Pro Wrestling

Mt. Rushmores of Wrestling: Iconic facial hair

Having a unique look in wrestling often means having iconic facial hair.

January 25, 2021

Mount Rushmores of Wrestling is a series that breaks down the cream of the crop of professional wrestling in our quest to come to a consensus on the top 4 of any given category. In today’s edition we’re looking at iconic facial hair.

AIPT Note: This is one Mt. Rushmore where there is an objectively correct answer, and yet we’re not going to include it on this list. Sure we could make some jokes about a certain someone’s golden handlebar mustache, but it would be positive words for a guy that we aren’t too fond of around these parts.

The Rock’s sideburns

Jason: When the Rock was coming up as a heel, he showed mere glimpses of the multimedia megastar that he would eventually be. A lot of that had to do with his undeniably magnetic charisma on the mic and the huge chip on his shoulder, but we should not forget that early heel Rock had one thing that set him apart from every other star of the Attitude Era: style. From his thousand dollar shirts to the shades, The Rock was so effortlessly cool that fans across the country were trying to copy his look whenever possible. Sadly, my high school did not allow it’s students to grow facial hair; but they made an exception for sideburns! As such, tons of kids were rocking (pun retroactively intended) Dwayne’s mutton chops throughout the halls, popping eyebrows and calling each other roody poos, jabronis, etc. The look would make sporadic appearances throughout the years (CM Punk rocked a pretty rad set of chops toward the end of his run with the WWE), but for at least a large section of South Florida, no one bore the burns quite like the Great One.

Sheamus’ chops

Shan: As a hair stylist myself, occasionally there’s some styles that leave me…perplexed. Looking at Sheamus makes me uncomfortable, only because his look shouldn’t work but it just does. Sheamus’ ginger locks seem to stand up perfectly on their own and are only overshadowed by the most perfectly sculpted mutton chops and soul patch. It’s an absolutely wild combination and one that I could not see many pulling off. Something about his Peaky Blinders 1920’s brawler persona that just makes it work. This fella has rocked the chops as his signature look for years. They’re actually an upgrade from the six inch mohawk and full beard he had before. It’s bold but I couldn’t imagine Sheamus without his signature chops. Whether I like it or not, that’s iconic.

Rick Rude’s mustache

Jason: The mustache has long been held as the paragon of masculinity and no one does the upper lip dust brush quite as good as Ravishing Rick Rude. Despite having a feathered mullet that would make Cinderella blush, the man was a bonafide sex symbol, regularly making the scant ladies in the crowd thirstier than a bowl of pretzels. Sure the guy looked like he was chiseled out of marble, but we all know it was the power of that magnificent Magnum PI under his nose that was driving all the ladies wild. It was such an iconic look that even his illegitimate son Robert tried his hand at Rick’s lip rug and natty bathrobe look to modest success. Any time a wrestler sports a mustache, they will inevitably be compared to Rude’s Face Lace, and left wanting, as there is no finer grass grin in history than Ravishing Rick Rude’s mustache!

Jeff Hardy’s ???

Shan: When the Hardy Boyz burst onto the scene it was more than just their high flying style of wrestling that was turning heads. From the TRIPP pants, to the neon arm warmers, to the Manic Panic dyed hair, it’s safe to say Team Xtreme are bonafide style icons. Their mall goth aesthetic definitely was a big part of their appeal. It’s hard to choose a favorite between the two but Jeff Hardy has one edge up on his brother (no pun intended), and it’s his weird facial hair. Though I don’t even know if you can consider this facial hair, since, you know, it’s mostly on his neck. Coming off almost as an extension of his signature face paint, The Charismatic Enigma has rocked his tiger stripes for the better part of two decades. Which is impressive considering the technical skill (and time) it must take to maintain. That kind of dedication is admirable, even for a designer neck beard.