WWE/NXT superstars ever held back because of bad tattoos?

[DCLXVI]

This is kind of a different, interesting topic. Most of my body is covered in (nice) tattoos, up to my throat, face and head actually. This obviously dictates how people look at me. I was wondering if bad tattoos ever held wrestlers in WWE back. It's hard to switch characters when people identify you with certain tattoos. It breaks kayfabe and shows what the person under the character is.

Some glaring (bad tattoo) examples off the top of my head would be Viktor in The Ascension's Danzig tattoo (it's a literal Danzig logo/says Danzig on his arm), Rusev's Bulgaria tattoo, Jason Albert/Tensai's tattoos, Kevin Owens/Steen has a Brahma bull on his arm as a tribute to The Rock, Santino as a heavily tattooed comedy jobber was always strange to me, Randy Orton's tribal stuff that he later filled around with skulls and jokes about, and there are many, many more.

I guess I'm wondering if wrestlers have ever been advised to have tattoo removal or it has held back certain wrestlers. Some guys can pull it off - a la CM Punk who had a shitty Pepsi logo and "Straight Edge" on his stomach before he got all his nicer work done. Does it change how you look at a Superstar?

 

[capnwillie]

I don't think it's ever really been a factor. Orton and Batista both have tribal tattoos, which are awful in general. Lucky for both they've had other, better work done since surrounding it. However, they were both getting pushes and winning belts. Now, if someone were to come in loaded up with prison gang tattoos, that might hold them back. There was a MMA fighter a few years ago who had obviously done time and was covered in Aryan Brotherhood tats and SS bolts. He had one fight but there was so much backlash that he was understandably fired.

 

[DCLXVI]

Left Batista out of this... but yeah very strange to see a guy that jacked with a Godsmack sun looking tattoo around his belly button and feminine looking stars going up his ribs.

 

[Kidpolean]

This is kind of a different, interesting topic. Most of my body is covered in (nice) tattoos, up to my throat, face and head actually. This obviously dictates how people look at me. I was wondering if bad tattoos ever held wrestlers in WWE back. It's hard to switch characters when people identify you with certain tattoos. It breaks kayfabe and shows what the person under the character is.

Some glaring (bad tattoo) examples off the top of my head would be Viktor in The Ascension's Danzig tattoo (it's a literal Danzig logo/says Danzig on his arm), Rusev's Bulgaria tattoo, Jason Albert/Tensai's tattoos, Kevin Owens/Steen has a Brahma bull on his arm as a tribute to The Rock, Santino as a heavily tattooed comedy jobber was always strange to me, Randy Orton's tribal stuff that he later filled around with skulls and jokes about, and there are many, many more.

I guess I'm wondering if wrestlers have ever been advised to have tattoo removal or it has held back certain wrestlers. Some guys can pull it off - a la CM Punk who had a shitty Pepsi logo and "Straight Edge" on his stomach before he got all his nicer work done. Does it change how you look at a Superstar?

You have nice tattoos? lol who told you that? Did you ask every person in the world and they all said they were nice? You do know that some people think ALL tattoos are shitty and disgusting right?

I dont see anything wrong with any of the tattoos you just mentioned. Stop judging people. Trust me there are people that think your tattoos are shitty as well. I have no clue if tattoos have ever been a problem for a wrestler in the wwe. I wrestle and have a full sleeve on one arm and a half on the other and its never been a problem. Honestly, after I tape my hands and elbows you really cant see much of my sleeve anyway. Tattoo removal leaves discoloration or scarring that usually stands out and looks worse than whatever tattoo was trying to be removed. If someone told me to remove my tats, I would walk out the door and never look back.

People call tats above the collar bone and below the wrist bone, Job repellent BTW

 

[DCLXVI]

When I say "nice tattoos" I mean tattoos that are done by good artists, like CM Punk's colorful Japanese style tattoos or Corey Graves stuff. Not big tribal tattoos and they fit for some guys. They take longer and cost more money than what obviously looks like it was done without a lot of care or hours into it. You just contradicted yourself by saying stop judging people, that WWE doesn't hold people back for tattoos, and that they are a job repellent "by the way" like I would put dozens of hours and a lot of money into those tattoos without knowing. it isn't about me and believe me I've been in tattoo magazines and walked around with them long enough to know and that is another subject.

Back to wrestlers...

 

[DCLXVI]

And from a character standpoint... what I was getting at: you have a guy like Viktor for example, whose gimmick is to be this demonic pseudo-satanic kind of guy... then he has a band logo on his arm. It breaks kayfabe for that character. CM Punk had the Pepsi logo. It's no different than ring gear or any of that in entertainment.

 

[Kidpolean]

When I say "nice tattoos" I mean tattoos that are done by good artists, like CM Punk's colorful Japanese style tattoos or Corey Graves stuff. Not big tribal tattoos and they fit for some guys. They take longer and cost more money than what obviously looks like it was done without a lot of care or hours into it. But it isn't about me and believe me I've been in tattoo magazines and walked around with them long enough to know and that is another subject.

You just contradicted yourself by saying stop judging people, that WWE doesn't hold people back for tattoos, and that they are a job repellent "by the way" like I would put dozens of hours and a lot of money into those tattoos without knowing.

Um when did I say wwe doesnt hold people back because of tats? I said I have no clue. I love tats I have no problem with them on hands, neck, and face...my point was that no matter the quality of the tat there will be people that dont like yours. The people that call them "job repellent" dont give a damn how colorful they are or that you've been in a magazine. I personally dont like color in tattoos at all...I dont like Graves or Punks tattoos...I prefer Ortons over both of theirs but I would never call them shitty. Your attitude towards others tattoos is absurd. The tattoo culture as a whole is always under attack and rules are being made everyday to make it hard for people with tats to find jobs. Look at the new military regs!!! It is disappointing for me to hear an extremely tattooed person speak the same way as the people that think everyone with tats are ex cons. You are fighting your own culture with that mentality.

 

[DCLXVI]

I wasn't attacking tattoo culture. Believe me, in high end tattoo shops people roll their eyes or pass if someone wants tribal. That isn't me, that's guys tattooing for 20-odd years. Orton's tattoos fit him and he jokes about them and doesn't take it seriously, you shouldn't either. My roommate is a marine and I know all about the regulations and he's getting more tattooed now that he is out. I was strictly speaking from a CHARACTER standpoint... Do we believe a particular character would have a tattoo based on their history, etc. as a character? I did not mean "this guy has tattoos in general so let's not hire him".

 

[capnwillie]

DC's attitude towards others' tattoos isn't absurd. He was asking a question if anyone knew if guys had been held back because of them. As for Orton/Batista, he's also entitled to his opinion which is not exactly an unpopular opinion as tribal tattoos have become passé over the last 10 years. If you disagree Kidpolean, fine, but don't be so heavy handed about it. Are you his dad or something? Jeez. Switch to decaf.

 

[Kidpolean]

I wasn't attacking tattoo culture. Believe me, in high end tattoo shops people roll their eyes or pass if someone wants tribal. That isn't me, that's guys tattooing for 20-odd years. Orton's tattoos fit him and he jokes about them and doesn't take it seriously, you shouldn't either. My roommate is a marine and I know all about the regulations and he's getting more tattooed now that he is out. I was strictly speaking from a CHARACTER standpoint... Do we believe a particular character would have a tattoo based on their history, etc. as a character? I did not mean "this guy has tattoos in general so let's not hire him".

I understood what you meant...you should have said it differently. We cant publicly bash our own while everyone else does the same. I want to be able to go to work without under armor on but that wont happen when I see people that have $2000 dollar tats that criticize people with $100 tats because people that already dislike tats gain more power off of the fact that the tattoo culture is also in disagreement on whether or not tattoos look ok and are acceptable.

I have never seen tattoos affect anyone in wwe. Taker's tats dont really fit the whole dead guy thing. Why would his character get tatted? Big show has like a cuddly looking tiger on his arm and played a monster heel.

 

[DCLXVI]

I understood what you meant...you should have said it differently. We cant publicly bash our own while everyone else does the same. I want to be able to go to work without under armor on but that wont happen when I see people that have $2000 dollar tats that criticize people with $100 tats because people that already dislike tats gain more power off of the fact that the tattoo culture is also in disagreement on whether or not tattoos look ok and are acceptable.

I have never seen tattoos affect anyone in wwe. Taker's tats dont really fit the whole dead guy thing. Why would his character get tatted? Big show has like a cuddly looking tiger on his arm and played a monster heel.

It is glaring... everyone "judges" Superstars on a number of things going down to stumbling on an occasional promo. Big Show's look stupid and small on his body or it would have been marketed. A lot of wrestlers get their tattoos on their tights... Look at The Rock's Brahma Bull or a multitude who have their tribal designs on their trunks... or Bill Goldberg's tribal on his arm. It is visual entertainment, a TV show. Do you see Al Bundy playing Al Bundy and having sleeves? No.

 

[Kidpolean]

It is glaring... everyone "judges" Superstars on a number of things going down to stumbling on an occasional promo. Big Show's look stupid and small on his body or it would have been marketed. A lot of wrestlers get their tattoos on their tights... Look at The Rock's Brahma Bull or a multitude who have their tribal designs on their trunks... or Bill Goldberg's tribal on his arm. It is visual entertainment, a TV show. Do you see Al Bundy playing Al Bundy and having sleeves? No.

Ive never cared about Big Shows tat. Ive never seen anyone's character affected by tats. It was odd that Punk looked like a drug addict while being in the SES but that wasn't because of his tats. But nowadays nobody has a character anyway. Look at Rey or Jericho, their tats haven't affected anything. Reys logo on his chest is one of my favorite wwe tattoos. Edge's tattoo kinda added to his character, so did Jeff Hardy's.

 

[DCLXVI]

Ive never cared about Big Shows tat. Ive never seen anyone's character affected by tats. It was odd that Punk looked like a drug addict while being in the SES but that wasn't because of his tats. But nowadays nobody has a character anyway. Look at Rey or Jericho, their tats haven't affected anything. Reys logo on his chest is one of my favorite wwe tattoos. Edge's tattoo kinda added to his character, so did Jeff Hardy's.

Exactly. So some tattoos fit guys better than others, like ring gear suits one guy over another. I wasn't talking like it was some disability. Rey pulls them off, so does Jericho. People would look at say HHH or Ryback differently if they had a cuddly tiger on their arm. Big Show is well... the Big Show. There are still characters - like Santino I pointed out. He is a goofy comedy jobber that has a full back piece and lots of tattoos - do I think his character would do that? No. Has it held him back? No, but I'm sure it was something to overcome just like management looks at any wrestlers body.

Was nothing personal with me at all, though I understand your enthusiasm about "protecting our own"... I walk around with the stuff everyday for a long time and get comments constantly. But if I had a wrestling character, it would have to reflect that. I couldn't play Million Dollar Man's manservant Virgil.

 

[HeroForHire]

I remember MVP having an interview saying he had tattoos on him he didn't want to show. He said it was from his time running on the streets and in jail. I remember reading also that Vince didn't want to push him to be top babyface since he spent time in jail.

 

[Kidpolean]

Exactly. So some tattoos fit guys better than others, like ring gear suits one guy over another. I wasn't talking like it was some disability. Rey pulls them off, so does Jericho. People would look at say HHH or Ryback differently if they had a cuddly tiger on their arm. Big Show is well... the Big Show. There are still characters - like Santino I pointed out. He is a goofy comedy jobber that has a full back piece and lots of tattoos - do I think his character would do that? No. Has it held him back? No, but I'm sure it was something to overcome just like management looks at any wrestlers body.

Was nothing personal with me at all, though I understand your enthusiasm about "protecting our own"... I walk around with the stuff everyday for a long time and get comments constantly. But if I had a wrestling character, it would have to reflect that. I couldn't play Million Dollar Man's manservant Virgil.

I guess I just seperate the person from the character more than you do. I like Santinos tats and never even noticed that they didn't fit his character.

 

[6timehitta]

If you're asking in general do tattoos hold you back in WWE, the answer is no. They obviously don't allow some crazy shit like racist driven or even depicting nudity. If they tried to hold a guy like say Roman Reigns down (we all know it will not happen, but just follow me a bit longer here) for his tattoos of tribal work that's grounds for a suing for discrimination.

Although I did hear guys in WWE made to wear long trunks or tops to cover some of them. Wes Brisco in his FCW days was one of them, although I never had it confirmed. But in all honesty if WWE had that big of an issue with tattoos, then they wouldn't hire them in the first place.

 

[Navi]

Pretty much every wrestler I've ever seen has a tattoo or multiples of them. Seen so many of the years I don't even notice them anymore. Actually it would seem kind of strange to me to see a wrestler without one. Seems to me it's part and parcel of the job description.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I don't think any major pro wrestlers have ever been held back due to their tattoos. I know there are some MMA fighters with some Nazi related tattoos that major organizations have refused to sign to contracts due, but never a pro wrestler. Hell the WWE signed Vance Archer with his tramp stamp.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I remember MVP having an interview saying he had tattoos on him he didn't want to show. He said it was from his time running on the streets and in jail. I remember reading also that Vince didn't want to push him to be top babyface since he spent time in jail.

If I remember rightly, MVP has some kind of tattoo on his chest that is dedicated to Malcolm X, and for that reason WWE deemed it to be too controversial to display on TV. They obviously still hired him, but he ended up wearing the full body suit to cover it up.

I don't think that technically "held him back" as he still accomplished alot in WWE, but it did affect the attire he needed to wear.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I really don't think it makes a difference, If you have talent I don't think most would care if you had tattoos or not and think its kind of a mixture of wrestlers who made it to a main event level who have or haven't had tattoos, Personally I don't mind who has them I've never went off or on anyone because they have a tattoo and I barely even notice now when I see them, I would say it even enhanced the gimick of Bam Bam Bigelow having the tattoos but think he was an exception in that sense, Can't think of anyone else its worked for or against.

 

[d_henderson1810]

A dumb one was when the Undertaker had the word "Sara", dedicated to his wife, on his throat.

It didn't look so bad when he was Biker Taker, and they had the stalker storyline with DDP. But the Deadman, who was supposed to be this underworld being from beyond, having the word "Sara" prominently tattooed on your neck took me out of the character slightly.

It proved to be even more dumb later when he divorced Sara and married Michelle McCool. I noticed that he got the tattoo removed, but he obviously didn't know the golden rule:- If you want to tattoo names of family members, always have your kids' names, never your spouse's, as they will always be your children, but you may not always have the same spouse, as Undertaker found out.

 

[YourSavior]

Someone has probably had negative feelings about tattoos in the past but overall it doesn't seem to matter if you have tattoos or not as long as you don't have ridiculous tattoos like swear words in easy to see places or naked people tattooed on you where people can see them. If you have 666 tattooed on your forehead it might end up being a problem for someone but if you have have tats that are appropriate I don't think it will get in the way very much.