chipper" Cody Rhodes with Hardcore Holly and then subservient to Randy Orton.
--"Dashing" Cody Rhodes who gave out grooming tips.
--Crazed Dr.Doom Cody Rhodes who wore a mask, put paper bags on people's heads and cut weird promos.
--Mustached Cody Rhodes who knows what the lights look like in at least 150 different arenas.
And they'll probably give him a new gimmick when he fails to get over as a face.
KANE
ReplyDelete- CHRISTMAS CREATURE
-A BOMBER
- A DENTIST
- A FRAUD
- A BIG RED MACHINE AND HIS EVOLUTION
Sean Waltman probably holds the record have having the most names with the exact same gimmick.
ReplyDeleteBaldo in ovw
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about barry darsow!
ReplyDeleteBarry Darsow end of wcw
The Blacktop Bully
Crusher Darsow
Krusher Khruschev
Pain Stewart
Repo Man
Smash
Before the brawler gimmick, Lombardi wrestled as himself, so shouldn't that count as well?
ReplyDeleteHOLE IN ONE!
ReplyDeleteI just wanna say TNA is completely terrible.
ReplyDelete/spoilers
Not really. As someone mentioned above, he's had a ton of name changes, but never changed his gimmick.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he went from plucky underball to greaseball and never looked back.
ReplyDeleteand possibly coming soon : right wing politician!
ReplyDeleteHow about the recently departed D.O.C., Andrew Hankinson, he's had a few gimmicks in his years in the game:
ReplyDelete(The) Big LG
Big XLG
Deacon Deville
D.O.C.
Dorian Deville
Festus
Festus Dalton
Freakin' Deacon
Impostor Kane
Isaiah Cash
Johnny 99
Justice Dalton
Keith Hanson
Luke Gallow
Luke Gallows
The Masked Assassin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Hankinson
Brutus probably the most well known however.
So it was a gimmick change when Adrian Adonis started cutting people's hair?
ReplyDeleteAre you trolling me?
ReplyDeleteEast-West Connection?
Street tough badass Adrian Adonis and then he morphed into the fag after he got fat.
Punishment yes, but it was a gimmick change.
No, I'm not trolling you.
ReplyDeleteHe went from street tough badass to pink fag.
Then he started cutting hair.
Did the act of cutting hair count as an extra gimmick? Because he cut people's hair...and before he didn't.
Beefcake also went by the names Eddie Boulder, Golden and Hogan when he was supposed to be Hulks brother. Not sure if you would count those as three different gimmicks, since it was just a different different names, but it's at least one more for Brutus
ReplyDeletei wouldnt say so cuz the end result was the gimmick change of beefcake
ReplyDeleteid call it a character tweak like cody rhodes.
He's not the winner, but I vote for Crush. I don't think I can name anyone else who had six different gimmicks but kept the same name.
ReplyDeleteDemolition Crush
Kona Crush
Evil Mr Fuju Crush
Jailbird Crush
Nation of Domination Crush
Biker Crush
They killed off the "Dr. Doom" character he had way to quick
ReplyDeleteAh... See, I've blacked out most of the month after the fourth game of the ALCS. It was weird that they just cancelled the end of the season like that...
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was strange that one half of one of the most popular tag teams of all time would get repackaged at all (in WWE at least, I get it in WCW).
ReplyDeleteSterling Golden
ReplyDeleteIf only that were just a gimmick...
ReplyDeleteFUNB Terry Bollea.
ReplyDeleteSome of those are just storylines of the same character.
ReplyDeleteProbably my favorite stupid gimmick of all time. His setup before the match would last longer than the match itself
ReplyDeleteMike Shaw:
ReplyDelete- Makhan Singh (in Stampede)
- Norman the Lunatic
- Bastion Booger
And some others that I could probably pull out, but I've already given this too much thought.
Friar Ferguson for one Monday Night Raw
ReplyDeleteDon't throw 'recently departed' around so lightly -- I thought I'd missed another wrestler death.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Kim/Terrell ladder match?
ReplyDeleteNot COMPLETELY terrible......right? RIGHT?!?
Also if you count it, Trucker Norm.
ReplyDeleteBig Bubba, no trouba!
ReplyDeleteWould Clipmaster count for Leslie too, even though it never made TV? Also, I've meant to bring this up for a while...I do not recall Beefcake between the Faces of Fear and Zodiac being called The Man With No FACE outside of SK's writings. Just "...No Name."
ReplyDeleteOh, what about "Brute Force"? Or was that another Brother Bruti case?
How about Scott Hall?
ReplyDelete-Starship Eagle
"Big " Scott Hall
-Diamond Studd
-Razor Ramon
-NWO Scott Hall
With his valet Tits McGee!
ReplyDeleteI thought she was still on vacation.
ReplyDelete