Most Iconic Wrestlers With Face Paint, Ranked

The look of a wrestler standing out is a huge part of getting over as a superstar. Not every wrestler should look the same, so a fun change or variable provides a reason to make them stand out. Face paint is one of the major concepts that have helped wrestlers throughout the years in WWE, AEW, TNA, WCW, NJPW, and more. A cool colorful look on one’s face can make them stand out to the average viewer, which starts to make them invest in the performer.

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Let’s look at the wrestlers that most benefited from having their interesting face paint designs. Wrestlers have experimented with face paint throughout the decades with only a select set of names getting to the next level with them. The best ones will be examined here of the wrestlers that had the benefits of an interesting look helping them out. These are the ten most iconic wrestlers to have face paint.

16

Vampiro: The WCW Legend Draws Inspiration From A Famous Punk Band

He Utilized A Misfits-Inspired Look

Best known to North American fans for his appearances in WCW, Wrestling Society X, and later Lucha Underground as both commentator and competitor, Canadian star Vampiro got his first big break wrestling in Mexico’s CMLL in the early 1990s. By the end of the decade, he was a regular on WCW television, where his great look, Misfits-like face paint, and slam-dunk vampire gimmick made him seem like the successor to Sting. It didn’t quite pan out that way, but Vampiro impressed fans nevertheless.

15

Darby Allin: His Face Paint Fits His Daredevil Character

He Is One Of The Pillars Of AEW

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AEW has always been about showing fans the names that will carry the professional wrestling business into the future. For sure, Darby Allin has been one of the names that AEW has actively been pushing ever since he debuted for the promotion in 2019. He has firmly established himself as a risking-taking daredevil that will do anything to take the win. His face paint covers half of his face and it often looks like a skull. It works well for him and has consistently helped in getting him over with fans.

14

Papa Shango: The Voo-Doo Inspired Gimmick Was Iconic In The Early 1990s

One Of The Alternate Personas Of Charles Wright

Out of all the gimmicks Charles Wright worked in WWE — The Godfather, Kama Mustafa, The Goodfather — his first character might be his most iconic, despite only being around for a year and a half. The voodoo-inspired Papa Shango debuted in 1992, terrorizing jobbers with magic spells but rarely ever wrestling anyone important as potential angles with Ultimate Warrior and Sid Justice never led to bouts. Despite the character’s ultimate failure, it’s tough to argue with the iconic-ness of the character, whose gimmick was so impressive and full-formed that it’s actually a surprise to find out how little he accomplished.

13

Aja Kong: A Dominant Force With A Simple Look

One Of The Greatest Wrestlers In Japanese History

She’s only made a handful of appearances in the states, including with AEW, but fans in the know are aware that Aja Kong is one of the all-time greats. She’s one of the few scary monster heel wrestlers to have the in-ring skills to back it up, and in her near-40-year career has earned her countless titles across Japan, including belts in All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling and GAEA Japan.

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Especially iconic is Kong’s face paint, a simple but memorable design with blue, green, and red. If fans look at pictures of Aja Kong over the years, they’ll notice that unlike other painted wrestlers, Kong never changes the color scheme.

12

Ultimate Warrior: The Recognizable Look Was Profitable For The WWE

Became A Major Face In WWE In The 1980s

The face paint of Ultimate Warrior helped make him a top star for WWE in the late ’80s. Warrior had a look unlike anyone else in the company with the face paint and colorful tassels along with the traditional jacked physique of wrestlers of the time.

WWE benefited from the face paint since it added to the marketability of Warrior. The company still sells masks today that are designed to look like his face paint. WWE uses the iconic colorful tassels and face paint to celebrate Warrior’s career today in their merchandise.

11

Asuka: She Is The Empress Of Tomorrow

She Is One Of WWE’s Most Dominant Competitors

Whenever Asuka steps into the ring, fans know exactly what they are going to get. She is very consistent when it comes to her in-ring work and her character as well. In WWE, Asuka has accomplished virtually everything that their is to accomplish. She is a multi-time world champion. In NXT, she had a phenomenal undefeated streak as well. In addition, her face paint is also very vibrant and works perfectly with her character.

10

Demolition: One Of WWE’s Most Recognizable Face-Painted Tag Teams

The Iconic Tag Team Are Three-Time WWE World Tag Team Champions

The tag team of Demolition used face paint to help them stand out in the late ’80s. WWE would see the combination of Ax and Smash along with Mr. Fuji thrive for quite some time as a top duo for the tag team division.

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Crush joined the tag team at the end of the run and also wore face paint to fit him. Demolition was known for being an exciting tag team, and their face paint helped add another layer of fun for their appeal with the unusual look.

9

The Boogeyman: The Look Scared Many Wrestlers On The Roster*

He Is One Of WWE’s Most Iconic Comedic Characters

WWE still uses the character of The Boogeyman every now and then, with his most recent appearance coming this past October on WWE’s YouTube channel. The face paint is meant to make him look spooky in a way that stories about the tale of the boogeyman would scare young children.

Boogeyman often just took part in comedic storylines and feuds where he scared the other wrestlers he worked with. WWE did not keep him as an active wrestler for a long time, but they made sure to sign him to a longer Legends contract to remain in the company for the returns.

8

Bull Nakano: She Is A Legend Of The Business

She Was A Trailblazer

Bull Nakano was undoubtedly one of the best professional wrestlers in the world at the time that she was an active in-ring competitor. She wrestled around the world and was able to capture numerous titles in promotions such as WWE, CMLL, and AJW. Her face paint was simple. It was blue lines that ran across her face. But, paired with her signature hairstyle and exciting in-ring abilities, Nakano established that she was one of the very best. Nakano’s accomplishments were recognized when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024.

7

Jeff Hardy: It’s Not Always Worn, But Looks Amazing When Does Sport It

The Charismatic Enigma Has Utilized Face Paint Everywhere

Jeff Hardy is one of the few wrestlers on the list that doesn’t always wear his face paint. The singles run of Hardy in the main event scene featured him often painting his own face to describe his mood heading into a match. It turned into a fun element of the preparation time for Hardy.

The face painting continued in TNA where he started sharing videos on social media about the process of painting before shows. After a WWE return, he now wrestles in AEW.

6

Umaga: The Repackaged Jamal Dominated Over WWE

The Samoan Bulldozer Dominated His Competition

Jamal of 3 Minute Warning struggled to find a singles gimmick to get over until he portrayed the role of Umaga. WWE wanted him as a monster heel with the slick-talking Armando Alejandro Estrada as his manager and mouthpiece.

Umaga did extremely well in the role and rose to the top of the heel rankings in WWE. John Cena and Umaga had one of the greatest Last Man Standing matches in wrestling history during their WWE Championship feud. Unfortunately, Umaga passed younger than expected, but the wrestling world still remembers his incredible run as the face-painted heel.

5

Finn Bálor: One Of The Most Iconic Looks Of The Modern Era

WWE’s Resident Demon King Is A Rare Sight

The most recent instance of WWE viewing face paint as a strong drawing appeal for someone is Finn Balor’s Demon King alter ego. Unlike most other wrestlers on the list, Balor mostly wrestles without face or body paint.

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An addition of face paint sees him become the Demon King, which takes him to another level. Fans love the Demon King with T-shirts and masks selling like hotcakes at the rare shows when we see the act. Balor has last used the look for WrestleMania 39 Hell In A Cell encounter with Edge.

4

Goldust: One Of WWE’s Most Unique Characters Of The Attitude Era

Dustin Rhodes Portrayed The Unique Character

There were many bold things about the Goldust character when Dustin Rhodes agreed to portray this act in the ’90s. One of the new elements of the gimmick for Dustin was having to wrestle in gold face paint every night.

The years would see a few changes to the Goldust color scheme, but the face paint remained part of the act. Rhodes is still using face paint in AEW after leaving WWE since it’s synonymous with his career.

3

Legion of Doom: A Legendary Look For A Legendary Team

LOD Was The Greatest Duo Of Their Era With A Standout Look

Animal and Hawk made up the Legion of Doom (a.k.a. The Road Warriors) to great success. Both wrestlers would unite to create arguably the best tag team of all time when looking at their track record in various promotions. The Legion of Doom had great looks that helped them stand out positively.

Hawk and Animal each rocked the black and red face paint to match their gear. The spiked shoulder pads also played a role in them coming off as a unique act. Many wrestlers thought negatively of face paint in the ’80s, but the Legion of Doom proved it could lead to huge success.

2

The Great Muta: The International Talent Was Recognizable Anywhere

The Japanese Legend Embraced Numerous Looks

The success of The Great Muta in both WCW and NJPW helped him break out as one of the top international stars of all time. Muta thriving in WCW proved that great talent could get over in new countries even with the language barrier and wrestling style differences.

Fans loved the unique look of Muta with his elaborate face paint designs. One fan-favorite design came in the late ’90s when Muta joined the New World Order and had a special theme of the nWo letters with black and white paint. Muta’s face paint is legendary since fans view it as part of who they know him as.

1

Sting: Through Many Periods, His Facepaint Always Remained

The Icon Wrestled Throughout Many Eras

Sting is arguably the most successful wrestler to ever wear face paint given he wore it throughout his legendary career. WWE fans fell in love with the surfer Sting era first with the colorful face paint and his blonde hair. Sting made a few changes through the years with different color schemes.

The most iconic look may be the Crow era of Sting with the black and white face paint. Sting even went to red and black to fit into the Wolfpac for another fan favorite. TNA would see Sting experiment even more with the Joker look. Sting’s career can be remembered in different chapters of the face paint looks which all led to him becoming an icon in the industry.