9 Hidden Meanings Behind Outlandish WWE SummerSlam 2018 Attires

The fancy dress party of the summer.

The Undertaker AJ Styles
WWE

Whilst WrestleMania is the night where performers are most encouraged to live out their wildest fantasies (in as much as their characteristics will allow), SummerSlam remains on similar footing as the 'Show Of Shows' by virtue of its 'Big Four' status and elevated profile amongst the elite events in the WWE calendar.

SummerSlam 2018 played host to several moments of sublime sartorial excellence, with regular fashion favourite Finn Bálor debuting a brand new updated take on Venom Demon and Shinsuke Nakamura following his red velour WrestleMania heel turn with jet black ones that celebrate his established role on SmackDown Live!'s dark side. Elsewhere, Natalya Neidhart paid loving tribute to her deceased father Jim by wearing the jacket he wore 28 years earlier when The Hart Foundation dethroned Demolition, whilst Ronda Rousey again aped Roddy Piper before tackling some entirely different legacies when the gear came off.

There were stylistic leanings bordering on cosplay elsewhere on the card, with the worlds of comics, films and even pro wrestling itself explored beyond the norms with some intriguing choices made by headliners and rank-and-file alike. Even the openers got in on the act...

9. Seth Rollins

The Undertaker AJ Styles
WWE Network/Marvel Studios

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans raced to Twitter to share pictures of Seth Rollins captured as he walked the halls at the end of the SummerSlam pre-show ahead of his pay-per-view opener with Dean Ambrose.

The indigo and gold shoulder-pad entrance attire he was sporting borrowed liberally from the armour worn by Josh Brolin in his portrayal as Thanos, with boots that seemingly factored in an Infinity Gauntlet. The suggestion was that his curb stomp could bring balance to the WWE Universe in place of Thanos' snap.

Thanos was of course cinema's biggest villain of 2018, in contrast to the heroic figure Seth has cut on Monday Night Raw this year. Was he in actuality referring to his own personal infinity war... ?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett