10 Wrestlers Who Got Into Incredible Shape This Year

Eater Of Salads.

Bray Wyatt
WWE/@dyrektlink

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

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.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett