WWE star Tyler Bate explained his reasoning behind changing his iconic facial hair.
When he was first introduced to WWE fans as part of NXT UK, Tyler Bate sported a mustache that had become an iconic part of his presentation as a wrestler. However, in recent years, the star has sported a full beard, leaving his mustache days behind.
Speaking in a new interview with Metro UK, the star admitted that he didn’t find the mustache to be a very handsome look for himself.
“I think I just wanted to be more handsome. I wanted to be more like – just handsome to a regular person!
“The mustache was working, it was fun, but I couldn’t honestly look in the mirror and say, ‘Yeah.’ Like, it wasn’t a very handsome look. It was a fun look! Much more comfortable with the beard.”
Continuing, Tyler Bate reflected on his facial hair marking different eras of his life. The star will be turning 27 in March.
“I was carrying it for a while. So I grew the mustache when I was 16 and then 20 would have been when I grew a beard out. So yeah, I had just the mustache for four years.
“I would go to college with the moustache, everyone looked at me like I was insane!”
Why Did Tyler Bate Grow A Mustache Prior To Joining WWE?
When asked why he chose the mustached look at the age of 16, Bate admitted it was a wrestling decision more than a personal aesthetic one. He credits fellow British wrestler Chris Brookes for encouraging him to adopt the style.
“So I wanted to grow out just the mustache. And it was him! He was living with me at the time, It was him who egged me on to do it.
“So I had really fair hairs at the time, really fair blonde hairs. So I’ve got my sister’s eyeliner – or whatever you use for your eyelashes – and I had this jet black, like really fair haired mustache and I looked like Groucho Marx!”
Bate says that despite his mother hating the look, it caught on with British wrestling fans, who would often chant “Tyler’s Mustache” as he wrestled. He would eventually form the Mustache Mountain tag team along with partner Trent Seven, who is now signed to TNA.
“People were chanting ‘Tyler’s mustache.’ I thought, ‘Maybe I’m onto something right now.’ So I kept it and then Moustache Mountain was born.”
Bate made his main roster debut on the January 5th episode of SmackDown, re-aligning with Butch, who has recently undergone a transformation of his own. Bate encouraged Butch to look inside himself and decide what name he wants to go by, indicating that he may at long last be returning to his name of Pete Dunne.