Dexter Lumis, the ring name of Samuel Shaw, wears broad blackwork over his right shoulder and a much more detailed sleeve on the left. His familiar look—short blond hair, mustache, black gloves and gray jeans—put that contrast on display; close photos show the lines and skin breaks that get lost at a glance.

Right upper-arm blackwork tattoo

Dark fill covers much of Lumis’s right shoulder and upper arm, reaching toward the elbow. From a distance it reads as a solid shape; closer in, narrow breaks of skin and the edges of the blackwork are easy to see. The forearm doesn’t continue the same uninterrupted field.

The ink wraps around the shoulder rather than sitting like a small badge on its surface. Its outline gives the right arm a strong silhouette, while the open lines keep it from being one featureless block. The photos don’t establish whether the blackwork covers an older tattoo.

Left shoulder tattoo and curved sleeve lines

The left shoulder uses curved outlines and shaded shapes instead of a broad black field. Lines turn back into the design or run down the arm, with lighter borders helping separate the layers. The rounded shoulder connects directly to the denser sleeve below it, so the upper and lower sections read as one composition.

Some shapes wrap out of view as the arm turns, which makes it hard to name every subject from a single angle. The curves and shifting patches of shade are clear on their own.

Left forearm tattoo with spotted shapes

Lower on the left arm, pale forms with dark spots sit among curved lines and shaded areas. Their lighter outlines stand out against the darker sleeve and draw the design toward the wrist. The pattern follows the length of the forearm rather than spreading across it.

In ring photos, black gloves cover Lumis’s hands; the gloves are separate from the tattoo, which reaches close to the wrist. The images don’t show ink continuing across his fingers.

Left elbow tattoo and the sleeve’s continuous flow

The left sleeve carries its shaded background and lighter passages across the elbow instead of ending at a straight band. One photo shows the line from shoulder to wrist as the arm extends. When the elbow bends, parts of the design fold out of sight and others turn toward the camera.

The shifting widths of the shoulder, elbow and forearm give the connected lines room to change direction. The photos show the sleeve reaching toward the glove, while the chest and back remain open.

Contrasting arm tattoos and open chest space

Seen together, the right arm has the larger areas of dark fill, while the left sleeve carries more detail from shoulder to wrist. The NXT-era photos show a mostly untattooed chest between them, giving each side space. Both arms use dark ink, but they don’t mirror each other.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Shaw talked about making an impression through a cold stare and silence. The gloves, open torso and contrasting sleeves all contribute to his stark ring look; that doesn’t mean every tattoo was chosen for the character. His conversation with Van Vliet is below.

More wrestler tattoo guides

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Erick Rowan’s sleeves combine winding borders, faces, branching forms and shaded scenes. Joseph Ruud, who also wrestled as Erick Redbeard, said in a 2020 fan Q&A that he began getting tattooed while recovering from an injury around 2013 or 2014. He later added work on his legs and an arm; parts of his ring gear once covered the ink before he began showing more of it alongside Daniel Bryan.

The left sleeve has a clear ornamental framework, while the right mixes broader shading with a looser, scene-like arrangement. These photos show the designs from several angles, including views that disappear when Rowan bends an elbow or raises his arms.

Left shoulder tattoo: looping borders and Nordic-style shapes

Broad curves, smaller loops and pointed ends run from the outside of Rowan’s left shoulder toward his bicep. Some borders hold rows of rounded marks, giving them a decorated, almost carved look. The lines overlap the next part of the sleeve rather than stopping at a straight edge.

Those repeated outlines help organize the busier shapes around them. The designs are associated with Norse imagery, but the visible curls don’t establish a separate symbolic meaning for each one.

Left forearm tattoo: the warrior face and its curved frame

A warrior-like face is set inside a rounded, patterned frame on Rowan’s left forearm. The darkest shading draws attention to the eyes and upper face, while curved bands and smaller marks tie it to the sleeve. The figure is commonly identified as Odin, the one-eyed figure from Norse mythology.

When Rowan bends his elbow, the frame turns around the arm and parts of it slip from view. The raised-knee photo shows a different angle from the straight-arm view, but the face remains the focal point.

Right forearm tattoo: branches, shading and crossing lines

Branching lines spread along Rowan’s right forearm, where the tree imagery is commonly identified as Yggdrasil. In a side-on match photo, a dark crossing shape stands out near the elbow; the work grows more shaded toward the wrist. A black wrist wrap hides part of the lower edge, so the photo doesn’t show exactly how the tattoo ends.

Thicker lines give the branches a strong outline, while finer offshoots and gray shading fill the spaces around them. This side has a looser feel than the framed face on his left forearm.

Right upper-arm tattoo: figures inside sweeping ornament

With both arms raised, the underside of Rowan’s right upper arm comes into view. A shaded figure sits inside broad sweeping curves, with curled ends and decorated borders echoing the ornament on the other arm. The kneeling woman is commonly described as Sigyn, a figure associated with Loki in Norse mythology.

The darker center gives the scene weight, while the lighter outer loops keep it from reading as one solid block. With his arms down, this inner section sits close to his body and is harder to see.

Both sleeve designs: how the shoulder and forearm work connect

In the wider view, Rowan’s right arm shows heavier shading around the upper arm, while the left has more open borders and linework. Curves appear around faces and through the spaces between larger subjects, giving the sleeves a shared look without making them symmetrical. The broad outlines stand out in motion; close-up photos reveal the smaller marks and facial details.

In the interview below, Rowan talks with Chris Van Vliet about his wrestling career, the Wyatt Family and his time alongside Brodie Lee.

More wrestler tattoo guides

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War Raiders wrestler Erik, also known as Raymond Rowe, has True Till Death lettering across his chest, straight-edge marks on his abdomen and two busy sleeves. The photos in this article are from Survivor Series in November 2019. A separate, later studio portrait shows tighter patterned work on his right arm, so the sleeves have changed over time.

Chest tattoos: True Till Death, wings and the big X

The words True Till Death stretch across Erik’s upper chest above feathered shapes that reach toward his shoulders. A large X anchors the design below them. In a 2021 conversation with Corey Graves on Superstar Ink, Erik connected the words and X to his straight-edge identity. He didn’t give a personal meaning for the feathered framing in that interview.

The broad lettering can be partly hidden by his beard or arms in a match photo, while the finer feather lines show more clearly from other angles. For another straight-edge tattoo collection, see CM Punk’s tattoos.

Stomach tattoo: oversized straight-edge lettering

Large, separated black letters run down Erik’s abdomen toward the waistband, with open skin around each form. He also identified the stomach tattoo as straight-edge in the same interview. It uses broad shapes and gaps, a simpler layout than the overlapping pictures and shading across his chest and arms.

Right-arm sleeve: colorful figures and dense shoulder detail

In the 2019 celebration photo, Erik’s right sleeve mixes green, orange and muted red with dark outlines. Smaller shapes sit beside larger shaded forms, while curves lead down from the crowded shoulder toward the forearm. A later studio portrait shows interlocking curves, patterned bands and spotted sections on the arm. The pictures capture different stages, not two angles of a design that never changed.

Left-arm tattoos: older imagery and a changing sleeve

The 2019 match photo shows curved outlines and softer shading on Erik’s left forearm. An elbow pad hides the transition between upper and lower arm, though the tattoos continue beneath the gear. Erik said in 2021 that he was having his sleeves reworked with historically informed Viking designs, including a scene with Thor and the world serpent; this older photo isn’t a finished view of that later work.

In an interview from 2015, Erik also described shattering his left arm in a motorcycle crash the previous August. Surgery and rehabilitation helped him return to wrestling. That history is part of his story, but he hasn’t said each tattoo on that arm commemorates the accident.

Hand tattoos: knuckle letters and a later Viking message

The older ringside photo shows block lettering across Erik’s fingers and shaded work over the back of his hand. In a later interview, he described Elder Futhark work carrying a “hard to kill” message, which he connected to surviving the motorcycle accident. That explanation refers to the later work, not a translation of the letters visible in this 2019 image.

The interview below covers the War Raiders, Erik’s wrestling career and the accident.

Bronson Reed’s mostly black-and-gray tattoos include rows of shark teeth on his left forearm, a lion-like creature on one shoulder, a spread-wing design on the other and skulls above his boots. His singlet, elbow pads and boots hide parts of the work in match photos; left and right refer to Reed’s own sides.

Left forearm tattoo: rows of shark teeth

Small black triangles repeat in close rows on Reed’s left forearm, with skin showing between them. In an October 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet, he said he got the tattoo around age 23 or 24. He described the style as more Hawaiian, despite his Samoan background, and said the triangles represent shark teeth. He connected the receding black to removing darkness from the heart.

Reed also described later work by Samoan Mike as a “warrior shield” drawing on Samoan tradition and folklore. He mentioned Roman Reigns when discussing Mike’s work; see Roman Reigns’ tattoos for a separate collection by the same artist.

Left shoulder tattoo: a lion-like guardian

A lion-like face sits on Reed’s left shoulder, framed by a curling mane that trails toward his elbow. The rounded face gives the tattoo a clear center; long outlines and softer shading fill the surrounding arm. It resembles a guardian figure, though Reed hasn’t confirmed a name or personal story for it.

The singlet strap and elbow pad can hide the edges in a match, making the design look smaller in some views. When his arm turns, more of the outer shoulder and the trailing curls come into view.

Right shoulder tattoo: a spread-wing bird design

On Reed’s right shoulder, a bird-like figure and feathered shapes spread across the upper arm, with long curves below. That stretched silhouette differs from the rounded creature on his left side. Open skin between the forms helps the feathered outline stay clear as the arm turns. The interview discussed here doesn’t give a personal meaning for this shoulder tattoo.

Right forearm tattoo: dense illustrated black and grey work

Reed’s right forearm is more densely illustrated than the geometric rows on his left. A round, eye-like detail stands out among dark contours, curved forms and lighter patches. The wrist angle changes which side of the design is visible, and the elbow pad covers its upper edge, so some small shapes remain hard to identify.

Lower-leg tattoos: skulls above the boots

Several skull-like faces fill the visible strip on Reed’s right lower leg between the knee pad and boot. Their eye sockets, teeth and separate outlines read differently from the shoulder creatures and forearm patterns. The gear hides what lies above and below, so match photos don’t show the full extent of the calf work.

Reed explains the shark-tooth tattoo, its meaning and the later additions in the Chris Van Vliet interview below, starting around 56:49.

Xyon Quinn, the ring name of former rugby league player Daniel Vidot, represented Samoa before moving into wrestling. His most prominent tattoo runs from his right shoulder across his chest and down the arm. A shaded illustration and flowing script sit on his left forearm, with a smaller line of writing on his chest. Wrestling gear can hide parts of the work, and the patterns’ personal meanings aren’t established in these photos.

The patterned tattoo across his right chest

A rounded pattern fills Quinn’s right pectoral and continues over his shoulder, linking chest and sleeve. Curved rows, dark bands, pointed marks and small gaps sit inside its rounded outline. His left chest remains more open, which makes the connected piece stand out.

The pattern reaches toward his collarbone and neck, though a shirt can cover most of it. For another chest-to-shoulder layout, compare Roman Reigns’ tattoos; the coverage is a point of comparison, not evidence of shared designs or meanings.

The rounded pattern over his right shoulder

The shoulder cap has its own rounded section, with curved borders and angled details breaking up the dark fill. It acts as a junction: the chest pattern crosses into it, and the sleeve continues down from it. When Quinn raises his arm, more of the shoulder’s outside surface comes into view.

The bands and angled details in his right sleeve

Below the shoulder, broad curves and patterned bands run down Quinn’s right arm toward the wrist. Larger outlines hold smaller marks, while open skin separates one section from the next. The sleeve wraps around the arm, so a front-facing photo won’t show every part; his gloves can also cover the lower edge.

The shaded illustration and script on his left forearm

Quinn’s left forearm uses a different style: a shaded illustration sits beside bold, curved lettering. The rest of the upper arm is more open than his right, so this piece stands on its own below it. In the turned photo, some letters wrap out of view; neither the full wording nor the illustrated subject is clear enough to identify.

The small script tattoo on his left chest

A short line of flowing script sits high on Quinn’s left pectoral, separate from the heavier pattern on the other side. The placement and style are visible, but the photo doesn’t make the words clear enough to transcribe. The NXT match below shows the connected chest and sleeve work as Quinn moves.