For a lot of old school fans, the first memorable tattoos in wrestling came from seeing the flame-filled head of Bam Bam Bigelow. He wasn’t the first though and he definitely wasn’t the last. Superstars like Harley Race had the old school “blue ink” tattoos that faded over time. The High Chief Peter Mavia had the traditional Samoan tattoos on his lower half, and although tough to see, even Stone Cold had the great state of Texas inked on his lower leg.
Sometimes, tattoos can help with your character, sometimes superstars just think they’re a cool way to memorialize something - like A.J. Styles, who has all four of his kids’ birthdays tattooed on his side. Here are 10 Tattoos The Men Of WWE Have (& What They Mean).
10 Roman Reigns
When he first debuted on the main roster, the Big Dog endured 17 hours of tattooing for the massive Samoan tribal that adorns his arm. This style of art represents the Anoa’i family dynasty, started by Pea’a traditional tattoos worn by the High Chief Peter Mavia.
But besides Roman’s menacing tribal, there is a small turtle that is part of his arm, as well. The turtle represents family, wellness, longevity, and peace within the Samoan culture.
9 The Big Show
The world’s largest athlete has the world’s largest tattoo -- a giant tiger right on The Big Show’s shoulder. As he once told Corey Graves on Superstar Ink, the ink was based on a real-life photo.
The massive cat locked eyes with The Big Show, walked right over to him, and tapped the guy’s camera lens. The future Hall Of Famer thought it would make a great tattoo.
8 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens’ body art, like with many people, tells the story of his life -- a K for his wife, his kids, Owen and Elodie, on his wrist, and both grandfathers’ initials on his fingers -- all to remind Owens what he actually fights for. He also has the world "Live" tattooed on his arm, as does his friend, Steve Corino -- but since both guys are mostly heels, they flipped the E around.
For a time, his bull was his most notable ink, but not in tribute to the Great One’s. Similar to the Rock, KO’s bull was a part of a slew of animal tattoos, including a panda, monkey, and a T-Rex on his other arm.
7 Jeff Hardy
The Charismatic Enigma has a slew of body art from the neck down, starting with the demons that are trying to find their way out of the former world champion.
His most famous tattoos are the massive root system around his arm and side, to which he added a massive snake before his return at WrestleMania 33. He also has the Hardy Boys symbol on his back, as well as a massive new back tattoo, which he deemed the 2020 version of Jeff Hardy.
6 Luke Gallows
The former Festus has always joked that he’s afraid Vince will remember his old gimmick and send him right back to being a yokel. But between Festus, as well as his time in Japan, Luke Gallows has a slew of ink on his sleeves.
The Good Brother has a massive skull covering up an old “D” that stood for his original gimmick, Dorian DeVille. Amongst the sea of skulls on Gallows’ body is also a “Too Sweet” image of four samurai, symbolizing his time in the famed Bullet Club.
5 Goldust
You wouldn’t notice since he's been completely covered for most of his career, but the Bizarre One, Goldust, has plenty of tattoos. From a massive shoulder piece of his baby daughter, Dakota, to an entire sleeve representing her, nothing on Dustin’s body is without meaning.
He has the word, “perseverance” written on his arm, signifying his sobriety. Like his brother, Cody, Dustin also has ink devoted to the American Dream, in the shape of Texas on his leg.
4 The Undertaker
While tattoos have seemingly always been a thing, the Demon Of Death Valley was one of the first superstars (besides Bam Bam Bigelow) to adorn himself with ink. In fact, Bruce Prichard has told stories in the past about how he tried to warn the Undertaker about getting so much ink for merchandising and licensing purposes -- clearly he was wrong.
Amongst the skulls and “B.S.K. Pride”, the medieval-loving deadman also has what still might be his most famous piece of ink -- the Grim Reaper on his lower left arm.
3 Rey Mysterio
When you’ve been on TV as long as Rey Mysterio, your ink showcases the evolution of you as a person -- from a fresh-faced young Lucha Tecnico with virtually no tattoos at all to a grizzled legendary Luchador with all kinds of ink representing his heritage (a giant Mexican rocker and Aztec symbols adorning his iconic falcons).
But Rey also has tattoos of his children’s names, his now-iconic area code (619), and artwork in memory of his fallen brother, the incomparable Eddie Guerrero.
2 Fandango
If you take a look at Fashion Police member Fandango, you wouldn’t think he’s that covered up, just a Cherokee chief on his forearm and a Johnny Cash tribute on his wrist. But his legs are covered in odes to rock and roll, from bands like the Deftones to Avenged Sevenfold.
He also has an image of the cover of Rage Against The Machine’s debut album and another Cash tribute. And he has a messed up version of boxer Jim Braddock on his calf -- messed up by not listening to aftercare instructions and jumping into a pool too soon.
1 Corey Graves
Perhaps the most famous superstar on the roster with any body art is announcer Corey Graves. He even hosted Superstar Ink for several episodes on the WWE Network. The Yinzer proudly displays “Stay Down” on his knuckles, but he has a plethora of artwork everywhere else, as well.
When you spend your youth working at a Tattoo Parlor, you’re bound to attract some ink. He got his first tattoo, a cross on his leg with his folks’ permission, at 15 years old. Every piece of his ink tells a story -- his massive Lucha Libre star on his right shoulder for instance -- a friend drew it after seeing Mucha Lucha, found out that Graves was a wrestler, and asked to let him do it. Most of his early ink came from the store he worked at while coming up.