10 Wrestlers Who Got Into Incredible Shape This Year
Eater Of Salads.
Wrestling, thankfully, doesn't have as overt a view on physical appearance as it used to.
It's not to say that the industry has transformed itself behind the scenes into a place of fairness and equality where aesthetics are stuck firmly behind talent, drive and determination, but after several years as a post-Laurinaitis, WWE has again embraced variety as a relevant spice of life on its main roster.
Hulking brutes The Viking Raiders will almost certainly dominate the doubles division on Raw as soon as people are allowed to focus on anything other than what to f*cking call them, whilst SmackDown Live's re-emergence as the workrate brand over the past two years was forged by the likes of sub-six footers AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan undoing the damage done by body guy Jinder Mahal during his misguided tenure with the WWE Title in 2017.
The stocky or short or supposedly misshapen are still rule-proving exceptions in WWE, but there are at least more than there used to be - and marginally less pressure to conform to a McMahon-mandated "norm". For health, happiness or help in securing continued work a notoriously fickle industry, these talents have recently fought battles with their bodies and won.
10. Matt Hardy
WE ARE ETERNAL pic.twitter.com/ICg7soHVHn
— Matt Hardy, REDEFINED (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 18, 2019
A famed return to physical form for the multi-faceted Matt Hardy has offered the added bonus of him cycling through all his old personas just because he can.
It takes guts - or the notable lack of one - to sport t-shirts as tight as the ones Jeff and Matt went for in 1999, but the occasionally 'Broken' brother has brought the look back 20 years later to celebrate a life well lived and a career still somehow in bloom.
Every gimmick's been given the greenlight for at least a night, and the objective - beyond giving lifelong fans a chance to see an old favourite - has been to make the most of the "redefined" elder Hardy as he continues to stave off retirement so soon after seemingly looking set to sack off the rigors of the road once and for all.
It's the latest in a string of public perception turnarounds for Matt that should bolster his self-esteem no end. Abused online for his weight whilst also battling multiple addictions, Hardy's played the long game and won well.