13 Wrestlers Who Became Bigger Stars After Going Bald

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In professional wrestling, it is hugely important to stand out from an image perspective, with some wrestlers even doing so with hairstyles. For instance, Shawn Michaels’ had his luscious locks, The Undertaker’s had his jet-black dyed hair, and many more have sported iconic looks which are helped along by a notable hairstyle. However, there are some wrestlers who have found success with no hair at all, and at times, have achieved even more success when they shaved their heads bald. Of course, there may very well be no correlation between success and hair, but it is still fun to look at those whose baldness led them to further success in their careers.

With stars like Roman Reigns and Kenny Omega on top of the world of wrestling, it's clear the business is currently in an era of stars with "long hair." Wrestlers with fading hairlines should not fret because the length of a wrestler's hair is completely inconsequential to their success.

Some of the biggest wrestling stars in history were bald or balding. Going bald doesn't guarantee a fruitful career in wrestling, but a few stars actually climbed up the card as their hair follicles disappeared from their heads. This list examines ten wrestlers who rose to their absolute peak after losing their hair. Wrestlers like Goldberg and Bam Bam Bigelow, who entered the wrestling world bald, will not be included in this examination.

UPDATE: 2022/11/24 07:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

In professional wrestling, it is hugely important to stand out from an image perspective, with some wrestlers even doing so with hairstyles. For instance, Shawn Michaels’ had his luscious locks, The Undertaker’s had his jet-black dyed hair, and many more have sported iconic looks which are helped along by a notable hairstyle. However, there are some wrestlers who have found success with no hair at all, and at times, have achieved even more success when they shaved their heads bald. Of course, there may very well be no correlation between success and hair, but it is still fun to look at those whose baldness led them to further success in their careers.

13 King Kong Bundy

King Kong Bundy’s early wrestling career saw him with a full head of hair, but it wasn’t long until he decided to shave it all off. Following this, he would rise up the ranks in WWE as a dominant monster, before main eventing the second-ever WrestleMania.

He may not have won the WWE Title or achieved masses of success in the company, but he did find himself as one of the few people to main event WWE’s biggest yearly show, going up against Hulk Hogan in a Steel Cage match.

12 The Rock

The Rock became a huge star in WWE when he had hair - there is no question of that. However, he somehow entered another stratosphere when he shaved his head. Following his move to Hollywood, the gimmick dubbed as “Hollywood Rock” added another layer to his charisma and star power.

He would go on to become the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. He hasn’t had hair for many years now, but it has come with him reaching unimaginable heights of fame and notoriety. He may very well return to WWE for another match at WrestleMania 39, and it will undoubtedly be without hair.

11 Sgt Slaughter

The peak of Sgt Slaughter’s career came when he began to bald. He became WWE Champion in 1991, when he was in his 40s.

However, as far as wrestling goes, Slaughter had never been in more of a prominent position, with him being the most hated heel for several years due to his Iraqi sympathizer gimmick. Slaughter's hair may have been on the decline, but his balding period saw him main event a WrestleMania against Hulk Hogan. To many, the thought of Sgt. Slaughter with hair is a foreign concept.

10 Steve Austin

Arguably the most famous bald wrestler of all time, Steve Austin's career (pre "Stone Cold") was actually very good. He was a longtime WCW Television Champion and held the WCW tag team titles with Brian Pillman. Steve Austin arrived to the WWE with a big chip on his shoulder and a little bit of hair on his head.

He adopted the Ringmaster gimmick upon his arrival, but eventually shaved his head and won the King of the Ring in 1997. This was the birth of "Stone Cold" and he spent the rest of his career as a bald wrestler who eventually became one of the biggest stars in the history of television.

9 Jon Moxley

As Dean Ambrose in the WWE, Moxley was extremely successful. From his debut with The Shield, he was basically always in the title and main card scene. By the time he left WWE, Moxley was a balding wrestler who seemed like he had experienced his best days in the wrestling world at WWE.

Moxley arrived to the indies balding looking to establish a new chapter. He would go on to have an insane career in the indies and has since become such a star at AEW that he's superseded his career in the WWE.

8 Dax Harwood

FTR is on top of the wrestling world. The two stars have achieved an insane feat earning multiple tag team titles across various promotions simultaneously. Dax Harwood, one half of the tag team, is having the ride of his life and has been since his debut with a bald head.

He spent some of his early days as a wrestler with long hair, but since clipping it off he's grown an adult film star mustache and taken over the wrestling world.

7 Kurt Angle

It seemed no one could ever trump the debut of Kurt Angle in the WWE. He had, arguably, the greatest rookie year of all time and won the WWE Championship very quickly after arriving to the WWE. Although those achievements, which he earned with a full head of hair, were enough to cap off an entire career after Angle shaved his balding head he became one of the biggest names in the history of the WWE.

He sat atop the WWE for a few years and then went to TNA and went on a tear at one point holding every title at the company. During his hall of fame career, he became one of the greatest bald men to ever set foot in the ring.

6 Kane

Kane's debut in the WWE was a reflection of how magical the Attitude Era could be. His feud with Undertaker has become iconic as has his stable with the Deadman, "The Brothers of Destruction." Although it seemed "masked Kane" had accomplished everything he could, in 2003 Kane took off the mask and became a bald beast of a man.

The Red Machine had arguably a better run in the WWE after 2003, where he won the World Heavyweight Championship and had the most memorable feuds of his career.

5 Tommaso Ciampa

The biggest moves of Ciampa's early career took place in 2005, the same year he adopted the "Tommy Penmanship" gimmick. He won a ton of matches under the name at Chaotic Wrestling, but it did very little to add major strides to his career.

He debut at the WWE with a similar look later that year, but it ultimately leads to nothing. Ciampa hit the indies ended up shaving his hair and has continued to climb the wrestling world ever since.

4 The Big Show

When most fans remember the Big Show, they remember him without hair. Although they may seem like nothing spectacular, it is when you remember he spent a large part of his career with long hair. His early years in WCW where he was both World Heavyweight Champion and a member of the NWO were great, even better than many WCW superstars.

The most of his career in the WWE when he sported a bald head saw Big Show become the huge icon he is today. His greatest feuds and almost all his title runs took place after the big man cut off the locks.

3 Batista

Batista's time in Evolution was a huge starting point for the future Hall of Famer. After he wrapped up the story with them and earned the World Heavyweight title he teetered between the main card and mid-card for a few years.

By 2009, Batista turned heel and began shaving his head. Everything about the star seemed to improve and although he was hotter than ever, his career in Hollywood also took off after he adopted "bald Batista."

2 Christopher Daniels

Christopher Daniels is one of the greatest TNA wrestlers of all time. Many fans forget he had a career in WCW where he held both the company's Light Heavyweight Champion and the tag team titles. Daniels struggled with the crowd for much of his early career and it wasn't until he shaved his balding head that he built the storied career that stands to this day.

1 Hulk Hogan

Hogan's balding hairstyle gets so rarely mentioned because everything else about him is so massive. A 30-year-old superstar losing his hair could have been a huge detractor for Hogan in the 80s when having a "look" had a lot to do with who was booked in the ring.

Hogan rose the ranks and won his first WWE title while he was balding and never looked back. He was still balding when he adapted the Hollywood Hogan gimmick that also overtook the world of wrestling. All in all, there may never be a balding superstar who blew up like Hulk Hogan.