5 Current WWE Superstars who look almost unrecognizable without a beard

#4 Tommaso Ciampa (WWE NXT)

Tommaso Ciampa

Long before Tommaso Ciampa dominated WWE's Black and Gold brand NXT, he appeared as a side-character on WWE TV in 2005. On an episode of SmackDown that year, Ciampa appeared as a lawyer, Thomas Whitney, representing Muhammad Hassan and had an in-ring segment with The Undertaker.

He looked completely different back then with a head full of hair and a clean-shaved face, the picture of which you can see above. Ciampa read a statement from Hassan to The Undertaker before The Phenom attacked him.

When a 20-year old Tommaso Ciampa appeared on Smackdown in 2005 as Muhammad Hassan's lawyer and got chokeslammed by The Undertaker pic.twitter.com/hS6M2bH4ci

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) February 4, 2018

Tommaso Ciampa then went on to wrestle on the independent circuit and for promotions like TNA/IMPACT Wrestling. He returned to WWE in 2015 and formed a tag team with Johnny Gargano on NXT, collectively known as DIY.

Ciampa and Gargano went on to win the NXT Tag Team Championships soon. The two then had a massively personal rivalry against each other, having multiple amazing matches. Many claim their rivalry to be one of the best in NXT history.

In 2018, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Aleister Black to win the NXT Championship for the first time. He had an amazing reign but was unfortunately forced to relinquish the title in March 2019 due to his injuries.

tommaso ciampa heel 2018 appreciation NXT was definitely his brand >>> pic.twitter.com/tAoPTIaRLL

— RIP MOM RIP DAD (@ciampasadamcole) December 26, 2020

While there were chances that his injury could force him into an early retirement, Ciampa returned to NXT later that year. He has since been a crucial part of the Black and Gold brand and it is to be seen when or if WWE moves him over to either RAW or SmackDown.