10 Wrestlers Who Let Themselves Go (But Got Back Into Shape)

Some of the best wrestlers in the industry have let themselves go over the years, but a few made sure they got back in shape.

A wrestler's physique plays a vital role in determining the longevity of his career as an in-ring performer. He has to be in good shape and strength to endure the level of abuse his body would go through by the rigorous training, hectic travel, and the continuous in-ring action.

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While it might not be the case on all occasions, the wrestlers with better physiques have gone on to have successful and lengthy careers over the years, and even the promoters ask the out of shape wrestlers to lose weight. However, even some of the best wrestlers in the industry have let themselves go over the years, but these ten wrestlers made sure they got back in shape. Let's take a look at how they managed to do it.

Big Cass had a successful start to his WWE career as part of a highly-popular tag team with Enzo Amore. He could've been a multiple-time champion in WWE if his backstage reputation didn't get him released from the company in June 2018.

Following the exit, he went on to compete in the independent circuit, and he cited depression, anxiety, and alcohol addictions as the main factors behind his WWE release. He apparently let those factors affect his physique as pictures of him being extremely out of shape surfaced on the internet. However, he got his act straight, put on the work, and got back in shape, and currently performs in AEW under the name Big Bill.

Bubba Ray Dudley wasn't a very muscular wrestler right from the start of his career, but he had a decent physique which got him through numerous high-risk matches throughout his career.

However, the tag team legend got a bit overboard with his weight in 2013 during his time in Impact Wrestling, as fans spotted him packing some extra pounds. But with some rigorous cardio routine and a diet change, he got his weight in control and reportedly dropped around 100 pounds since then.

Despite the bizarre gimmick, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Goldust had a good physique throughout his early career. It got him through his various stints between WWE and WCW during that period, but we can't say the same about his second run with Impact Wrestling between 2007 and 2008.

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He adopted a new split personality gimmick and debuted a new version of himself named Black Reign. While the gimmick itself wasn't well received by the fans, they couldn't help but notice that he had put on a lot of weight. However, he shed some pounds and reportedly dropped around 60 pounds by adhering to a no-card diet and got back to shape.

The late WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall went through a rough patch in his life when he let his personal issues get to his body. He gained lots of weight during that phase, and it was his friend and former wrestler Diamond Dallas Page who helped him get sober and back in shape.

DDP reportedly took Hall into his house and also initiated a fundraiser, which raised nearly $110,000 to pay for the latter's hip replacement surgery. Hall made tremendous progress with DDP's help and sported his new look on social media.

Triple H made sure that he always sported a muscular look throughout his early WWE career, but he let himself go a bit following his quad tear injury in 2001 as he started to gain some weight after he returned to action in 2002.

While that didn't affect his in-ring work or on-screen booking, The Game wasn't the same person he was during his early stage. However, he focused on getting back to shape in 2015 and tried out Dave Palumbo’s 21-day cleansing diet, and also dedicated himself to midnight workouts at DeFranco’s gym in East Rutherford and reportedly lost 15 pounds in 15 days and gradually got back into a more muscular physique.

After struggling with his earlier gimmicks, Glenn Jacobs struck the jackpot with the Kane gimmick and made his debut as The Undertaker's long-lost brother in October 1997. He was the right fit for the masked character as he had the right height and physique to play the role to perfection, and The Big Red Monster terrorized his opponents for many years.

However, he was visibly packing some extra pounds during the later stage of his in-ring career, but The Devil's Favorite Demon got back in shape right in time during the end of his in-ring career. He also credited DDP Yoga and a low-carb diet for his weight loss.

The current reigning Intercontinental Champion Gunther didn't always have the excellent physique he sports today, as he was a bit too large throughout his career before the WWE main roster.

But that didn't affect his in-ring work, as he always focused on a powerhouse style of wrestling. However, he started showing an impressive transformation during his final days in NXT, and he had a much leaner look when he made his main roster debut in April 2021.

RELATED: WWE Superstar Gunther's Body Transformation Over The Years, Told In Photos

While early reports claimed that Vince McMahon had asked Gunther to lose weight before his main roster debut, the reigning Intercontinental Champion denied the rumors and stated that the weight loss was entirely his initiative.

Brock Lesnar has always been a physical specimen throughout his decorated career. He dominated his opponents inside a pro wrestling ring and the Octagon and looked like an absolute beast doing it.

However, it looked like he had put on a few more pounds during his second Universal Championship run. Even Chris Jericho called him fat on social media during that time, but The Beast Incarnate proved that it was only a temporary setback, and got back in shape. He bounced back from that phase and turned into what Pat McAfee would eloquently state as the Alpha-Male of our species.

Chris Jericho is a veteran of the pro wrestling industry with an impressive resume that shows his success across various promotions over the years. Apart from being a wrestler, he's also a musician and has been the lead singer of the band Fozzy since 2000.

He managed to stay in good shape despite the workload and years of competing in the ring, but he was visibly packing some extra weight during his early days in AEW. After a medical scare during a tour with Fozzy in 2021, Chris Jericho decided to lose the extra pounds and put in some hard work to drop around 31 pounds.

When he made his pro wrestling debut in 1994, The Big Show wasn't as overweight as he was during his WWE run. While he was taller than the average person, he did sport a leaner look compared to how he looked later in WWE.

He started gaining some unwanted weight over the years and weighed at a whopping 500 pounds for the majority of his in-ring career. However, after some motivation from John Cena, The Big Show started hitting the weights and lost a considerable amount of weight and even sported giant abs in 2017.

Kebin Antony is a God-fearing, peace-loving pro-wrestling fanatic from South India. He's been a fan of the sport since 2004, and also has a little experience by wrestling pillows in front of an imaginary crowd. He now works as a wrestling list writer for Valnet, Inc, covering thesportster.