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In WWE, and the entertainment industry as a whole, there is often a larger-than-life aspect to the personalities of onscreen characters.
In addition to their storylines, the overall look of WWE Superstars makes them stand out in a normal crowd. When people come across old throwback pictures featuring superstars before they were famous, the difference between real and reel life becomes more apparent.
After all, it's easy to forget that some of these megastars lived normal lives at one point in time.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five throwback photos where WWE Superstars look almost unrecognizable.
#5 WWE RAW's Drew McIntyre and Sheamus look very different in an old throwback picture
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre fought each other in an excellent series of matches on the Road to WrestleMania 37. The two stars have shared a long history, which dates back to a time before they even became WWE Superstars.
Sheamus and McIntyre's No Holds Barred contest at WWE Fastlane 2021 ended up being a critically-acclaimed fight. Just before the event took place, McIntyre took to social media to share a throwback photo of himself and Sheamus.
The caption in his tweet encapsulated their decades-long friendship:
"How it started almost 20 years ago. Tomorrow #NoHoldsBarred at #WWEFastLane is how it will end. See you soon..."brother”," wrote McIntyre in his tweet.
Clearly, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre looked way different back in the day than they do now. Over the years, McIntyre has ditched his clean-shaven look and worked hard to build an amazing physique.
Out of the two, McIntyre looks slightly more recognizable in comparison. But it is always bizarre to see Sheamus without his ginger beard.
Drew McIntyre's rise to the top title scenario and Sheamus' resurgence in WWE have been two of the most integral aspects of the promotion in recent memory.
#4 Lacey Evans' transformation into WWE's Sassy Southern Belle seems unreal
Aside from her WWE career, Lacey Evans has had quite an interesting background. Evans was in the Marines for five years. Despite having a high school wrestling background, she wasn't a lifelong wrestling entertainment fan.
However, Evans' portrayal of the Sassy Southern Belle character on WWE television has been excellent.
Before this year's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Evans announced her pregnancy to the world. A few days later, she took to Instagram to share throwback pictures of her family along with a lengthy caption. Here is an excerpt from her post:
"We were 19 when we married. We were 22 years old when we became parents. And have juggled and accomplished more than we ever thought possible! Boy or girl......we plan on continuing to put our family first, work hard, Make sure the purest love is entwined in our last name and that we raise a kind, fierce, confident and loving human. Thank you for all the support and kind words ya nasties!"
As embedded above, it's difficult to recognize Lacey Evans from the first throwback picture. This just goes to show how hard she has worked to transform into a completely different persona on television.
#3 WWE's Murphy has changed a lot over the last two decades
Since 2013, Murphy's WWE run has taken several different creative turns. Initially, he was mostly known for being a tag team star in NXT. As a singles competitor, he held the Cruiserweight Championship for 183 days.
In 2020, Murphy took part in a newsworthy storyline with the Mysterio family, wherein he also got involved in a romantic angle with Rey Mysterio's daughter, Aalyah.
Before joining WWE, he wrestled under the ring name Matt Silva. It's safe to say that he looked quite different at the time. Murphy made a "10-year challenge" post on Instagram, highlighting his unrecognizable look from the past. You can check out the post below:
Murphy has developed an impressive physique over the course of his WWE career. A few years ago, he lost some weight to compete in the 205 Live brand. Clearly, the former Cruiserweight Champion has worked hard for his accomplishments in WWE.
While Murphy doesn't get a lot of television time these days, his Instagram profile is filled with workout posts.
#2 WWE SmackDown's Roman Reigns and Jey Uso didn't always run around as long-haired Samoans
Roman Reigns has earned a lot of acclaim throughout his latest run as the WWE Universal Champion. Most of his feuds since the latter half of 2020 have been intensely story-driven from start to finish. Meanwhile, Jey Uso's singles career has reached new heights ever since he got involved in The Tribal Chief's business.
While the two cousins are currently on the same page, they were involved in an emotional feud last year. Before Reigns and Uso fought at Clash of Champions 2020, WWE posted a few throwback pictures featuring both of them. Check out WWE's Instagram post below:
In the first picture, a young Roman Reigns looks almost unrecognizable compared to the modern-day Tribal Chief. Throughout his WWE career, Reigns has always sported long hair with a defined beard. Looking at him today, even a non-WWE fan can figure out that Reigns has been through several wars since the above picture was captured.
Additionally, the current version of Jey Uso has a grizzled look, which seems completely different from his appearance in the throwback image.
#1 WWE RAW's Braun Strowman looked very different around the 2000-2001 period
Braun Strowman has been a WWE mainstay for several years now. It's no secret that Strowman has developed an impressive physique over the years. He often posts about his physical transformation on social media. The Monster Among Men recently shared a throwback photo with an emotional caption.
The picture was taken roughly 20 years ago. Strowman posted it on Instagram with an inspirational message:
"Man if I could tell that insecure shy kid what he was gonna grow up to be might have made life a little easier but there’s no way I would be the man I am today without all the bull s*** I went through. Sometimes life is hard and it hurts but if can remember to enjoy the sucky parts it makes the amazing stuff that much more AMAZING!!!"
Braun Strowman appears completely unrecognizable in the above image.
Any WWE fan knows that he has worked hard to receive a good spot on the WWE roster. Not only did Strowman win the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36, he also defeated Shane McMahon at The Show of Shows one year later.
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