Painting Spitfire No Face Women Singers in Red Dresses

For years professional wrestling has featured some of the most colorful characters in all of entertainment. These performers have used their in-ring personas to either win the hearts of their fans or strike fear into the audience.

Some sports entertainers have used impressive physiques, wild costumes, and stellar mic skills to become household names. However, others have opted to go a different route and utilize face paint to help make their gimmicks memorable. In fact, some of the most famous professional wrestlers in the world have covered their faces; keeping their identity concealed, while also adding a bit of mystery to the characters they portrayed inside the squared circle.

Those who grew up watching wrestling in the 1980s or 1990s, almost certainly have a few favorites who were known for wearing face paint. The novelty hasn't worn off either; many current wrestlers still use face paint to give themselves a little something extra.

This had led many fans to wonder what some of their favorite stars look like without their makeup. Fortunately, these fans are about to get their answer. We are getting ready to see 15 of the most famous painted grapplers ever and discover what they look like when they aren't performing for the masses.

15 The Ultimate Warrior

The Ultimate Warrior very well may be the most well-known performer on our list. The energetic superstar was known for his face paint, tassels, and heavy metal entrance music. Born James Brian Hellwig, he would later change his name to Warrior. The painted grappler is best remembered for his match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI, where he defeated Hogan to capture the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. He also had several memorable matches with wrestling legend "Ravishing" Rick Rude. The Warrior had a brief run in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the late 1990s, where he continued his feud with Hogan. In 2014, The Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

This image shows the legendary star without the paint that helped make him famous.

14 Demolition Ax

William "Bill" Eadie, better known as AX (pictured on the left), was a member of the tag team Demolition – one of the most popular duos of the late 1980s. He teamed with his partner Smash to take on legendary tag teams like The Hart Foundation, The Rockers, and Strike Force. Demolition won the WWF Tag Team Championship an impressive 3 times during the height of their run. Some fans may not realize that Eadie also portrayed Super Machine – a masked superstar who teamed with Andre, The Giant in the late 1980s. Old school fans may also remember him as The Masked Superstar, a name he performed under in the 1970s.

Even at fan signings Eadie often wears his Demolition face paint. However, we did manage to find a photo where he wasn't wearing any.

13 Sting

Steve Borden is a wrestler who performed under the ring name Sting for well over 3 decades. He has won 15 world titles with several different promotions over the years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time. Sting is probably best known for his feuds with Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan during his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). His on-screen rivalry with the wrestling faction known as the New World Order (NWO) was one of the most talked about feuds in the late-90s. Fans that are newer to the sport may remember Sting for his stint in TNA Wrestling or his short run in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

This photo shows the 90s icon without his signature face paint.

12 Kamala

James Harris is known to wrestling fans as Kamala – an Ugandan headhunter who sported warpaint and a loincloth. Standing at around 6-foot-7 and weighing in the neighborhood of 380 pounds in his prime; Kamala has a legitimate giant. He best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the mid-80s and early 90s. The highlight of Kamala's career came in 1986-1987 when he faced Hulk Hogan in a series of matches for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship – though he never held the title. He was also involved in a couple of pay-per-view matches against the Undertaker in 1992.

Here we have "The Ugandan Giant" posing for the camera in without the makeup that helped make him such a terrifying presence in his wrestling days.

11 Goldust

Goldust, whose real name is Dustin Runnels, is the son of wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes. He is currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and has held numerous titles with the promotion. In fact, Goldust is 3-time Intercontinental Champion. He is arguably best known for his Hollywood Backlot Brawl match with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at WrestleMania XII. The golden grappler also had a great deal of success as a tag team performer. He won the WWE tag titles 3 times with various partners including Booker T and his half-brother Cody Rhodes. At 49 years of age, Goldust is currently one of the oldest wrestlers on the WWE roster, but still more than capable of putting on an exciting match.

Here's a photo of Goldust, without paint.

10 Road Warrior Animal

As Road Warrior Animal, John Laurinaitis established himself as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers to ever set foot in the ring. He is best known for being one-half of The Legion of Doom (also known as The Road Warriors) with his partner Hawk. Known for their face paint and spiked shoulder pads; The Legion of Doom was one of the most dominant teams of the 80s and 90s. They held titles in every promotion including The World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment) in the early 1990s. Animal also had some success as a singles star, having headlined a WCW pay-per-view (WCW Sin) back in 2001.

Here's what the Road Warrior (pictured on the right) looks like when he isn't performing in the ring.

9 The Boogeyman

Martin Wright, better known to wrestling fans as The Boogeyman, had a memorable run in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ) from 2005 through 2009. His character was that of a painted man who was known for appearing in odd places and eating worms. In fact, he would often stuff worms in the mouths of vanquished opponents. He is probably best remembered for his feud with Booker T and biting a (fictional) growth off the face of former WWE Diva Jillian Hall. After being released in 2009, he spent several years on the independent circuit and later signed a legends contract (a contract to make occasional appearances) with his former employer, WWE.

Despite his over-the-top gimmick, as we can see here, The Boogeyman (on the right) looks like a normal guy without his face paint.

8 Rosemary

Holly Letkeman is a Canadian-born wrestler who performs under the ring name Rosemary. She is best known for appearing on Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling (now Impact Wrestling) where she still competes today. The demonic grapplers is a former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion who has been involved in high profile feuds with The Hardy Boys and TNA Hall of Famer Gail Kim. Prior to signing with TNA, she previously worked for the Shimmer Women Athletes – an all-female wrestling promotion. There Letkeman performed under the name Courtney Rush and won the Shimmer Tag Team Championship with her partner Sara Del Ray. At present, she is one of the most popular competitors on the Impact Wrestling roster.

As the photo here shows, when she isn't a wearing her demon-inspired makeup, Rosemary looks like a very charming young woman.

7 Papa Shango

Papa Shango was a wrestling voodoo practitioner who was played by Charles Wright. Shango was known for bringing a smoking skull to the ring and could cast spells on his opponents. While some fans considered the character a bit too over-the-top, even by pro wrestling standards; Papa Shango was definitely memorable. The voodoo-based character is probably best remembered for interfering in a match between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice, during the main event of WrestleMania VIII. The character received a ton of negative publicity and is widely considered one of the worst gimmicks in WWE history – which is really saying something.

After Papa Shango flopped, Charles Wright would remove his face paint and eventually morph into the Godfather – a wrestling pimp. If you have ever seen The Godfather in action, then you have seen Papa Shango without his face paint.

6 Doink The Clown

There have been several wrestlers who have portrayed Doink The Clown in both WWE and the independent circuit over the years. The man who first played (and had the most success as) Doink was Matt Osborne (shown above). The character started out as a villainous clown who enjoyed playing pranks on the fans and fellow wrestlers. Fans may remember the clown setting up a tripwire for Big Boss Man or attacking Crush with a prosthetic arm. He probably is best remembered for his matches with Bret Hart at SummerSlam back in 1993 and his bout with Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania X. Other wrestlers who played Doink include Steve Keirn and Steve Lombardi (aka The Brooklyn Brawler).

In the image above we see Matt Osborne – the original Doink The Clown.

5 Luna Vachon

Gertrude Vachon was a professional wrestler who is better known as Luna Vachon – the name she performed under during her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She managed several popular wrestlers over the course of career including Goldust, Shawn Michaels, and Bam Bam Bigelow. She also performed as a singles competitor and is probably best remembered for her feud with Sable, one of the most popular females in WWE during the late 1990s. She challenged for the WWE Women's Championship on numerous occasions but never won the title. Vachon was officially released from World Wrestling Entertainment in 2000 and spent the remainder of her career on the independent circuit, before retiring in 2007.

Here we see a rare photo of Luna Vachon without any face paint.

4 The Barbarian

Sione Vailahi, professionally known as The Barbarian, is a performer who originally hails from The Kingdom of Tonga. He was a member of the tag team The Powers of Pain, who competed In WWE in the late 1980s. After the team split, he worked as a singles competitor and has managed by the legendary Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. He was primarily used as a mid-card act during his singles run in WWE, though he did have some memorable feuds with stars like Tito Santana and the Big Boss Man. He is arguably best known for his stint in WCW where he and his partner Meng (aka Haku) competed as The Faces of Fear.

There aren't a ton of photos out there of The Barbarian (on the left) without any face paint, though we managed to find one.

3 Crazzy Steve

Steve Scott, aka Crazzy Steve, is a Canadian-born wrestler who is best known for his time performing in Impact Wrestling. The character Crazzy Steve was an insane clown who was known for his unorthodox behavior. He debuted in TNA as a member of The Menagerie – a short-lived faction based on circus performers. Steve reached the height of his popularity in the promotion when he joined Decay – a stable of wrestlers that featured stars such Abyss and Rosemary. Alongside his partner Abyss, Crazzy Steve managed to capture the TNA World Tag Team title by defeating Beer Money. Following his departure from TNA, Steve tried out for WWE at their performance center back in 2017. He currently works on the independent circuit.

Here is a photo of Crazzy Steve without any clown makeup.

2 Road Warrior Hawk

Michael Hegstrand, who wrestled under the name Hawk, is one-half of The Legion of Doom (aka The Road Warriors) – one of the greatest Tag Teams ever assembled. He and his partner Animal held the tag team titles in several different promotions over the years including WWE. While best known for his work as tag team wrestler, Hawk also had some success as a singles act. In 2011, The Legion of Doom was officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, along with their manager Paul Ellering, by Dusty Rhodes. He wrestled his final match in 2003 in Canada against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Buff Bagwell.

Off all the entries on our list, Hawk (shown on the left) is one of toughest there are in terms of finding an image without face paint. However, we still managed.

1 Demolition Smash

Semi-retired wrestler Barry Darsow performed under several names over the course of his career. However, he had the most success as Smash – a member of the legendary tag team Demolition. With his partner Ax, and later Crush, Darsow managed to capture the WWF Tag Team Championships on 3 separate occasions. He performed as Smash in the WWE (then WWF) for around 4 years from 1987 until 1991. After his run with Demolition ended, he went on to portray a masked wrestler known as the Repo Man. While he had only modest success as the Repo Man at the time – the character developed something of a cult following in later years.

This photo gives fans an idea as to what the legendary tag team wrestler looks like when he isn't wearing any face paint.

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Source: https://www.thesportster.com/wrestling/wwe-wrestlers-look-like-without-face-paint/