These Retired Wrestlers Are Completely Unrecognizable Now
Father Time waits for no one. In professional wrestling, that adage holds up well being the layperson's standards. From the grueling travel schedule to the wear-and-tear these athletes put on their bodies to some poor life choices in many cases, the side effects aren't just reserved for the joints and muscles. Physical appearances change over time as well.
Of course, that's unavoidable for just about anyone on the planet (well, maybe not Tom Cruise). However, with pro wrestlers, sometimes as the years go on, they can go from not being able to walk around in public without being recognized to taking on the visage of your average person before too long.
In some of these cases, longtime fans will see a relatively familiar face and think, "Oh, so-and-so got a little older just like the rest of us." In others, the response might be more along the lines of, "Wow, he doesn't look anything like I remember." And in at least one of our subjects here, we'll be able to wonder just why in the world he's wearing a turkey suit. Whatever the case may be, all in the name of fun and nostalgia, please enjoy a walk down memory lane as we explore nine gentlemen who look rather different these days.
Brian Knobbs
Known as one-half of The Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs — real name Brian Yandrisovitz — got his start in the AWA in 1986, trying to carve out a niche as a singles act before forming his infamous tag team with Jerry Sags. The team eventually joined WCW via the NWA following Ted Turner's purchase of Jim Crockett Promotions in 1990.
The Nasty Boys' first WCW run ultimately gave way to a run in WWE for the better part of three years, which saw them managed by Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart with top-tier feuds against legendary teams like The Hart Foundation, The Bushwhackers, and The Rockers. At WWE WrestleMania VII, Knobbs and Sags reached the pinnacle of their success, defeating The Hart Foundation for the WWE World Tag Team Championships, which they held until losing them to The Legion of Doom at SummerSlam later that year.
After returning to WCW in 1993, The Nasty Boys enjoyed their greatest sustained success, capturing the WCW World Tag Team Championships on three occasions. Knobbs returned to singles competition there, going on to win three WCW Hardcore Championships before leaving the company in 2000.
In 2007, more than 14 years since their last appearance in WWE, Knobbs and Sags reunited as The Nasty Boys to work a dark match at "WWE SmackDown," defeating Drew McIntyre and Dave Taylor. However, The Nasty Boys reportedly caused chaos at the "SmackDown" tapings and their tenure was cut short. A few years later, the Nasty Boys joined TNA Wrestling, but they were released pretty quickly.
Snitsky
Gene Snitsky cut his teeth in pro wrestling on the independent circuit beginning in 1997 before finding a home in Pennsylvania's World Xtreme Wrestling. After three years with WXW, Snitsky signed a developmental deal with WWE and reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling before hitting the main roster house show circuit for a series of matches against Kane. The two competed in Snitsky's "Raw" debut in September 2004 in the infamous angle that saw him accidentally injure a (storyline) pregnant Lita, causing her to miscarry, while giving birth to his memorable catchphrase, "It wasn't my fault."
Snitsky's run in WWE lasted a shade over four years and included a stint in the WWE's ECW relaunch, in which he portrayed the quintessential monster heel. Snitsky briefly returned in 2023 for a disturbing backstage segment with Chelsea Green on "WWE Raw," where he delivered his infamous catchphrase. Since then, Snitsky has mostly been retired, though he has occasionally bounced around the independents, most notably in Major League Wrestling.
Outside of wrestling, Snitsky became a pitchperson for Tristar Products' Power Pressure Cooker XL, where he adopted the persona of Turkey Dude (hence the turkey suit), a social media marketing tactic intended to promote the product while teaching people "not to be chicken about cooking turkey." As Turkey Dude, Snitsky was featured on the product's website in a series of webisodes called "The Adventures of Turkey Dude."
Rick Steiner
Though his place in wrestling lore is secure in its own right, Rick Steiner is almost certainly the lesser-known of The Steiner Brothers, with brother Scott reaching new heights as a singles act under his "Big Poppa Pump" persona. On top of that, Steiner is the father of upstart WWE superstar Bron Breakker, who inducted both his father and uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class. Only Harlem Heat (10) has more recognized WCW Tag Team Championship runs than the Steiners, who are tied with The Minnesota Wrecking Crew with seven.
The real-life Robert Rechsteiner was a runner-up for the Big Ten Championship in collegiate wrestling at Michigan, where he held the record for fastest pin in school history at just 15 seconds. Steiner was introduced to pro wrestling by fellow WWE Hall of Famer, the legendary George "The Animal" Steele, making his debut in 1984. Between 1985 and 1987, Steiner he competed for several promotions, ending up in WCW and eventually aligning with Scott. The Steiners left for WWE in 1992, where they captured tag team gold twice during a run that lasted until 1994.
Since retiring from in-ring competition, Steiner has appeared on "WWE NXT," where he was abducted during Breakker's feud with Joe Gacy and locked inside a cage. Naturally, he came out no worse for wear.
Bob Backlund
Wrestling legend Bob Backlund is one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions in history, with only Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan surpassing him. Backlund actually lost the title to Antonio Inoki in 1979, and won it back in a rematch a week later, only to have it declared a no contest. Inoki then refused the title and it was declared vacant, which it remained until Backlund got it back a little more than two weeks later. Because of all of that confusion, Inoki's title reign is not recognized by WWE at all, and the number behind Backlund's reign is debatable.
More than anything, Backlund is known for being the guy behind the guy who made Hulkamania possible, as he dropped the title to The Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden on December 26, 1983. Less than a month later, Hogan dropped the leg on The Sheik and the rest was history. By then, Backlund had become something of an afterthought, and before the end of 1984, he was gone from WWE. In 1992, Backlund returned, two years later adopting his Mr. Backlund persona and eventually winning the WWE Championship from Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1994, when Hart Family matriarch, Helen, threw in the towel. Three days later, Backlund dropped the belt to Kevin Nash at a house show.
While he's mostly retired these days, Backlund has made guest appearances for WWE in the years since. What's more, he even wrestled back in 2018, at 68 years old, for Dradition Pro Wrestling in Japan.
Val Venis
With the gimmick of an adult film star, it doesn't take much to guess that the high point of the real-life Sean Morley's wrestling career occurred during WWE's "Attitude Era." After weeks of vignettes, his debut featured a rivalry with Kaientai. This culminated with the heel stable's manager, the late Yamaguchi-San, attempting to cut off his most prized asset with a sword after Venis had an affair with his wife. The attempted castration failed when, according to Venis, he was saved with some help from John Wayne Bobbitt. (No, really, that happened).
With that behind us, we can move on to all the glory that was Venis purportedly sleeping with a series of opponents' wives, girlfriends, and family members, ultimately avenged symbolically by his losing to Chyna in the first round of the 1999 King of the Ring tournament. After a hiatus, Venis dialed back the porn star gimmick, though he continued to use the name (and its offshoot, "The Big Valbowski") until his time as "Raw" Chief of Staff under GM Eric Bischoff, known as Chief Morley. Of course, he couldn't shy away from the smutty stuff forever, getting his own online show "Sex-U" for a few months in 2007.
By 2009, with WWE now into its PG Era, Venis was off to the independent scene, where he stayed active until 2023, almost always under the Venis persona, and also had a short in TNA in 2010 as Sean Morley.
In recent years, Venis has become a cannabis advocate and entrepreneur. He also describes himself as an anarchist social media, where he promotes a controversial line of apparel featuring shirts with slogans such as "Hello Biological Ladies," "Hello Wombers," and "Free Press Granted by God! Denied by the State!"
Tugboat
Let's address the 900-pound gorilla in the career of Fred Ottman right off the bat. The Shockmaster might be the worst idea and gimmick in the history of wrestling. If you haven't familarized yourself with that accidental classic, jump right on that. Afterward, you'll have the best laugh you'll have all day by taking in the clip of Haku seeing the infamous moment for the first time decades later.
Ottman — better known as Tugboat and Typhoon during his WWE heyday — began his career in 1984 and would eventually debut on WWE TV as Tugboat Thomas in 1990. Tugboat later aligned with none other than Hulk Hogan – and if you could get past his "Toot-toot" rallying cry, made for a pretty solid wingman for "The Immortal One" in his budding rivalry with Earthquake. But no good alliance lasts forever, and the pair split when Tugboat turned on his teammates, The Bushwhackers, in a six-man tag against Earthquake and The Nasty Boys, aligning with Earthquake and becoming Typhoon to form The Natural Disasters under Jimmy Hart's guidance. The team captured WWE Tag Team gold, but by the end of 1993, both Earthquake and Typhoon were gone from WWE.
This begat The Shockmaster in WCW, of course, but before we consider rehashing all the jokes that come with that, it's important to realize that the joke's on us all, as Ottman revealed in an episode of "Dark Side of the Ring" that he still gets significant residuals from Shockmaster merchandise, autograph signings, and so on. It is also fun to note that Ottman is Cody Rhodes' uncle, as he is married to "The American Nightmare's" mother's sister.
Haku
Haku's reputation as one of the most legitimate tough guys the wrestling industry has ever seen has been corroborated by many of his peers. Born Tonga Fifita on the island of Tonga, Haku played rugby in high school and at 15, was sent to Japan by the King of Tonga, along with other teenagers (including his future tag team partner, The Barbarian) to study Sumo. He reached the rank of Makushita 27, which is in the third highest division of the Japan Sumo Association. A dispute with administration led Haku and his countrymen to retire from Sumo and he moved on to study professional wrestling.
By Haku (then as King Tonga) was a WWE mainstay. Within a year, he and Tonga Kid (now as Haku and Tama) were wrestling as The Islanders, as they would continue to do until Bobby Heenan transferred the king's crown from fellow Heenan Family member Harley Race (who was injured) to anoint King Haku in the summer of 1988. His reign would last until April of 1989 when he lost the crown to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, moving on to form The Colossal Connection with Andre the Giant, and capturing the WWE Tag Team Championships.
Haku, whose sons Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa recently debuted in WWE, became Meng for a six-year stint in WCW before returning to WWE at the 2001 Royal Rumble to spark a run that lasted through early 2002. He remains semi-active, last wrestling for ACW in April 2024 and was seen — and namedropped by Paul Heyman — at the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Brutus Beefcake
Brutus Beefcake has been known by many names but is forever "The Barber," his WWE persona which led to a 2019 Hall of Fame induction. Still, recognizing this list of monikers is a must: Brute Force, Brother Bruti, The Booty Man, The Butcher, Ed Leslie (his real name), The Man With No Name (ostensibly not his real name), The Disciple, Ed Boulder, Eddie Boulder, Dizzy Golden, Dizzy Hogan, Eddie Hogan, and who could forget The Zodiac? As you may have inferred from the Hogan references, Beefcake goes way back with The Hulkster, all the way to high school, growing up just a few blocks away from each other in Tampa, Florida.
While his WWE run lasted from 1984 to 1993, Beefcake's "Barber" gimmick was undoubtedly the highlight, earning the nickname after helping Roddy Piper defeat Adrian Adonis in a Hair Match. From there, Beefcake started struttin' and cuttin' his way to the ring, garden shears in hand. Eventually, he aligned with Hogan against Savage and Zeus. Any momentum he had from that was thwarted by a horrific parasailing accident that Beefcake suffered in 1990.
His injuries required complete reconstructive surgery, necessitating an incision from ear-to-ear, his face peeled down, and his scalp peeled back, so the doctors could work on the bones of Beefcake's face and head. Ironically, his return to WWE in 1993 only featured a pair of televised matches but the "Barber Shop" talk show episode that featured Shawn Michaels superkick Marty Jannetty through the set's window to end The Rockers tag team was a major highlight. With WCW from 1994 until 1999, Beefcake endured that list of gimmicks we mentioned at the top of this section before departing for good, toiling around the independents until retiring for good in 2015.
Sid Vicious
There are few wrestlers who brought as much intensity to the ring as the real-life Sidney Eudy. Going from Mark Calaway's predecessor in The Skyscrapers to Ric Flair introducing him as a member of The Four Horsemen in his early WCW days should tell you everything you need to know about his legacy. However, Sid Vicious' first run in WCW from 1989 until 1991 ended with minimal fanfare and success, though he experienced success later on.
Eudy jumped ship to WWE following his WCW tenure, debuting as Sid Justice through a series of vignettes that led to his official debut SummerSlam 1991, refereeing a handicap match between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior against Sergeant Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan. He also played a major role in Ric Flair's iconic 1992 Royal Rumble win, eliminating Hogan and kickstarting their feud, where Justice turned heel. He later feuded with The Ultimate Warrior, with whom he had major disagreements in real life, leading to his WWE departure and a brief return to WCW in 1993.
After that quick stint, Eudy went to the USWA and, ultimately, back to WWE in 1995 as Sycho Sid. He captured the WWE Championship, beating Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1996. Sid had a second reign with the title, beating Bret Hart on "WWE Raw" in February 1997 before losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 13. Released after a neck injury in July 1998, the tall star returned to the indies and briefly competed in ECW before going back to WCW and enjoying some success. Unfortunately, Vicious suffered the most gruesome injuries ever seen in pro wrestling, which effectively ended his career, save for a handful of one-offs between 2004 and 2017.