Marilyn Monroe knew it. Rod Stewart sang about it. Madonna had a world tour centered around it. There is a huge…HUGE market out there all over the world for blondes and the perception that gentlemen prefer them, and they have more fun. Even in wrestling, the golden blonde locks of Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Superstar Billy Graham, and plenty of others became a defining feature of each legend.
Vince McMahon took the aforementioned affection for blondes and turned it into his template. Over the years, several of his top superstars have been big blonde faces of the company - be it a heel or babyface. While he hasn’t utilized the formula in a while, there are still a few guys and girls on his roster that could fit the bill for future use.
Hulkamania Running Wild
While McMahon wasn’t quite the sole owner of WWE back in the seventies, the WWE champion at that time was Superstar Billy Graham. The man has been labeled “20 years too soon,” due to his impressive physique and great gift of gab. That look helped propel the Hall Of Famer to the next level and provided Vince McMahon the template for most of his entire run as a promoter. The bigger and pardon the pun, more buxom they were, the more Vince McMahon and the WWE machine would get behind a superstar. The formula is exactly how Vince took the company national. Once Hogan came in, with the same similar build and rap that Superstar Billy Graham had, that was it. He has anointed the top guy and whether you were a Hulkamaniac or not, without his run on top, the WWE doesn’t survive into the form it is today.
The Attitude Era Pushes The Format
The Attitude Era featured a former blonde whooping ass when it comes to Stone Cold Steve Austin. But the superstars who actually fit Vince’s huge blonde format were actually Sunny and Sable. While Stone Cold was bringing in all sorts of fans by beating the heck out of his boss, the beautiful buxom blonde Sable, along with Austin was helping get the WWE corporate logo smeared all over all sorts of new products, helping to make more and more money and take the WWE public. But Vince was also smart enough to expand even further past his formula to names like the Rock and Mankind.
Triple H is an interesting part of this formula. He, too, had a hulking physique and a blonde head of hair, but he did much better leading the company as a heel instead of a squeaky clean babyface. Speaking of Sable, in 2002 an even bigger and blonder star made his debut and eventually the two would marry! Ever since The Beast returned from his UFC sabbatical, he has been on top of the mountain every time he’s come down from his Saskatchewan farm.
Could A Big Blonde Star Be In WWE's Future?
Big buxom blondes with barrel chests and tremendous arms might be Vince McMahon’s chosen look, but it’s not foolproof either. The Lex Express anyone? …(crickets)… Not only did Lex Luger come in at the right time, but WWE literally tried to recreate the formula of the all American muscle-bound blond babyface who was gunning for the foreign heel and take the WWE title. But as great as Lex was, he was no Hogan nor was he a top guy and the Lex Express came to screeching halt. Billy Gunn was another tough guy who might have been groomed to be a top guy as well. But after an inadvertent burial promo from the Rock followed by a terrible match with The Great One spelled the end of The One’s push. Currently, there are a few stars on the rosters who could fit this bill somewhat moving forward, even if they’re not six-foot-five and totally blonde, and he is at this moment the hottest star in the company, thanks to a momentous return at WrestleMania 38 - Cody Rhodes.
No, the point of this entire article wasn’t to once again push Cody as the guy to dethrone Roman. But in the field of blondes running around WWE right now - Riddle, Edge, Ripley, Dana Brook, Alexa Bliss, and several others - Cody is the one that comes closest to McMahon’s old template.
There's always the chance that Vince McMahon has moved past this mindset. After all, it’s been years since anyone has been the top guy and fits every part of this template. But it also wouldn’t be too hard to pivot back to it either.