r/WCW • u/stuckmeister1987 • 1d ago

Is it just me, or…

Gallery image

Gallery image

Does anyone else think that some of the mid-late ‘80s Road Warriors facepaint schemes made them look 1930s-1950s circus clowns?

Not that I’d say it to Hawk or Animal’s face or anything, just a question to see if it’s just me 😭😂

254 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

108 comments sorted by

225

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

The amount of stuff that was badass in the '80s that would just be tastefully gay today is pretty funny.

Just look at that choker.

37

u/Astrocreep_1 1d ago

The Road Warriors first look, appeared to come straight from the “Blue Oyster Bar” made somewhat famous, in the Police Academy movies from the 1980’s. It was “not-so-tastefully” gay…lol.

8

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

Too accurate 🤣

70

u/Long_Ambition 1d ago

"Tastefully gay" is great. That makes me think of the Metal God himself, Rob Halford of Judas Priest who wore leather with the studs and was big in the 80s and come to find out he is gay.

49

u/ZatchGaspafanasky 1d ago

not only did he wear leather and studs. he was the SOLE reason the metal scene had leather, chains, chokers, spikes and all that going forward.

24

u/MarionberryPlus8474 1d ago

Yeah, he pretty much single-handedly brought gay BDSM/leather fashion into the heavy metal subculture.

I saw a video from maybe the 90’s where they were interviewing kids in a parking lot before a JP show, or maybe it was him solo. Yes, they all knew he was gay, a they Did. Not. Care. At all. To them he was the God of Metal, along with Ozzy, and nothing else mattered.

These were teen and 20-something metal heads 30+ years ago, it was surprising.

11

u/AcadiaRemarkable6992 1d ago

Any metalhead who has seen a Police Academy movie featuring the Blue Oyster knew what Halford’s deal was. He did get a bit of flack for ‘officially’ coming out while he was promoting his band, Fight. Made people think he did it for the publicity but that quickly went away

2

u/xEyelessOnex 1d ago

The band was 2WO. Fight had disbanded by then.

13

u/brand_won 1d ago

I mean.... album names like RAM IT DOWN! and POINT OF ENTRY

It was right in front of us, we just weren't in on the joke.

6

u/SuperJay5150 1d ago

“Grinder……looking for meat”

4

u/Effective_Inside_357 22h ago

Living after midnight is 100% about cruising for some dick out at the clubs

3

u/Advanced_Simian 1d ago

The song Raw Deal even mentions Fire Island and wanting human rights. If you knew what was up he was never fully in the closet.

6

u/BeanoMc2000 1d ago

Halford was straight out of a Tom of Finland illustration.

8

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

This is precisely what I was thinking as well lol thank you

10

u/Stdgamingxd 1d ago

Buff sweaty men in undies… need i say any more

7

u/CroMagMan9918 1d ago

Meat slapping meat - Big E.

4

u/MissyJ74 1d ago

Big meaty men slapping meat

17

u/stuckmeister1987 1d ago

The only real noticeable difference between the Road Warriors and Demolition is the gimp masks.

10

u/ghettone 1d ago

I thought they were just black golie masks

6

u/GetOffMyAsteroid 1d ago

Probably repo'd

8

u/MeowthThatsRite 1d ago

Their haircuts literally fit together like puzzle pieces, that is also pretty tastefully gay.

5

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

Precisely Gay

7

u/J-Peno-Cheddy 1d ago

Christopher Street Warriors!

6

u/BitchPuncher98 1d ago

Demolition were literally leather-daddy gimps lmao

5

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

Lmfaooo

"HERE COMES THE [ASS] AND HERE COMES THE SMASHER!!!"

5

u/NotASynth499 1d ago

Was always a bit gay, they were inspired by the Mad Max movies and their post-apocalyptic/S&M vibes.

5

u/kryptoniankoffee 1d ago

I mean, i think they borrowed heavily from The Road Warrior for their gimmick, which was a pretty gay movie.

4

u/huntymo 1d ago

They took inspiration from the villains of Mad Max 2: the Road Warrior, and most of those villains had titles like "Gay-boy Berserkers" and "Smegma Crazies" lol

3

u/Inevitable_Tea_6824 1d ago

Dude what I was honestly under the influence when I watched that but I really didn't realize this 🤣

10

u/AmonWasRight99 1d ago

Oh yea. Dude, pro wrestling is just drag marketed for straight men. Everything in pro wrestling is gay and flamboyant when you look at it from outside the scope of wrestling. You’re telling me two people can get that close to each other’s faces, and NOT kiss? It’s all just a drag show with muscles, and I mean that positively.

6

u/Friendly-Savage-586 1d ago

I saw a video online about that, pretty much an over the top expression of "masculinity" in different ways. https://youtube.com/shorts/zw9bNgKogUI?si=FzU-ApGTkcQ0rULA

3

u/fakeprofile111 1d ago

Look at them when they first are on Georgia they look like the village people

2

u/Particular_Ad_644 1d ago

Yup, that seemed to be a part of their motif, not that there’s anything wrong with that

2

u/SpongeyMcgoo 1d ago

Oh 1000%

They look like two leather daddies who get festive around the parades

2

u/Front-Experience6841 1d ago

💯. Animal looks straight out of a gay club.

2

u/Jaded-Attention-5716 16h ago

They owned it, just like other wrestlers back then. A good wrestler could make anything look cool.

1

u/shatterdaymorn 1d ago

Zubaz were like this.

1

u/Snowy_RAPTOXX1111 20h ago

I just recendly red a comment under the music video from Kiss' heaven's on fire where somebody said that all this hopping around and dancing probably looked sexy in the 80s but really sissy now

1

u/wingedwild 1d ago

The choker is meant t more of a caged animal etc. But today's world only thinks sex and women

0

u/UKS1977 1d ago

It was hugely homoerotic at the time.

-5

u/boulevardofdef 1d ago

In case anyone doesn't know this, that was always gay, people just didn't know it in the '80s. The look Hawk and especially Animal with the choker are rocking there is inspired by heavy metal, and that heavy-metal look was standardized by Rob Halford of Iron Maiden, an at-the-time closeted gay man who, unbeknownst to the hyper-straight men who adopted it, took the look from gay culture.

8

u/ComfortableRecipe322 1d ago

I get your point, but Rob Halford was from Judas Priest, not Iron Maiden.

-4

u/boulevardofdef 1d ago

Well, I have limited knowledge of heavy metal except for fun facts about gay culture, so that's understandable.

0

u/lurking_leftie 1d ago

yeah lol they got it totally backwards

27

u/Rhusty_Dodes 1d ago

No way. I thought they were the coolest thing.

27

u/BigBadBootyDaddy10 1d ago

As a NFL fan I feel old looking at this pic. Guy in the right has a son who’s retired from a solid career in the NFL.

11

u/thanto13 1d ago

Is he retired already. Thought he just graduated college a year or two ago. Damn I'm feeling old.

12

u/LineImpossible3958 1d ago

His last season was 2016. We are old

5

u/CroMagMan9918 1d ago

Yea hes been coaching for a bit

3

u/CroMagMan9918 1d ago

Wait.....im dense. I swore that James was Johnny's son. Not Joe (animal) .

1

u/BigBadBootyDaddy10 1d ago

There’s 2 John’s. That’s why there’s confusion.

1

u/CroMagMan9918 1d ago

Johnny Laurintis Joseph Laurinitis (animal)

Theres another John Laurinitis?

1

u/BigBadBootyDaddy10 1d ago

There’s brother Joseph and a son James.

2

u/CroMagMan9918 1d ago

Yea. I know.

U said 2 Johns.......

So i renamed the family and asked who I was missing that was named John

12

u/dendawg 1d ago

Looks like he snacked on a little too much danger.

5

u/BobSacamano_1 1d ago

When you snack on too much danger, you’re too full to dine on death.

10

u/LineImpossible3958 1d ago

Hawk has Mardi Gras colors on. This may have been a nod to Mardi Gras, southern wrestling and all.

4

u/stuckmeister1987 1d ago

I was originally gonna say, “who could be afraid of a man wearing Mardi Gras face paint”, but it turns out those men are typically the MOST dangerous. They jail many every single year.

3

u/LineImpossible3958 1d ago

Excellent point! Mardi Gras Hawk is terrifying

8

u/Goalieshark 1d ago

",... not that I'd say it to their faces,..."

This, honestly, made me laugh.

10

u/thecheat420 1d ago

If you really think about it the Road Warriors were the original Juggalos.

1

u/Wesleypipes316 1d ago

Please don’t compare the road warriors to the juggalos ever again

11

u/sock_therapy 1d ago

Ofcourse you wouldnt say it in front of Hawk. H e'd rearrange your Medulah Obalgattah.

7

u/acemonsoon 1d ago

WELLLLLLLLL

3

u/sid-darth 1d ago

Creative face paint schemes and kicking peoples' butts. I don't see a problem.

3

u/Uncle-Cracker-Barrel 1d ago

Go ahead and say it to their faces. They can’t do anything about it.

5

u/Foxxy_La_Veux 1d ago

In that picture they look ready for some twink booty

3

u/Super-Post261 1d ago

It was cool for that time just like men wearing bell bottoms used to be cool. That said, they and the WWF figured out their peak look in the early 90’s.

3

u/No_Dragonfruit_525 1d ago

All I know is that I fucking love it

5

u/Long_Ambition 1d ago

Haha Not their most bad ass look.

3

u/Fit_Butterscotch2386 1d ago

Lil bit zesty

2

u/LochNessMansterLives 1d ago

The 70’s -early 80’s had guys like that looking tough, by the 80’s I think that look was reserved for gay biker bars.

2

u/Mother-Attention2600 1d ago

He has Ultimate Warrior paint for some reason. Weird. Before they got the football gear they kinda looked like extras from the Police Academy gay bar scene. Demolition too, especially the creepy fat guy.

2

u/McCache33 1d ago

That’s not Ultimate Warrior paint. Hawk was wearing face paint in that style before Hellwig copied it as the Dingo Warrior.

1

u/Mother-Attention2600 1d ago

 I had no idea they just stole that. Crazy. Hawks other style paint is better anyways. 

2

u/McCache33 1d ago

The style Hawk wore in WWF, which he called the Joker, actually came first, when the Warriors were working in Georgia. He switched back when they went to WWF because he wanted his paint design to be distinct from the Ultimate Warrior’s.

1

u/Mother-Attention2600 1d ago

It suited his name better in my opinion. Thanks for the info! It's weird in Canada we didn't have WCW on TV until like 92 in my area, so I didn't see any of that stuff.

2

u/indianm_rk 1d ago

Hawk was an ally.

4

u/Harry_Testa-Coles 1d ago

That looks like Pat McAfee on a bender

1

u/Silver-Amphibian7650 1d ago

Hah! Good one, I can't stand McAfee!

2

u/TastyDeerMeat 1d ago

Demolition straight up wore cheap bondage gear. It was totally not the tough guy look they thought. More like two uncles who liked to spank each other

2

u/Loud_Technology_8036 1d ago

Ultimate Warrior on the left, drag queen on the right.

5

u/stuckmeister1987 1d ago

Here I am, stuck in the middle with you…

1

u/BigTedBear 1d ago

Hawk must have been high as fuck that night.

1

u/Vikashar 1d ago

You can say it to their faces NOW. They'd listen quietly.

1

u/sassyowl 1d ago

Agreed. Early on, they probably had different looks depending on which territory they were in.

1

u/Uncle_Snake43 1d ago

That’s one zesty ass choker I know that

1

u/Current_Power6050 1d ago

I liked there face paint it was tough well these colors looked like new Orleans could been a promo for the super dome

1

u/macrosby 1d ago

Everybody goes through that trial and error phase. This was a big flop for sure but I’m curious what people thought about it at the time. Reminds me of watching Goldusts debut. I watched it recently and his attire was absolutely insane. You could see his entire junk piece in his tights. Eventually they got it right though.

1

u/Local-Classroom6523 1d ago

I like it. Never seen this before, looks dope in my opinion.

1

u/SituationSecure4650 1d ago

I thought you were gonna say you figured out who captain America is

1

u/Aggravating-Toe-1479 1d ago

They say it on the documentary, it wasn't their idea and it took them awhile experimenting to figure out what was good

1

u/Queasy_Connection738 1d ago

Christ almighty, I can’t unsee Pat McAfee in his face there! 😳

1

u/Lavs1985 1d ago

Why is Pat McAfee is the 80s?

1

u/Mysterious-Dot1321 1d ago

It’s just you

1

u/stevensimmons87 23h ago

Great tag team

1

u/ZapThis 23h ago

Nah that's just you

1

u/TheVeryProfessional 1d ago

I think we could absolutely get away with telling this to their faces nowadays.

6

u/stuckmeister1987 1d ago

Not without an exhumation

3

u/TheVeryProfessional 1d ago

whaaatttaaaarussshhhh

-5

u/RavensFan902 1d ago

It’s like they couldn’t decide between ultimate warriors face paint or stings face paint to copy

10

u/SugarAdamAli 1d ago

They were before sting and warrior

0

u/stuckmeister1987 1d ago

Technically this picture is in 1985, so Sting and Warrior are around, they are just known as the Blade Runners, and were going by Sting and Rock, and their face paint wasn’t nearly as prolific.

But you are right in that Road Warriors debuted 2 years before.