Top 7 Wrestling Beards

We like to take requests from time to time here at the Top 7. It’s a magnificent thing to do, and you can do so by e-mailing me at [email protected]. Here’s a recent submission!

I am requesting a top 7 of the best beards – IMissMarkingOut

It’s never a bad time for a beard, but wintertime is always best. Let’s take a look at the top 7 wrestling beards!

7. Hollywood Hogan

Hulk Hogan was known for his blond mustache for years. It was an undeniable part of his image, to the point where WCW had the Dungeon of Doom shave it on a Nitro in order to get some heat. When Hogan turned heel in 1996, he needed to make it as obvious visually as it was through his words & actions. Adding a short black beard to his trademark blonde mustache was the perfect way to illustrate the difference between Hulk Hogan & Hollywood Hogan.

6. Mike Knox

Knox was the ultimate Create-A-Wrestler during the first part of his stint with WWE. Nothing about him really stood out at all other than being a big dude. WWE had enough big dudes at that point, and he didn’t bring anything to the table in the ring or on the microphone that impressed people.

Until he grew out his beard. Then he became something of a cult hero. WWE had given up on Knox by this point and he never got much of a push while having the beard, but it at least made people remember him.

5. Captain Lou Albano

The Captain certainly had a unique look about him. He was bit of a slob compared to pretty much everybody else involved in wrestling. A key part of that slovenliness was his beard, which as far as anybody could tell, the only grooming involved was wrapping it with a rubberband or two. Albano also had a notable run with a mustache when he starred on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

4. The Berzerker

Every Viking ever had a beard. They didn’t believe in many laws, but one law had to be against shaving. John Nord always did a good job of resembling a viking, and the large, unkempt beard was a big part of it.

3. Bruiser Brody

Could you imagine this guy without a beard? Of course not. Brody was a wildman in the ring and an enigma outside of it. Anybody with his type of personality had to have a large beard. It was fate.

2. Jimmy Valiant

The Boogie Woogie Man was a staple of NWA programming in the 1980s, and his unique look played into his “man of the people” persona. Look at that beard. It’s bigger than a lot of wrestlers today.

1. Daniel Bryan

Prior to growing out his hair & beard, Bryan was a pretty vanilla looking dude. That, plus his reputation as a solid technical pro wrestler, led to him being stuck at a certain level upon arriving in WWE. He got to World Championship level on SmackDown, but was still missing something to get to top guy status.

The beard was a major part of it. Bryan began losing his grip on sanity while feuding with CM Punk, Kane & AJ Lee, and growing out his hair was a physical manifestation of it that people could latch onto. It amplified his look and made him stand out from the rest of the WWE Superstars. Without the beard, it’s tough to say if Daniel Bryan ever achieves the level of popularity he did in the early 2010s.