The Grand Pageantry of Wrestling

Sometimes, the entrances are the best part.

One of the greatest pleasures I have watching wrestling are the entrances.  In Wrestlemania, the entrances are bigger, grander, full of pyrotechnics and costumes that are beyond the scope of every day episodes of RAW or Smackdown.  In New Japan Pro Wrestling, the G1 Climax or Wrestlekingdom are the great events which inspire the best, most gorgeous outfits and regal entrances.  As for Lucha Underground, it seems as if every day is a day for pagentry, as the lucha style of wrestling is full of color and high drama.  And all of it is delicious.  

Below is a brief collection of my favorite wrestlers and their gorgeous pageantry.  There are many more I could have added, such as Sasha Banks, Bailey, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, and Becky Lynch.  The list does go on and on.  These few are the ones I especially love.

Finn Balor, WWE

I mention Balor first not because of his 0% body fat physique, but because of the body paint.  I've worked with body paint in theater productions, and it is extremely time consuming and always on the verge of being rubbed or sweated off.  What Balor and his artist achieve is continually stunning.  Yes, most of the paint gets rubbed off on wrestlers, but it works with the character.  Balor enters as the demon, a force that he taps into like a superpower.  At the end of the match, the demon has been exorcised, almost washed clean away, and once again he's Finn Balor.

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