There are more aspects to this, actually. Visual variety is important in games like this, just as in wrestling itself.
You want characters to feel separate, distinct and memorable. It helps people to attach to and empathise with them.
As much as this is strived for in wrestling, it's also a huge factor in some of the biggest fighting games of all time. Just look at
You must be registered to see the links
. Look at how different those character's outlines are. Everything from size to posture, how they move. All major factors to the point where you can practically tell at a glance who is who without even having to think. You do have two who are specifically the same in outline, posture and so on. But they also have very similar moves. That similarity becomes part of the character, differentiated by how different Ryu and Ken are in terms of their looks and colour-scheme inside that outline and moveset. That tells you about their differences and similarities in it's own way.
Obviously in this context, unique animations are more work than they would be in a 2d game. But where possible, differences in build will go a long way to building that visual distinctiveness between characters. If it can be done without increasing the animation workload, that strikes me as a good thing.