8 Hidden Meanings Behind AEW All Out Attires
Inspired by video games, sci-fi TV shows, and two of the most badass movies ever made.
What's the consensus on this trend of pro wrestlers wearing custom gear for every show?
Everybody faces something in the modern day that they cannot reconcile with their subjective history as a wrestling fan. The in-ring style is better, more credible and more expansive than ever, but sh*t, can't they pick an iconic signature colour and not cosplay as somebody from Game of Thrones Seth Rollins?
Look at Bret Hart. His distinctive, unforgettable pink-and-black colour scheme was so perfect for his character. The black represented his toughness, his physicality. The pink reflected the beautiful artistry of his work. The audacity of wearing a feminine colour in a hyper-masculine world illuminated the game-changer within.
Taz basically owns the colour orange. It is impossible to look at the colour orange and not be reminded of a stout, angry man with a delightfully abrasive default tone who was the t*ts at throwing bigger men dangerously close to their necks. Scott Steiner wore something different every week, but those searingly '90s neon designs were awesome, and it's Scott Steiner, and he can do whatever he f*cking wants.His successors do this, but they aren't Scott Steiner.
So should they?
On the evidence of All Out, the jury is, too...
8. Wardlow - The Terminator
So this was weird. Sort of awesome, sort of cheesy.
On the Buy In show, we were introduced to a new character via vignette. It was deeply 'AEW undercard' in its confused presentation and divided reception. For the sports-oriented company, this was decidedly sports entertainment.
He goes by the name 'Wardlow', and is a...target of street gangs. In the vignette, he and his partner or date or whatever were harassed in a parking lot. This handsome bastard of a hoss no-sold a punch before throwing one of the assailants several feet across the lot before smashing another with a big boot. A strange wrestling visual in a cinematic context, Wardlow removed his shirt to reveal a prominent scar on his shoulder blade which, alongside his invincibility and mass destruction - and the pounding drums of the soundtrack - very much echoed the original Terminator film. A top shagger and robot (!), wearing a fetching, half-unbuttoned blue shirt, he was essentially presented as the lovechild of a T-800 and Disco Inferno.
It was as weird as that reads.
A relative unknown, Wardlow has mainly worked the less buzz-worthy reaches of the U.S. Indy scene, and is consistent with AEW's mentality to push brand new, emerging talent.