Why do so many wrestlers have long hair?

[Guest Redhawk]

I've always wondered about this, and the story aboot (ha ha) Test and Christian refusing to cut their long hair brought it back up.

 

Why was their long hair so important to them? And why do such a large percentage of pro wrestlers have long hair, as opposed to the general male population, where long hair isn't very cool unless you're in a rock band?

 

Some time ago I narrowed it down to two things:

 

1) Long hair helps with the visual aspect of wrestling -- For example, when they do the "Head-to-turnbuckle 10 times" move, it always looks better if the guy on the receiving end has hair flailing back and forth. And when someone like Edge takes a punch, having his hair snap back adds to the effect that he got tagged. Also, it's probably easier to hide certain things (a bladejob, a missed punch, calling spots) when long hair is involved.

 

2) Wrestlers have a Samson complex -- Like the guy in the Bible who thought his strength was in his hair, wrestlers might think their long hair makes them more primal, strong manly-men. Wrestlers are pretty much like body builders. Their muscles and their "look" are so important to what they do that it's entirely possible that they'd develop some off-the-wall logic when it comes to how they look and why they're still strong.

 

And maybe these two incidents with Test and Christian are merely cosmetic issues. Maybe they just like long hair. But it's not like with women, who are generally expected to have long hair. Men are generally expected to have short hair, which is why it's such a bigger deal if a woman shows up for work all of a sudden looking like Kurt Warner's wife when they used to have long hair. When men do it, it's usually, "Good, you finally cut that shit."

 

Any thoughts?

[Guest razazteca]

1. they have long hair to cover up the dreaded bald spot, with the all important ponytail. Lex Luger

 

2. Glam rock fanboys Jericho

 

3. its one thing they have over Hogan

[Guest redbaron51]

the samson effect only works for one person, and that was the British Bulldog. Eversince he cut his hair, he sucked.

 

Maybe because hair so long takes a long time to grow, or if you like Angle or Austin, shave it off to hide baldness

[Guest Repo Man jr]

I just assumed that everyone in America had long hair.

[Guest jm29195]

Add Mike Awesome, Val Venis, and Big Show (well he got worse) to people who suffered from the Samson effect.

 

Bulldog cut his hair to put an exclamation mark on his heel turn in August 95, I think short hair is a sign of heeldom...

[LooseCannon25]

The long hair is to absorb sweat on their face and also to hide "spot calling"........ummmm.......it doesnt really prove to work when you have guys loudly calling spots from across the ring. Anybody remember Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Shamrock on a MOnday Night Raw once where you can clearly hear shawn calling the spots. He was like "hiptoss" "dropkick" "clothesline". I also remember the first time i hear Sabu's voice. It was on the ECW vs. FMW dvd and rvd and sabu were fighting and they looked confused as hell with rvd outside and sabu in the ring.........and then all of a sudden you hear sabu loud as hell "Rob, what do you want?" and then RVD reponds from outside with "Bring a table inside and work a spot when i come back". It was freakin hilarious cause the japanese fans probably didnt understand them anyway, and i founf out that sabu sounds even whiter than RVD.

[Guest Marshall]

Lame thread right here.

[Guest AndrewTS]

2. Glam rock fanboys Jericho

Jericho doesn't like glam rock--he's generally into the harder stuff. DON'T confuse glam with real heavy metal. Although there are some glam acts that don't completely suck.

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

In Foley's book, he mentioned that he thought long hair looked better flailing about when taking bumps.

This doesn't count in WWE anymore, but long hair makes piledrivers look better as it covers the distance between the head and the mat.

[Guest razazteca]

DON'T confuse glam with real heavy metal. Although there are some glam acts that don't completely suck.

well I am watching SNL with Skid Row and they rule, headhanging with long hair is cool

[Guest godthedog]

agreed with loosecannon, it's MUCH harder to call spots with short or no hair. watch any stone cold match & it's painfully obvious whenever he's calling because he has to basically bury his head in the other guy's shoulder to not show his mouth.

[Guest mach7]

2. Glam rock fanboys Jericho

Jericho doesn't like glam rock--he's generally into the harder stuff. DON'T confuse glam with real heavy metal. Although there are some glam acts that don't completely suck.

Yeah, "harder stuff" like his obsession with "Loverboy" - such hardcore heavy metal they were. Right.

[Guest Redhawk]

Another factor, but it only applies to older wrestlers: keeping long hair keeps them from admitting how old they are. I assumed that's why Hogan has kept that little half-ring of hair he still has in the back.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

I generally like long hair better. I miss my long hair...**cries**

 

Long hair definitely adds to the show, as the flailing hair makes a move seem more "impactful," calling spots is easier, it absorbs sweat (and thus makes the effort seem a lot harder, too), AND...

 

 

 

...because rockstars are often perceived as "larger than life" characters, and many Roman and Greek gods had long hair, wrestlers with long hair tend to have a "larger than life" feel to them.

 

 

And for the record, short hair wasn't truly "manly" until World War I, when, because of the bugs in the trenches, men had to cut their long hair short for hygiene reasons.

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

Since I've never seen a wrestler with really long hair before the 80s, I would assume it to be taking advantage of the hair metal of the time.

 

Fo sheez,

Kotzenjunge

[Guest razazteca]

I assumed that's why Hogan has kept that little half-ring of hair he still has in the back

well that might explain why Paul Heyman has the ponytail also. But the second the hat or bandana comes off they look like the average 40 year old.

[Guest Ravenbomb]

I think in a match with the Rock, Shamrock yelled 'clothesline' and the ref started laughing his ass off. I dunno, I heard that somewhere.

 

 

They have it long because they're too lazy to get it cut, then they get accostumed to having long hair and they don't want it short.

 

 

And sometimes having hit hang over your face looks good or works with your character (see: Raven, Rhyno, OuTtKaSt)

[Guest AndrewTS]

2. Glam rock fanboys Jericho

Jericho doesn't like glam rock--he's generally into the harder stuff. DON'T confuse glam with real heavy metal. Although there are some glam acts that don't completely suck.

Yeah, "harder stuff" like his obsession with "Loverboy" - such hardcore heavy metal they were. Right.

GENERALLY I said, and I think that was intended as a joke...Jericho's mentioned having much love for Maiden, Priest, Dio, etc--which are what the covers for Fozzy, at least the first album (dunno about 2nd), were of.

 

Although he likes stuff like Whitesnake, which are kinda borderline. That's why I said generally.

 

Speaking of Jericho, anyone notice that he's had the tinted-red ponytail like Ozzy does now?

[Guest AndrewTS]

I assumed that's why Hogan has kept that little half-ring of hair he still has in the back

well that might explain why Paul Heyman has the ponytail also. But the second the hat or bandana comes off they look like the average 40 year old.

FEAR THE SKULLET!

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Speaking of Jericho, anyone notice that he's had the tinted-red ponytail like Ozzy does now?

He's had that since the title reign last year.

[Guest AndrewTS]

Speaking of Jericho, anyone notice that he's had the tinted-red ponytail like Ozzy does now?

He's had that since the title reign last year.

Yeah, I noticed, but no one has mentioned it that I know of.

[Guest The Czech Republic]

You know who the Samson Effect REALLY hit bad?

 

Jerry Flynn.

[Guest Redhawk]

Does Lance Storm then count for the Reverse Samson Effect? I saw his match with RVD on ECW's Barely Legal, when Lance had a mullet and wasn't as good.

[Guest Vitamin X]

And why is it that most of these wrestlers with long hair (with the exception of Jerichristian) suck? Look at the list...

 

Long hair: HHH, Taker, Big Show (old school, I know not now but used to..), Edge, Guerrero, Jericho, RVD..

 

Short/no hair: Austin, Angle, Benoit, Rey Misterio Jr, Booker T, Rock, Flair, JAMIE NOBLE BOY~!,

 

OK shit there goes my argument..RVD, Jerihco, Guerrero...OK fine, everyone EXCEPT for those guys!