5 Bald Wrestlers Who Looked Better With Hair (& 5 Who Didn't)

June 18, 2024

Wrestlers change their looks throughout their careers. Sometimes out of choice, sometimes because they're forced to after losing a match. Regardless of the circumstances, a new look can make a world of difference to a wrestler's fortunes whenever they get a haircut.

10 Best Hair Vs Hair Matches In Pro-Wrestling

Hair vs hair matches happen ever so often in pro wrestling's past. Here's a look at 10 of the best hair matches in WWE, WCW, WCCW, and beyond!

Some wrestlers look great with or without hair, yet not everyone can pull that off, especially in WWE. These are five wrestlers who looked better with hair, and five who were better off without it.

10 Better With: Molly Holly

The Two-Time Women's Champion Lost Her Hair At WrestleMania

Molly Holly was a two-time WWE Women's Champion.
Molly lost the Women's Title to Victoria on the February 23, 2004 episode of Raw.
A rematch was booked for WrestleMania 20, with a Hair Vs. Title stipulation.

One of the most accomplished and proficient wrestlers to ever grace WWE's Women's Division, Molly Holly was forced to have her head shaved bald at WrestleMania 20 after losing to Victoria. For the next several months, Molly wore several loose-fitting wigs to hide her baldness.

10 Best Matches Of Molly Holly's WWE Career, Ranked

WWE Hall Of Famer Molly Holly had a fantastic wrestling career, having participated in some brilliant matches.

Although Molly had pitched the idea of having her head shaved at WrestleMania - and she made the gimmick work for the remainder of her WWE run - the fact remains is that Molly looked a lot better with hair. Hence, she grew it back after she left WWE and would return with hair every time she made a special appearance.

9 Better Without: The Big Show

The Big Show Was Shaved Bald By Kurt Angle In 2004

Paul Wight wrestled with long hair from December 1994 to February 2000.
Afterwards, The Big Show wrestled with short hair until 2004.
After being hit with a tranquilizer gun and shaved by Angle, The Big Show remained bald ever since.

Paul Wight looked great with long hair as The Giant in WCW, and still looked great with long & short hair as The Big Show in WWE. But going bald in 2004 arguably allowed Paul to transcend to bigger and better things.

The Big Show was able to pull off the new look perfectly, and never looked back. From a dominant reign as ECW World Champion, fighting Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania 24, success as Jeri-Show, and great rivalries with Undertaker, Mark Henry & Sheamus, The Big Show achieved all these things whilst bald.

8 Better With: Kane

Went Bald After Losing His Mask In 2003

Debuted at In Your House: Badd Blood on October 5, 1997.
Wrestled under variations of a wig and mask for five years.
Lost A Title Vs. Mask match on June 23, 2003 against then-World Champion Triple H.

Glenn Jacobs was very versatile as Kane, and even when given rubbish storylines to work with, he did his duty as a loyal & reliable performer. After losing his iconic mask (and wig) in 2003, Kane revealed his face and soon shaved what remained of his actual hair.

5 Reasons Why We Prefer Masked Kane (& 5 Why He's Better Without It)

Kane enjoyed a long WWE career both masked and unmasked. Here are 5 reasons why sometimes the mask was better off than on.

Kane would sport this look until late 2011, when he donned the legendary mask again. And although Kane pulled off the maniacal, bald look to great success, it doesn't quite compare to the classic Big Red Machine appearance that fans love the most.

7 Better Without: Randy Orton

Dangerous As The Legend Killer, More So As The Viper

Randy Orton made his WWE debut on April 25, 2002 on SmackDown.
Orton became the Legend Killer shortly after joining Evolution in 2003.
Orton became The Viper in October 2007, just before he won his first WWE Championship.

Randy Orton is another individual who looks great, whether with short hair or bald. Orton's time with short hair is synonymous with his run as the Legend Killer, but his transformation into The Viper is what cemented Randy's legacy.

Randy Orton: 5 Reasons He Was Best As The Legend Killer (& 5 Ways He Is As The Viper)

Was Randy Orton better as The Viper or The Legend Killer? When was WWE's Apex Predator at his absolute best?

Choosing to go completely bald in mid-2009, the new look made Orton appear much more intense, cold and sinister. Now fully evolved as The Viper, Orton went on to achieve greater success as the WWE's Apex Predator.

6 Better With: Shawn Michaels

The Heartbreak Kid Ultimately Decided To Go Bald In 2018

Shawn Michaels made his wrestling debut in October 1984.
After being forced to retire in April 1998, Shawn would return to the ring in August 2002.
Shawn retired from full-time competition in March 2010, yet returned for one last match in 2018.

Throughout most of his career, Shawn Michaels sported long hair or a ponytail. It was such a perfect look that WWE fans were absolutely shocked when Michaels shaved off his hair completely in 2018.

Although Shawn has embraced being bald, it's still weird to see him without hair. The fact that he wrestled in the critically-panned tag match at Crown Jewel 2018 whilst bald is something fans would rather forget.

5 Better Without: The Rock

The Great One Chose To Go Bald In 2003

Dwayne Johnson made his WWE debut at the 1996 Survivor Series as Rocky Maivia.
Rocky Maivia turned heel in August 1997 and began referring to himself as The Rock.
Dwayne Johnson has always worked under his real name in Hollywood.

Dwayne Johnson is another individual who looked great with or without hair as The Rock, and has been successful before and after his haircut. The Rock originally sported short black hair and initially kept that look as he transitioned towards a Hollywood film career.

Upon returning to the WWE in 2003 after a long absence, The Rock came back shaved bald to reflect his new heel persona. The Brahma Bull has remained without hair for years and has gone on to even bigger and better heights because of it.

4 Better With: Triple H

The Game Spent Most Of His Career With Long Hair Before Cutting His Hair in 2012

Triple H debuted in WWE as Hunter Hearst Helmsley on April 30, 1995.
After 17 years, Triple H finally cut his hair in 2012.
He worked the remainder of his in-ring career bald before retiring in 2022.

Like his pal Shawn Michaels, Triple H is famous for having wrestled the majority of his career with long blonde hair and wearing a ponytail throughout his various gimmicks. It shocked many fans when The Game finally decided to cut his hair completely in late 2012.

Triple H has pulled off the bald look well for the twilight of his career, and his executive duties for WWE. But most fans remember his classic long-hair look first and foremost.

3 Better Without: Kurt Angle

Was Shaved Bald Upon Losing To Edge

Kurt Angle made his WWE debut at the 1999 Survivor Series.
Angle lost a Hair Vs. Hair Match at Judgment Day 2002.
Afterward, Angle wore a wig and headgear for a short time.

The Olympic Gold Medalist looked perfectly fine with short hair for his first two years in WWE. He was naturally handsome, over with audiences and hugely successful. But his feud with Edge saw Angle being shaved bald.

Despite the initial horror, Angle ultimately decided to remain bald & proud permanently. Not only did it suit him, it made Kurt appear less comical and much more intense going forward.

2 Better With: The Undertaker

The Undertaker Shaved His Head For His WrestleMania 28 Rematch With Triple H

Taker had to be carried away on a stretcher, despite beating Triple H at WrestleMania 27.
When Taker returned to challenge the Game a year later, he shaved his head to intimidate him.
In reality, Mark Calaway cut his long hair because it was annoying him.

As The Undertaker evolved throughout his thirty-year career, so too did his appearance change. Sometimes he would shave his bear, cut his long black hair, dye it red or grow it back to his classic look.

But at WrestleMania 28, the Deadman unveiled his new mohawk; which he would sport for a couple more WrestleManias until the Streak ended. Although The Undertaker has always maintained a perfect look whatever the guise, it was his long black hair that fans loved the most.

1 Better Without: Stone Cold Steve Austin

From Stunning To Stone Cold, And The Rest Was History

Austin first debuted for WWE in 1995 as The Ringmaster.
Austin decided to shave his head in early 1996 after battling thinning hair for a few years.
The Ringmaster moniker was dropped in favor of "Stone Cold" on March 11, 1996.

Steve Austin became so legendary as Stone Cold, that it's too easy to forget that long before Austin 3:16, Steve was a Stunning Hollywood Blonde in WCW. He had a dashing comb-over in WCW that suited him at the time, but Austin knew what he needed to do to get to the next level.

When he went bald and grew a goatee, it was the perfect look for Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake would go on to be arguably the greatest superstar of all time, with a fierce, intense image that was forever marketable.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmeSlrmledarnKysnJq%2FtHnLqKaknZRir6bA056pZq%2Bfp8Cmedaiq6FlmJa2s3s%3D