Ruby Soho’s tattoos mix portraits, flowers, ornamental patterns and bright accents. The neck work is hard to miss, but her right arm is packed with flowers and feathers; her left forearm has a harlequin portrait; and a colorful hot-air balloon sits on her thigh. The collection changes scale and mood from one area to another.

Soho wrestled in WWE as Ruby Riott and earlier as Heidi Lovelace. Her first tattoo was musical notation for What a Wonderful World, a song her father sang to her as a child. She has also described a forearm portrait based on Less Than Jake cover art. Hair, sleeves and ring gear can hide pieces in photos, so a partial view doesn’t mean a tattoo is gone.

Medusa and the portraits around her neck

Ruby has said the Medusa design connects to her unease about time passing. Tiny clocks in Medusa’s eyes take the myth’s idea of freezing people and turn it into a thought about freezing time. It’s her own reading of a familiar figure, not a meaning that applies to every Medusa tattoo.

Portraits and shaded shapes run along both sides of her neck, with small bird silhouettes below the chin. The hair can cover one side, which makes the area look different from one photo to the next. Below, the chest piece has a scalloped oval frame around a woman with a skull-like face and swept hair. That tidy cameo border separates it from the looser shapes above.

Flowers, feathers and lettering on her right arm

Flowers lead the right-arm sleeve. A sunflower and a paler blossom sit near the shoulder, while more petals and feather shapes continue down the arm. Their outlines overlap as the designs wrap around the skin, so one view never shows the whole arrangement.

Warm yellow, soft pink and green give the flowers color without overpowering the black and gray shading. Lettering curves around an upper-arm bloom; a butterfly and a wider flower take up space lower on the forearm. Smaller dots and shaded marks connect the larger subjects. Ruby hasn’t explained every flower, and the shapes are interesting on their own.

The Less Than Jake harlequin on her left forearm

WWE reported in 2018 that the forearm portrait was based on the cover art for Less Than Jake’s She’s Gonna Break Soon. Tattoo artist Amber Olsen made it. The harlequin has a single tear, large eyes and a tilted head; costume details extend toward the wrist. Softer shading around the face contrasts with the darker shapes nearby, and a small red accent adds a spot of color.

The same photo shows an ornamental owl on the side of Ruby’s abdomen. Layered, pointed shapes spread around its eyes. The owl is built from repeated outlines, while the harlequin relies on portrait shading. Open skin between the stomach designs and chest keeps each piece distinct.

The ornamental tattoo across the back of her hand

A rounded center spreads into scalloped shapes across the back of Ruby’s right hand, with the pattern reaching toward her wrist. Follow the lines outward and you can pick out teardrops, curved bands and short rows of marks. It has a lace-like feel, though the strong black outlines keep the design clear.

Smaller marks on her fingers sit around the larger pattern rather than copying it. This area uses tighter ornamental lines than the soft flowers and feathers in her sleeve or the broader forms on her neck. The differences in scale and linework let the tattoos sit close together without blending into one design.

The hot-air balloon and smaller thigh tattoos

A hot-air balloon on Ruby’s left thigh is one of the collection’s brightest pieces. Its rounded envelope is divided into colored panels, with a basket below; green, red and yellow stand out against her skin. A flower, a hanging ornamental shape and small star-like marks sit above it, with separate designs around the sides of the thigh.

Her ring gear changes how much of the area is visible. In this studio look, her shorts leave the left thigh open while a trouser leg covers more of the other side. The skull patch on the shorts is clothing; the balloon and flowers are tattoos. Their warm colors also break up the dark leather and hardware of the outfit.

A few quick questions

How many tattoos does Ruby Soho have? In a 2018 interview, she estimated about 26 and said some pieces blend together. That’s a count from that time, not a current total. A sleeve also makes counting subjective: someone might call the whole area one tattoo, while another person counts its separate flowers, portraits and lettering.

Does she have a Riott Squad tattoo? Yes. WWE reported that Ruby, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan got matching 11/21/17 tattoos to mark their SmackDown debut as a group. The date gives the piece a clear connection to the team.

Did her look influence other wrestlers? Rhea Ripley has said that Ruby’s tattoos and short hair helped her feel more comfortable showing her own style. Rhea Ripley’s tattoos offer another example of a wrestler building a recognizable collection. Ruby’s own mix is easy to spot: neck portraits, flowers down one arm, detailed hand work and bright pieces farther down.

For a longer conversation, Ruby talks about joining AEW, her connection with Rancid and her wrestling career on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.