Wrestling has always had a foot in the world of nerds...

For starters you have to be a bit of a nerd to be into wrestling. Just like comics, it has a rich history and there are plenty of characters and lore to wrap your head around. You also have to either accept that you’re watching a pre-determined performance or, like me as a child, you believe these are real life super humans on screen. Both heroes and villains.

They can fly. They can take hits and bumps that humans should not be able to take. Most of all, they are larger than life characters with signature looks, lines and moves. As a child I would idolise these guys and dream that one day I could fly off the top turnbuckle, land my impossible to replicate move, beat the villain, and walk away with a big gold belt. Alas it was not to be for this nerd. But as time has gone by it looks like many nerds have grown up to be wrestlers, because their love for comics and sci-fi has bled into their work.

‘Nerd’ was such a dirty word before the noughties. If a wrestler did anything as a homage to comics, I didn’t see it or hear about it. But since comics, fantasy and sci-fi has really hit the mainstream, and become more acceptable, many wrestlers have been paying tribute to the franchises they love. Here are 10 wrestlers who are clearly nerds.

THUNDEROSA – X23

This spooky Mexican for a short while walked out as the Mexican Wolverine herself, X23. Donning a version of the ‘all new, all different’ Wolverine garb, she slayed the audience with her entrances and her recognition of this Mexican mutant didn’t go unnoticed.

Thunderosa had to take a lot of time out due an injury however, like Laura Kinney herself, her healing factor has saved her and she’s back in the ring but now rocking a head of blonde locks. Who would you have her cosplay as now she has this new do?

KRIS STATLANDER – ROGUE

Sticking with the X-MEN and here we see 'more than a woman', Kris Statlander, rocking a Rogue cosplay. This was for FSCW World Championship  match she had at Galaxycon 2019.

​Kris hasn’t worn the Rogue cosplay whilst she has been on screen with AEW but she has dressed as Zoolander which just goes to show that her cosplays are really, really, really, really good looking. Kris has also leant into her love of sci-fi in the past, originally coming into AEW with an ‘Alien left on earth’ gimmick, that included a galaxy tattoo on her shoulders and some wicked face paint. But no one takes the sci-fi gimmick further than our next wrestler…

KUSHIDA – BACK TO THE FUTURE

Kushida calls this gimmick his ‘Timesplitter’ character…but let’s be honest…GREAT SCOTT!! It’s MARTY!! In full costume, life preserver and all, Kushida treats every entrance like a cosplay event, and even does the pose from the movie poster on the turnbuckle for all the crowd to see.

​It doesn’t stop there though. He has a submission move called the 'hoverboard lock' and a finishing move called
‘BACK TO THE FUTURE’. The only heavy thing is that he doesn’t come out to the BTTF theme song, or to Huey Lewis and the News, but that will probably be over licensing rights and not a lack of commitment to the character. 

Kushida is not the only wrestler to make a cosplay a regular part of their entrance…

ERIC YOUNG – DR DOOM

Eric Young has been wrestling a long time but in his return to TNA wrestling, in 2023, the Team Canada veteran debuted a new entrance look. A clear mark of respect and nod to DR DOOM. The big silver mask, complete with hood, seems to be all he is wearing in homage to the leader of Latveria but maybe as the year progresses we see more and more of the man in the iron mask.

Speaking of masks, Luchadores are a type of wrestler from the South Americas who classically ALWAYS wear a mask, both in and out the ring, not just in their entrance. This can make for some pretty sweet in-ring cosplay gear…

REY MYSTERIO – VARIOUS

Is the postcode of Gotham ‘619’? That may be why Rey Mysterio decided to don the cowl of the Dark Knight himself and become The Batman. Whilst he has cosplayed as many characters; The Flash, Wolverine, Daredevil, Captain America, Black Panther, The Phantom, Spider-Man I personally really enjoy two of them.

One is his Batman. From the addition of a cape to seeing the normally brightly coloured Luchador all in black, I think there isn’t many wrestlers who could dress as Batman and pull it off. Not without making their character look too silly or hilariously deluded (incidentally, that’s why I don’t dress as the caped crusader either).

​The other one is his incredible Mysterio. Okay, he has no fishbowl on but look at it! It’s incredible, detailed and it is also very satisfying to see him dress as his namesake. 

​He has also dressed as The Joker but when I think of a Luchador dressing as The Joker, I can only think of…

PENTA – THE JOKER

I don’t think anyone has managed to grab hold of the joker colours and gimmick, and wear it so hard that it doesn’t come off as being edgelordy and cringy, like people who make Joker and Harley memes their entire personality. It’s genius really because, for a ring gear idea, it comes out of nowhere. Penta as a wrestler is not someone you would associate with the Joker. They are nothing alike. However, the look does not wear Penta. Penta wears The Joker and makes it his own, so much so it is almost disappointing when he doesn’t come out in it. However, it is very possible that our next wrestler to dress as a Gothamite will never be seen in it again…

JON MOXLEY – RED HOOD

Jon is known for very little glitz and glamour in his look, entrance and style. A brutal, hard hitting wrestler with no frills attached. And yet, At Wrestle Kingdom 18 Jon walked out dressed as The Red Hood. Complete with mask and jacket, this was very uncharacteristic for Jon, so he was obviously asked to explain himself:​

“I just watched that show Titans. It started out ok. I read some of the books so I was familiar with the characters. I liked that it was violent even though Robin, when you put him in a real-life live-action scenario wearing the stupid f–king little mask, like, how do we know that’s not you? It’s so dumb. Just putting a little thing over your eyes is not hiding your identity. And the yellow and all that s–t. It’s hard to look cool and badass in a live-action scenario in a Robin outfit."

"It got pretty good in season 2 and then the third season just went all to hell with all this voodoo and supernatural powers. It started to lose me and then it was over. I’m a big Batman fan and that whole world, and I’m a big Red Hood fan. He’s probably my favourite comic book character. The kid that played him in the show was a little too young. The helmet was bigger than him.”

Is Jon saying here that he was inspired because he thought he could do a better job? Moxley is a man who puts his money where his mouth is so this wouldn’t be a shock. Either way, you got to admire someone for coming completely out their comfort zone and doing something different just because they can.

RICOCHET - NIGHTWING

Often described as a high flying superhero, Ricochet is known more for his lack of ring attire. Often bare chested and sporting trunks, it was unusual then to see him come to the ring and fight in a full costume, let alone dressed as NIGHTWING. Yes, sticking with the Gotham theme, I applaud Ricochet for going neck to toe in wrestling spandex, sporting the logo of the best of Bludhaven and doing his aerial acrobatics so well in it. 

Ricochet looked like he was stunt doubling for a Dick Grayson movie throughout the match and was just missing some Escrima sticks to fully pull off the look. Maybe if he'd had them he would have picked up the win that night.

THE ELITE – GHOSTBUSTERS

The Elite may annoy the wrestling world and cause those who are fans of the squared circle to argue with each other constantly on the internet if they are overrated or amazing. But it certainly isn’t divisive on their cosplay abilities. From Space Jam to Street Fighter, or outfits dressing as their opponents, they have fun wearing whatever the hell they want to the ring. Normally keeping it on the pulse of whatever is popular in wrestling or pop culture at the time.

 Of course my personal favourite is their Ghostbusters gear. Adam Cole got in on this so they could have a fourth member. Theye even incorporated a Marshmallow Man cameo from off again/on again Elite member, Hangman Adam Page (although this was a shock to them, disguising himself as Mr Staypuft to sneak in and attack them after the match).

However, no matter how many costumes anyone wears, they may never top our next wrestler for being known as THE cosplaying wrestler...

JADE CARGILL – VARIOUS

Jade is a natural star in the business and, honestly, can turn heads and get people to watch her matches just by her natural charisma and enigmatic aura as she walks to the ring. Why Jade then chose to go through a cosplay streak is beyond me but I am far from opposed to it. Jade clearly puts the same  work she puts in at the gym in the cosplay department because look at these costumes!

Stealing the spotlight and getting all the journalists writing about it the next day in the dirt sheets, Jade became somewhat synonymous with cosplaying wrestlers. Maybe that's because, from as mainstream as Storm from X-Men to Mirko from My Hero Academia, Jade will dress as anyone. Correction; Jade WOULD dress as anyone.

Jade announced that she would no longer do any cosplays due to her Cheetara cosplay causing her some issues during a match. It may also have been because she knew she was WWE bound, and maybe Jade wants to promote a more serious image for a while. Who knows if we will ever see her don a comic characters look again, but one thing is for certain, when she does, she’ll probably be doing it on the biggest stage of them all.

Have I missed anyone out? Let me know by emailing us at [email protected] and if we can get enough we can maybe do a part 2…
Like wrestling as much as comics? Check out our friends at Kick Out At Two Podcast 

- @ProJub