A Mark for Fashion

on May 8, 2010 at 3:06 pm

Hello one and all as I welcome you to A Mark for Fashion, my special weekend blog looking at recent fashion developments in the WWE and TNA.

As someone who watches wrestling constantly, I see a lot of the same guys over and over every week, and sometimes even multiple times a week. So, it really stands out when a superstar makes even a minor change in their appearance, be it from a new shirt, haircut, tights, or anything. And because I like reading trashy best/ worst dressed lists in magazines and blogs, I thought I’d bring the same level of fashion scrutiny to the WWE and TNA. So without further ado, I give you…

And keep in mind as you read this I know NOTHING about fashion. And also I did this a week ago, but was unable to post it last week due to an internet outage, so if it seems a little outdated, that’s why.

POP- “The Pope” D’Angelo DInero’s eye patch

How do you make an eye injury work in wrestling? Bedazzle it. D’Angelo’s eye patch makes being half blind look cool, and fits in perfectly with his character. Remember back when Shawn Michaels had his eye assaulted by Chris Jericho a couple of years ago? There was no eye patch. TNA is crossing the line!

FLOP- Hornswoggle’s old DX gimmick

Seriously, Horny, it’s over. The little bastard’s appearance at the draft looked strikingly outdated as everyone tries to forget his status as the official DX mascot. Shawn’s gone, Triple H is out, so why even bother with the old look?

POP- NXT rookie Skip Sheffield’s spiky vest

The rookies of NXT need to stand out in every way possible and I think Skip’s new spiky vest does a good job of branching out from his cowboy style without seeming completely out of place.

FLOP- The Miz’s black leather jacket

What goes through wrestler’s minds when they decide to wear a long black leather jacket? How they can possibly look more generic? It works for people who’ve been using the look for a while like Undertaker and Sting, I think it makes recent jacket wearers blend into the other wrestlers more than stand out. Miz first pulled this out at Wrestlemania 26, and while it is an awesome jacket as far as black jackets go, the look is already being done by Undertaker, Sting, Edge, Matt Hardy, etc…

POP- Kane’s new tights

First featured in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Kane’s been sporting these new tights ever since. While the fading grey running down vaguely resembles dried up sweat stains on his black tights, it’s a NEW look, and if anyone needs something new about them, it’s Kane.

FLOP- Ric Flair’s tourist attire

I always like it when wrestlers come out wearing something besides ring gear and a suit. It gives a chance to show more of themselves to the audience. Shawn looked like a cowboy. Edge looks like a heavy metal fan. On the opening segment of Impact a couple weeks ago Flair looked like a retired tourist with his bright clothes and shades. I’d recommend sticking with the robes.

POP- CM Punk’s hairy head

CM Punk holding onto his hair at Extreme Rules was perhaps the biggest victory of the night. He really needs the shaggy hair for the full crazy hobo look to work, and holding onto it works strong for his straight edge style.

FLOP- Orlando Jordan

Lady Gaga’s unique style works well on her as a hot blonde woman. When you try to translate that to a hulking guy with a face like the Red Skull, it doesn’t work so well. Like, at all. While he’s certainly standing out from the crowd, Orlando has crossed too far over the line.

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WWE Draft Thoughts

on April 27, 2010 at 7:29 pm

So it really annoys me that the WWE “draft” is still played off as random picks made by the titantron. I would much rather have something where the general managers actually drafted the wrestlers themselves, but then RAW doesn’t have a regular general manager, and maybe it wouldn’t be as interesting with just two shows. Actually it felt kind of weird to me watching the draft without the ECW brand being involved, even though it had only been around for three years!

I thought it was an overall good draft show though, with some good matches, no guest hosts, and without any draft picks wasted on announcers. The only thing that really hurt it in my mind was that the brands seem so integrated now with superstars popping up on both shows so frequently, it seemed less impactful. But for more detailed thoughts:

MOVING TO SMACKDOWN:

Christian: I think this is a great move for Christian and as a peep, I was hoping for it. He barely seemed to show up on RAW after ECW ended, but on Smackdown with their lack of main event faces, I think he’ll get much more exposure. The only downside is that I think with all of Smackdown’s heels it will keep Christian from turning heel for a while, which is the best role for him in my opinion.

Kofi Kingston: After getting that really strong push out of nowhere with that Orton feud, Kofi seemed to completely disappear. I think Smackdown will be much kinder to Kofi, where I have little doubt he will find his way into the main event in the next year.

Big Show: This move was really surprising to me. Not because I didn’t expect Big Show to wind up on Smackdown, but because I thought he was already on Smackdown! I’d like this move more if he didn’t give Teddy that big hug backstage last night- I prefer him as a heel- but I don’t have any problem with it. The thing that bothered me more was ShowMiz breaking up after only being around for a couple of months.

Kelly Kelly: After Mickie was released last week my interest in the divas has taken a major dive. I’m sure Kelly’s nice and all, but honestly I’ve never been a fan of her as a character or wrestler or whatever, and frankly this move seems like it would have been more appropriate for the supplemental draft.

HEADED TO RAW:

Chris Jericho: I think Jericho’s amazing whether he’s on RAW, Smackdown, or NXT (particularly NXT), and while his move to Raw doesn’t really spark my imagination or interest as a fan, I don’t hate it either. I can’t really think of any fresh faces for him to feud with, but he didn’t have that many on Smackdown either.

Edge: The most exciting thing to me about Edge’s draft was his spear on Orton at the end of the show. I’ve been patiently waiting for him to turn heel since his return at the Royal Rumble, and if this spear signifies a heel turn I’ll be willing to overlook Raw’s abundance of main eventers.

John Morrison: I think this will be a good move for John as he was kind of spinning his wheels on Smackdown. I’m not sure the dense main event scene at RAW will give him much room to break through, but I’d be up for watching an extended feud with Miz. I do think it’s strange that he won’t be on the same brand as the Straight Edge Society now that his old tag partner Joey Mercury is supposedly joining it.

R-Truth: I want to like R-Truth. I don’t hate him, but he does a lot of stuff I’m not into. Like rapping and flipping. Anyway… I think he’ll get lost in the midcard, but at the end of the day will still put smiles on a lot of fans faces. And what’s more important than that?

SUPPLIMENTALLY SPEAKING…

Cody Rhodes: I’m not sure what Cody was hoping to happen to him by the time Legacy broke up, but I’m fairly positive getting drafted to Smackdown as part of the supplemental draft wasn’t part of it. I guess this son isn’t fortunate enough to join Ted’s upcoming stable, but he’ll probably have a decent chance at breaking out on Smackdown.

Chavo Guerrero: I hate to say it, but with spring cleaning coming around I wasn’t really expecting to see Chavo show up in a WWE ring again. Maybe something will happen with Hornswoggle or Vickie being there, but it’s not the use of Chavo I’d like to see.

Chris Masters: The only time he really shows up on RAW is to flex his pecs at guest hosts… There aren’t any guest hosts on Smackdown, so I’m not sure what he’s going to do. He could have a decent feud with Dolph Ziggler to see who has the most outdated finishing move.

Hornswoggle: Reunited with Finlay? I think so! I’m so unbelievably over Hornswoggle.

Rosa Mendes: I’m really surprised that Zack Ryder wasn’t drafted to Smackdown. As for his girlfriend Rosa… maybe she can be Beth Phoenix’s intern again?

MVP: This move makes a lot of sense. I’m glad MVP’s back on the blue brand and hopefully this time he can avoid losing streaks and work his way back up the card. I’m sure he can do it on Smackdown.

The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh: Uh… I thought Khali was done with WWE? I’ll be surprised if he ever lumbers his way to a ring before the next draft or afterwards.

The Hart Dynasty: It amazes me how much Bret has gotten these guys over. Since they’re the unified tag champs, it doesn’t seem to really matter which show they are officially “on”, and being one of the few tag teams anyway, they probably have equally good chances of making it on either brand.

Ezekiel Jackson: Big Zeke’s out with an injury and maybe by the time he comes back he’ll be able to muster some kinda push as a monster heel like Sheamus …or Mike Knox and Vladimir Kozlov.

Goldust: Goldust is a hell of a worker and was a integral part of the attitude era. But in this day and age I’m really not sure what purpose he serves. I’m guessing his presence on RAW will have less to do with wrestling matches and more to do with guest host interaction, which may be the best way he can be used.

So even though there weren’t a lot of huge shake ups or anything, I think it was a good draft. I wish CM Punk was drafted in order to have some fresh feuds, but other than that I got all of my wishes!

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C2E2

on April 14, 2010 at 10:11 pm

Tomorrow my wife and I are headed out to Chicago to attend the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo! We’re sharing a booth with my fellow wrestling buddy Dave Wheeler (of wonderboycomic.com), Kel McDonald (of sorcery101.net), and Dave Shabet (of deadwinter.cc). We’re going to be at booth 963, so stop by and say hi if you are attending. I’m pretty excited, seeing as how it’s the first “C2E2” con and my first time in Chicago.

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