Who has the best tattoo's in all-wrestling?

[CM Steel]

To the average wrestling fan tattoo's are overrated in pro wrestling. They never really got accepted until the late 1990's. From the Godfather to now CM Punk. Who has the best tattoo's in all-wrestling? Does tats help get a wrestler over?

In 2003 WWE chairman Vince McMahon tried to crackdown on pushing superstars who spotted alot of ink at that time (Lesnar, Orton, Batista). But in the end it really didn't make a big difference. But McMahon pictures his wrestling company to have it's top face superstars to be a model pro wrestler of any top wrestling promotion such as the WWE.

Superstars like John Cena, Triple H, and Sheamus are prime examples of that. And what Vince McMahon knows goes! So in any era upon now in your own opinion. Who has the best tattoo's in all-wrestling? And does it really matter for a wrestler to have so many?

 

[#heel420]

CM Punk's chest piece is awesome. I really like Wade Barrett's right arm tattoo. But I'm gonna say Undertaker. He was one of the first guys to be completely sleeved and it went hand in hand with his American Bad Ass persona.

I don't think it really matters to the fans how many tattoos a guy has, but with management they're a lot more likely to push you if you don't have that much ink.

 

[wooooo]

I always liked The Rock's brahma bull tattoo, simple and meaningful.

 

[lalilulelo]

I was never huge on the Punk Pepsi tattoo. From my experience, people who are new to the show find it silly and they find it's backstory silly, as well. It obviously doesn't matter, CM Punk is fine with it and is proud of who he is. But in a weird way, I've always found it to hinder him, a little. He's this intellectual, "Mr. Reality," wrestler who demands to be taken seriously, and he has a Pepsi tattoo covering his whole shoulder. Again, clearly it doesn't matter, the man has found stardom and it means nothing, but if we're talking coolest tattoos, this is what comes to mind for Punk. His chest expansion is killer, though.

However, this is one accolade that I'll throw to Orton. I've never been a huge Orton fan, but his sleeves are pretty badass. The skulls stand out just enough, and they give him a distinct look, at least for a heel. The Rock's tats are great, too. Especially his Samoan heritage tat. Cool meaning, cool looking, and it enhances and already cool guy.

 

[mesl]

The best tattoo for 'wrestling' purposes was Bam Bam Bigelow.. The scalp piece was completely unique at the time and instantly gave him a persona and tough guy vibe. It was both mean and cool and gave him a launching pad to a great career.

Another great wrestling tattoo was Goldbergs arm piece.. Iconic, memorable, and sold a hell of a lot of tshirts.

 

[ProWrestlingFan84]

I was going to say either the Undertaker or Randy Orton because I think their sleeves are pretty awesome but then when I read the post on the 'Beast from the East' I had to agree with Bam Bam. That head flame piece was just wow original and awesome. Made him seem more of just a bad ass, least in my opinion. Other people who come to mind are AJ Styles because of his rib piece to his kids, Brock Lesnar because he's a beast and same goes for Batista.

 

[AJ1981]

Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Batista got pushed because of tattoos? They got over with the fans because of tattoos? Really? What is the point of this thread?

The OP wasn't suggesting they were pushed because they had tattoos. They were saying that Vince wasn't keen on pushing wrestlers with tattoos (although I've never heard that and I don't think it's true) and what are people's favourite tattoos, I think the title "Who's got the best tattoo's in wrestling?" is quite clear. Personally I'd go with Lesnar, Orton, Batista & Punk

 

[bestintheworld.j.h33]

I don't think it really matters if a superstar has tattoos or not. It's just a personal preference of the superstar. In my opinion The Undertaker and CM Punk have the best tattoos in wrestling all time.

 

[Mr_billy]

It may not be the best tattoo artistically, but the Best one for just staying power and becoming tied with a wrestler is by far Goldberg's tribal tat, anyone who was a wrestling fan would se it and know instantly who it is, it is an Icon. Now the worst, Batista's belly button tat.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

CM Punk easily for me, mainly because of the GI Joe influenced Tattoos he has. The Cobra symbol and the mark of the Arashikage Ninja Clan are awesome! Also if you watch his dvd where he talks about his tattoos they all actually have a meaning and aren't just generic tribal symbols and skulls.

I like Takers tattoos as well but he hasn't kept them up very well and most are very faded and don't look that great anymore.

I like Ortons sleeves but all his tribal work just distracts from what could be really awesome artwork.

Batistas dragon on his back is bad ass but then he has some shitty tribal mixed in on his arm sleeves and the god awful belly tattoo.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

If I had to pick one, I'd have to go with a trendsetter. And that person is Randy Orton. Now many can point out that UT was the first with sleeve tats, but I think that Orton's are better. It was clearly a time when he was experiencing the same injury over and over again and wanted to go down a bit in his muscle definition. I think this covered it up nicely and has sort of a "battle armor" look with how each arm mirrors the other. You see allot of wrestlers going this route with Kid Kash, Crimson, Gunner, and a host of others. It's a bad assed warrior look, if you have the continuity in both sleeves.

 

[RKO920]

I'll do mine in a ranking...

1. Randy Orton- once he added the sleeves to make it one unified look it sealed the deal with him being the top guy.

2. Undertaker- again like Orton there is a theme to his which is mostly wizards and some skulls but they are older tattoos and don't look as cool IMO.

3. CM Punk- Mostly a random collection of tattoos but he sticks with an American Traditional theme with his tattoos and that I can respect.

4. Batista- Sure the belly button tattoo ruins it but arm piece and his back make up for that one horrible one.

5. Goldberg- One single tattoo made for all the merchandising he ever needed, sure he added a second piece on the inside of his arm but the tribal he had was his symbol and copied by many, many people since then.

Honorable Mentions-

Rey Mysterio just for the back piece of the spine

Lita her half sleeve is pretty BA and she's a woman so that's awesome.

Worst Tattoo.....

Brock Lesnar with that horrible dagger on his chest, looks stupid and not needed at all. I get there's meaning behind it but no, just no.

 

[HBsam31]

Currently I would say CM Punk because I had heard each of his have a special meaning, and nothing bothers me more than people that get ink just for the sake of getting it. As far as best tattoos all time in wrestling I would have to say Bam Bam Bigelow. He looked Badass with those tattos on his skull, and at the time it was something no one had ever really seen. Hell, you don't even see it now, and I remember as a kid thinking wow this dude must be tough if he could endure a head full of tats. I know I wouldn't want to mess with a guy with ink all over his bald head lol. I don't think it should matter if a wrestler has a lot of tattos. It is pretty common place in today's society.

 

[JohnnieGoodtimes]

I'd have to go with CM Punk as well. I am a little biased though because I've got a lot of work done at the same shop he goes to in Chicago, and they are all amazing artists. I also really like Edge's Dia De Los Muertos skulls.

 

[amodernphoenix]

The people on this post haven't been watching wrestling for long, apparently, with the exception of the one who mentioned Bam Bam Bigelo. Long before there even was a CM Punk, Randy Orton, Batista, Brock Lesner, or even an Undertaker or the Rock, HBK was sporting his heart and dagger tattoo.

In the 80s, the Wild Samoans had tattoos, as did many others and Harley Race was well known for his. Also, for the person who said that the Undertaker got his tattoos with the "American Badass" gimmick, well, you're wrong. He began getting them shortly after he went from Mean Mark Callous to the Undertaker and each one of them has supernatural undertones in line with the original Undertaker character. They were not done as sleeves, but individual pieces that blended together.

 

[Kelso1ftw]

I really like Orton's sleeve tattoos, they kind of fit his character and help make his character. Just like Mack_Swagger said about the whole bad ass american character the undertaker had, his full sleeves made him just look like a bad ass biker. I think tattoos can really make a character pop more. Could you imagine Cena with full sleeve tattoos? no because he isn't a rebellious or bad ass character, compared to Orton, Taker, or even Punk.

 

[I Heart Cena]

Lesnar, because he has one of his mom on his back.

Taker's Sarah on his throat was cool.

 

[Thom]

Batista's belly button tattoo is the greatest wrestling tattoo of all time, because it's really cool. Do I need to justify it any more than that? I don't think it matters if a superstar has tattoos or not, the way people talk about how important the look of a wrestler is seems mad. Of course it matters to an extent, but this isn't America's Next Top Model. That said, tattoos can definitely contribute to the look of a wrestler. Comparing CM Punks look now to when he debuted in ECW, the tattoos have definitely added something. I'm contradicting myself. I'm going to stop this inane rambling now.

 

[dotty_84]

Surprised nobody mentioned Shawn Michaels heart tattoo with the dagger through it? It symbolised his gimmick very well.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I agree with Bam Bam Bigelow. You couldn't get a more tough, fierce, intimidating look than a head flame piece. It's also a great replacement for a plain bald head, I might consider getting one if I ever lose my hair.

The Rock's tattoo on his left arm is second best for me. The tattoo represents his culture, family and struggle, as he describes in the Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena DVD. I remember when he debuted the tattoo as part of his new look when he returned as heel in 2003, not only did I think it was so badass but it really helped me take The Rock very seriously as heel cause it wasn't the same Rock no more.

I also like Santino's Lion tattoo on his back. But it might've been better if he had gotten a small Lion tattoo on his left breast where his Conan The Barbarian tattoo is instead, if he had then the tattoo could represent that he has the heart of a lion, and maybe he could've taken up "Lionheart" as a nickname.

 

[Fansince1992]

Suprised no one mentioned Jeff Hardy. I'm not sure if those eye lid eyes he has are face paint or real tattoo's.. If they are real then that's one crazy guy. The Neck Tattoo is cool too.

Best ever Tattoo's, i would have to agree with most and say Randy Orton. The pattern on his upper back just below his neck looks awesome, makes those sleeves of his stand out more imo.

 

[lbastone6]

I would have to say that Jeff Hardy's root tattoo that goes along most of his body is awesome and my personal favorite. A close second is Randy Orton's sleeves they helped solidify him as a bad ass heel when he returned.

 

[Jdulemba1001]

Whats with Santinos lion tattoo not getting any love? All the others are great choices, but I like Santinos backpiece. Its gotta be up there with the best.

 

[MFR0mack]

Santino's back piece doesn't get any love because it's not only poorly done, it's an impartial lion's head and putting a giant lion's head all over your back just looks dumb anyways.

The people saying Orton's tatts qualify for "best" are pretty delusional, too. His fill-in skulls look like they were done in a ghetto neighborhood of LA county & what it makes it worse and takes away any artistic integrity is that they're all literally the same skulls! Rather than having an artist draw out unique and individual designs for his skull-lined arms, they're simply traced off of the same design and it comes off looking lazy and cheap.

In terms of top-quality tattoos, CM Punk & Undertaker rule the spectrum, but Wade Barrett's is pretty cool, too.