The wrestling industry is filled with lots of enthusiastic fighters that like to keep their hair long. If you’re wondering is it just a fashion statement or are there any real benefits behind it? Let see:
So, Why Do Wrestlers Have Long Hairs?
Many wrestlers like to keep long hair because it helps them to look more intimidating and maintain their warrior persona. Long hair also allows wrestlers to have more movement in the ring while calling each other during the match without being seen in order to sell their impactless punches better.
In this article, I’ll explain to you exactly what are the different benefits long hair could entail and why some wrestlers like to keep their hairs long:
4 Key Reasons Why Wrestlers Have Long Hairs
When we talk about wrestlers having long hair, usually we are referring to male wrestlers because as a society we normalize the long hair picture for women.
Although male wrestlers with long hair do not make up the majority in the wrestling community but they are abundant. here’re some of the most common reasons why some wrestlers like to keep their hairs long:
1. Better Aesthetics & Effects
This is the key reason why most of the wrestlers don’t like to cut their hair short. If you take a look at the pro wrestling promotions, it’s coming off as an aesthetic art where most attention is given to the costume design and overall appearance of the wrestlers.
Long and silky hairs help wrestlers to look more intimidating during their fight and make the overall match even more memorable for the audience.
Also, during some of the WWE events, long hair in front of the face help wrestlers to distract the viewers from the fact that everything is scripted and the kick or punch doesn’t actually touch them. 🙂
In a sport-entertainment industry, when a wrestler moves their head back in response to a powerful hit by their opponent, their long hair helps them to make it dramatic and more visually appealing, which results in more sales and popularity for the event.
2. Wrestling Psychology
A study conducted in both professional wrestling industry suggests that relatively longer hairs tend to project better psychological effects on their opponent, in terms of the wrestler’s strength.
Many wrestlers like to keep long hair-styles to play with their opponent’s mindset and to showcase their great strength and power, even if that’s not completely true in real.
Along with that, long hairs also make wrestlers visually more appealing from the audience’s perspective and help them to stand out from otherwise similar-looking wrestlers, especially in tag team matches.
3. Fashion Statement
Many wrestlers keep long hair, not because it benefits them but due to the stereotype attached with the combat sport like wrestling. Ironically, long hair does not bring any real value to the table, and in most cases can be more disruptive than helpful.
This again resonates with the first reason that I mentioned. Wrestlers don’t want to lose on the persona they have created among their fans and that’s why in most cases, they keep their hairs long just to carry their looks better.
Some wrestlers also prefer long hair because it helps them to call out their opponent during the match before their next move. This is true in mostly WWE events, where wrestlers’ hair can hide their faces, so the camera won’t able to capture their moving lips.
4. To Cover Surgeries
This is another good reason why few wrestlers prefer longer hair than a short-n-sweet army look. When wrestlers start losing hairs after a certain age, most probably they go for a hair transplant in order to maintain their looks and aesthetics.
The life of popular wrestlers is not at all limited to the wrestling ring and sometimes their appearance is one of the key features of their popularity.
That’s why along with their actual fighting performance inside the ring, some wrestlers also need to maintain a star-like lifestyle and overall looks in the outside world.
In such situations, if they keep their hair short, the surgical mask of the donor’s hair after transplant is easily visible and some wrestlers have no option but to keep their hairs long to cover it properly.
Tips for Wrestlers with Long Hairs
If you’re one of those long-haired wrestlers, here’re some of my personal tips that might help you to deal with hairs in a better way:
Even though tying your hair up before getting into the match might be a good way to prevent it from getting onto your face but it can encourage tangling and dreading.
That’s why I always recommend trying out different tying techniques like making a bun, tying into a braid, or simply keeping your hair down. Check which way do you like the most and what gives you the most comfort.
Another thing you should consider doing is, rinsing your hair after your workout or training. It’s very important to remove any sweat or dirt from hair as soon as possible to keep them smooth and healthy.
Final Thoughts
Although there is a stereotype that wrestlers have long hair but this is not as true as it has been in the early days of this sport. There are various kinds of people who are trying out different combat sports and getting into wrestling each year.
In fact, long hair does not provide any real benefit to the fighter in terms of wrestling, and maybe that’s the reason why most professional wrestlers like to keep their hair short.
Longer hairs are generally asking for better care as compared to shorter hairs, especially when you’re doing training in the gym and entirely covered with your sweat.
If you find this article interesting, help someone by sharing this resource with them. Also, don’t forget to check out my other helpful resources listed below:
