The Art of Wrestling – HHHalloWWEen

The next target of my mocking in the world of wrestling is Hunter Hearst Helmsley.  The King of Kings has quite a little collection with his HalloWWEen package.  I already went thru my thoughts on the WWE Title Belt so I’ll leave it alone.

The first item in the package is the Triple H Iron Cross pendant.  I’ve wondered for quite a while where HHH’s obsession with a Prussian turned German military decoration started.  Considering that his real last name Levesque is French for Bishop confuses the matter even more in my book.  His family may be from near the French and German border.  I seem to be getting away from the critique of the pendant though.  The wings are completely unnecessary and don’t match anything on the other items sold in the package and causes clutter on a pendant that is only 1 1/2″x1 1/2″. If the wings were removed, the skull could move down allowing “Triple” to not be so crowded on what I assume to be a sun or moon.  The “H” on the skull looks disproportionately large to the skull itself.  I hope any children that plan to wear this outfit decide to leave the pendant at home before asking for treats.

The Triple H Skull/Crown Baseball hat is up next and is a little more tolerable.  I like the skull design because it incorporates the Iron Cross into the crown and the skull itself reminds me a bit of the Ring Wraiths or Nazgul from Lord of the Rings.  The minor problem with the design is that it goes down onto the bill of the hat.  Unless someone is taller than you, people will never see this portion of the design.  On the back is the Latin phrase “Genibus nitito Canis” which is a poorly constructed way of saying “Bow down on your knees, dog!”  So now, the WWE and HHH have decided to throw an Italian language into the mix instead of using a the German phrase.   “Beugen Sie sich auf Ihren Knieen, Hund” is the German version which really wouldn’t fit on the back of the hat well, so I suppose they want us to think about the original German Moncarchs from the Holy Roman Empire.

HHH would be mucher cooler if he spit his water bottle onto the Witch King's flaming sword.

HHH would be mucher cooler if he spit his water bottle onto the Witch King's flaming sword.

 The third piece of gear coming out of this package is the Triple H Bandanna Mask.  I’m confused by the description because there aren’t any cut outs to use this bandanna as a mask.  It’s black with a white king skull which doesn’t make any sense since the rest of his gear is grey or silver.  As stated above though, the king skull design is fairly sharp so this item is a minor thumbs up.

Caligula was a member of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty.

Caligula was a member of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty.

Last but not least is the Triple H Hammer Shirt.  I’ll start with the Latin statement, “Oderint Dum Metuant“, on upper left hand side of the shirt.  It translates to “Let them hate so long as they fear” which was a favorite saying of Caligula.  So much for the WWE or HHH realizing they’re using too many cultures for their shirts or using the Holy Roman Empire excuse.  Caligula was a Roman Emperor.  Back to the shirt, they did a good job of repetition (My design professors used to say once is ok, twice is a coincidence but three times something was done on purpose) with the iron cross motif on the crown, necklace and on the hammer.  The crown looks a little more refined than it is on the bandanna or hat which is fine since it’s easier to work with the silk screening on the shirt.  The hammer is pretty snappy too.  The back of the shirt is over done because it brings in another culture since the heads on a pike are reminiscent of Vlad the Impaler, who was Romanian.  The design itself is fine aside from the skull with the eye ball popping out with the retina attached which seems a little gross for children.

People on a pole thanks to Vlad the Impaler.

People on a pole thanks to Vlad the Impaler.

My problems with the historical and cultural problems not withstanding, this package is well designed and keeps things fairly simple which in wrestling is not always the easiest thing to do. – Kevin

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  1. The Art of Wrestling - Travis H « Stunt Granny - 2009-02-20

    […] the color department because it’s just black and white.  The WWE has also done a good job of continuing the same imagery like the war hammers, iron cross and skulls on a pike.  I did notice that his crown is quite […]

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