Bam Bam Bigelow

Hands down the most famous tattooed wrestler during the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era of the ‘80s is Bam Bam Bigelow. Watching his matches on TV or in person, he was probably the only man wrestling fans knew who had a full tattoo on his scalp. Looking like the leader of a biker gang or comic book super villain, the tattoo flames on his scalp became Bam Bam’s signature look, instantly making him a bad man. Standing at 6'4" and over 400 pounds, he didn’t need much else to part the crowds as he made his way through.

Bam Bam’s unique look helped him build a long career, mostly known as a heel. When tattoos were scarce on wrestlers he embraced the art-form and helped start the trend that we see today in all promotions.

“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels

Arguably the most talented in-ring performer ever, Shawn Michaels helped solidify his bad boy persona with the addition of the tattoo on his arm of a sword piercing a heart with a serpent wrapped around. Breaking away as a tag-team wrestler as part of The Rockers in the ‘80s, the talented wrestler got the tattoo that would become his character’s symbol at the start of his singles run as “The Heartbreak Kid (HBK).” As he told WWE.com, “The heart and sword encapsulates my personality. When I was younger, I was always a shy, decent kid. But as I grew older, I got a little harder, that’s the snake. And then I did things I’m not proud of. So that tattoo encapsulates who I was as a person.”

Over the years, HBK has added to his ink collection with the names of wife and son and the outline of his home state of Texas, a la Steve Austin.