At the turn of the new millennium, pro wrestling was arguably hotter than ever. However, big changes were on the horizon for the wrestling business. In 2001, WWE would purchase WCW and essentially became the only game in town as far as major wrestling promotions. The decade would also see major turnover atop the WWE card.
RELATED: 5 Ugliest WWE Attires From The 1990s (& The 5 Best) With a fresh crop of main event stars came updated fashion choices. This extended to entrance attires. Admittedly, the 2000s featured a lot less memorable and eye-catching entrance attires. Still, several entrance attires from the decade were exceptional and worth taking a second look at.
10 The Boogeyman
Pro wrestling has seen its fair share of supernatural characters come through the business. Of course, after the overwhelming success of The Undertaker, every other supernatural character kind of pales in comparison. While The Boogeyman was nowhere near as successful as The Undertaker, the character had some redeeming qualities.
For starters, he was visually stunning. WWE's design team crushed The Boogeyman's appearance. Second, his entrance was pretty breathtaking, especially for younger fans. The Boogeyman's entrance saw him crawl out to the stage, usually holding a clock or a staff. In an era that lacked extravagance, The Boogeyman provided just a bit with his entrance and entrance attire.
9 MNM
The 2000s may not have been nearly as over-the-top as the 80s or even the early 90s but it had its moments. MNM is a great example of a team that used their entrance attire to draw a bit of attention to themselves. Fur coats have always been a fashion statement. However, in the 2000s, pop culture made fur coats even more popular.
MNM took full advantage of that. Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury would make their entrance in slow motion while wearing expensive-looking fur coats. The coats helped enhance their entrance and their characters overall. When Nitro set out on his own, he kept the popular entrance and coat gimmick.
8 The Hurricane
In essence, all pro wrestling babyfaces are pseudo-superheroes. At least in the eyes of many young fans. Surprisingly though, there isn't an abundance of successful superhero-like characters throughout wrestling history. Arguably the most successful superhero-themed character ever was The Hurricane.
The character was inspired by Shane Helm's love of comic book heroes, specifically The Green Lantern. While The Hurricane wasn't a carbon copy of Green Lantern there were a few subtle similarities. Regardless, The Hurricane had some great entrance gear which included a cape and later a shoulder pad-like attachment. The entrance attire only served to enhance an already great look.
7 John Bradshaw Layfield
The whole point of entrance attire is to further emphasize a performer's gimmick. While it was very simplistic, John Bradshaw Layfield's entrance attire did just that. Bradshaw's character evolution in 2004 saw him go from a fun-loving beer-drinking badass to a rich stock market tycoon. It was a big change but one that jumpstarted his Hall Of Fame career.
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The JBL character was a bit of a modern-day Ted DiBiase. While he didn't throw money at fans, JBL certainly flaunted his wealth. His entrance comprised of him coming to the ring in a stretch limousine while wearing his customary cowboy hat and a track jacket. It was a simple look but one that fit his character to a tee.
6 Hollywood Hogan
During the 80s, Hulk Hogan was unquestionably the top babyface in all pro wrestling. Hogan's larger-than-life persona and charisma defined the decade and provided WWE with one of its most lucrative periods ever. Despite his undeniable presence, Hogan had kind of bland entrance attire. This is especially true when compared to some of the other entrance attires of the decade.
In the 2000s, Hogan's entrance gear would stand out a lot more. He still wore his customary rip-away tank top and a bandana. However, Hogan also added a red and yellow boa. Hogan had started wearing boas in WCW as the leader of The nWo but the red and yellow boa is mostly remembered for his early 2000s run in WWE.
5 Kurt Angle
Here's an entry that likely snuck underneath the radar for many fans. Believe it or not, Kurt Angle has one of the most iconic pieces of entrance attire in wrestling history. The reason some fans might not remember it right off the bat is because it was a bit subtle. Regardless, Kurt Angle's gold medals were memorable and unique to him.
In a business that can be very cookie-cutter at times, Angle was the only Olympic gold medalist ever. In 2004, Angle added to his already iconic entrance gear when he started wearing a suede jumpsuit. The combination of the jumpsuit along with the gold medals took Angle's entrance attire to the next level.
4 Edge
As a lifelong pro wrestling fan, Edge grew up imagining what his future wrestling persona would be like. When he finally achieved his dream, that imagination never stopped working. Even at the peak of his superstardom, Edge was always thinking of ways to further enhance his character and look. Edge's entrance attire is a great example of his evolution.
Even early in his career, Edge would come to the ring wearing a long black trench coat. In the early 2000s, the coat began changing colors to match Edge's ring gear. As the decade progressed, so did Edge's entrance coat. Eventually, the coat would become very detailed and a huge part of Edge's appearance. As a student of the game, Edge knew the importance of looking the part, even during a ring entrance.
3 D-Generation-X
In 1997, WWE began throwing haymakers back at WCW. The rise of D-Generation-X had a big hand in swinging the wrestling viewership back towards WWE. Unfortunately, due to a career-threatening back injury, Shawn Michaels would miss a lot of the subsequent DX success. Luckily, when Michaels came back to WWE in 2002, he'd eventually get another run as part of DX.
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During the 2000s, Triple H and Shawn Michaels had some of the best entrance attire as DX. Triple H's would never be overly flashy but he always had some pretty great DX t-shirts on. Michaels would also often incorporate the DX colors into his entrance chaps. The 2000s version of DX might've been more tamed but they also had significantly better merchandise and entrance attire.
2 King Booker
Being crowned as royalty in pro wrestling has historically yielded mixed results. Some performers struggle to adapt to such a specific role. On the contrary, some performers take to royalty personas very naturally. Booker T was definitely in the latter category. As King Booker, Booker T finally experienced the kind of main event success in WWE that he always deserved.
This is mainly due to Booker's commitment to the role. Despite how silly the character might've seemed on paper, Booker embraced his role as king. Furthermore, Booker looked every bit the part of a king. His entrance attire of a crown and robe looked great on him and only cemented him as royalty in the eyes of the WWE audience.
1 John Cena
John Cena defined pro wrestling in the 2000s in more ways than one. During the early part of the decade, Cena would even be on the cutting edge of mainstream hip-hop fashion. At the time, in hip-hop, throwback sports jerseys were all the rage. Knowing that, Cena always made sure to have on a fresh Mitchell and Ness jersey when the bright lights came on.
During this period, Cena would even occasionally work the name on his jersey or the team name into his freestyles. A great example of this was Cena coming out at WrestleMania 20, in Madison Square Garden, sporting a New York Knicks Patrick Ewing jersey. Nobody in wrestling history ever rocked any kind of sports jersey quite like "The Dr. Of Thugonomics."
