“The Art of Wrestling”

I’m going to kick off the serious portion of stuntgranny.com in my blog by starting to analyze what I am terming “The Art of Wrestling”.  I’m going to break down everything from what kind of tights and pads someone wears, t-shirts produced for merchandise for wrestlers, to garb that the announcers wear and even the set design of any television show.
This past week, 5 August ’08, I jotted down notes during ECW’s television broadcast.  I will be analyzing the wrestling attire so John Morrison, The Miz, Matt Hardy and Mark Henry will have to wait their turn since they showed up on “The Dirt Sheet” in street clothes.  Braden Walker has already been handed his walking papers as pointed out in an earlier post  so I will skip breaking down his outfit and start at the top of the broadcast.
Bam Neely – He wore the basic black trunks, boots and knee pads.  He also wore black wrist tape with his left (dominant) hand wrapped up.  This guy couldn’t be more boring but it does all match.  And by match, I don’t mean his bland personality.
Chavo Guerrero – Chavo sports blue pants with red and yellow graphics.  “Warrior” on the front of his trunks is the first graphic which is a nice tribute to his family name.  There is also eagle with stars on the outside of both pant legs which pays tribute to the his family’s country of origin, Mexico.  Mexico’s flag has both of those symbols.  Chavo wears red boots with black trim and boot laces.  It appears that Chavo has a bit more leeway in design than his body guard Bam Neely.  It matches well because it uses the three primary colors of red, blue and yellow.  All of homage paid to Mexico is reflected in the way Chavo and the Guerrero family is portrayed by the WWE.
Just in case you've forgotten what the Mexican flag looked like.

Just in case you don't remember what a Mexican Flag looks like.

Ricky Ortiz – He wears black boots, red warm up pants with two white stripes and black stars and red over black elbow pads.  It’s a pretty simple outfit but does help to reinforce his connection to the XFL.  His marketing pitches to Teddy Long are more creative than the pants.
Evan Bourne – Evan wears silver arm bands above his biceps, black and red forearm bracers with silver laces, a silver belt with black and red loops, black boots with a red ogee arch on the front in red with silver trim and black pants with a red S with silver trim on the outside both legs.  By far the most complex design that works quite well because black is basic and the majority color with highlights in red and silver.  I’m a little suspicious that the red S stems from when the WWE kept his ROH name, Matt Sydal, so it’d be nice to see them switch it to B.

These are braces if you're not a Lord of the Rings dork like me.

These are bracers if you're not a Lord of the Rings dork like me.

This is an ogee arch for those unfamiliar with architecture lingo.

This is an ogee arch for those unfamiliar with architecture lingo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Knox – He has black biker shorts, knee pads, boots and wrist tape.  This basic style fits his mountain man persona.
Armando Estrada – He wears a white vest with a white panama hat with a black band on it to the ring which compliments his wrestling gear.  Armando’s ring attire consists of black slacks with a white belt and black belt loops, black and white boots and black wrist tape.  This set may be basic but it’s well executed and reflects Armando’s good taste that has been evident since he debuted as the manager of Umaga.
I had a Panama Jack shirt growing up.

I had a Panama Jack shirt growing up.

Tommy Dreamer – Tommy sported an ECW t-shirt which may be substituted weekly for whatever pay per view the WWE may be shilling.  He was also wearing black pants with yellow flames with red trim, matching black and yellow boots and white wrist tape with both hands taped.  The pant design seems a little out of place on Dreamer, but overall the outfit is fine.
That’s a wrap for this week’s edition of “The Art of Wrestling”.  We’ll be back soon with a break down of more of ECW’s ring attire then we’ll branch out to the other brands, TNA and maybe even Pro Wrestling Ohio. – Kevin

One Response to ““The Art of Wrestling””

  1. Jeff Atkinson 2008-08-13 at 10:01 pm #

    I’ve been reading along for a while now. I just wanted to drop you a comment to say keep up the good work.

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