Style With Substance: The Beauty & Brilliance Of WWE WrestleMania Attire
Elsewhere on 2018's edition, there are a number of stylistic flash-points that will be worth saving flashbulbs for. Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles left it all in the ring when they went to war at NJPW's WrestleKingdom 10 in 2016, but pulled it all out of the wardrobe at Fastlane with only a month to go. Nakamura's gradual amendments to his baggy pants have been tremendous, but an early unveil of candy stripes for his match against Rusev implied he had something even greater up his leatherette sleeve. AJ Styles virtually became a meme by virtue of how resplendant he looked in the Orlando breeze last year, but the turquoise tights he fronted in his final title defence before his match with 'The Artist' were themselves worthy of display in a gallery.
Beyond these potential highlights, expect the odd tributes to slip into the 'Show Of Shows' as cosplaying and contrition continues amongst 'Gratitude Era' stalwarts. Sasha Banks went all-in on an Eddie Guerrero tribute in 2016, but should really show more respect to herself if her and Bayley get time to shine on 'The Grandest Stage'. The pair have carefully constructed hidden narratives around their attire choices over the last several years, with 'The Hugger' even aping Shawn Michaels' WrestleMania 12 scheme for her own heroic 2015 victory in Brooklyn. At their closest, the duo shared a blue/yellow/pink theme that Banks wore with some intent during a failed recent Raw attempt to get her former friend back onside. At their most violent, the pair wore throwbacks to old efforts - an NXT Iron Man match. Could similar callbacks be on the cards?
On the other brand, Charlotte's 2017 peacocking maybe came a year too soon. A similarly braggadocios ensemble might be required to rattle her undefeated opponent Asuka. And if WrestleMania is a peak time to debut something new, can The Bludgeon Brothers please ditch their late-90s boyband look?! With daft biases about colours now comfortably confined to the past, the options have never been so limitless. For giants forced once to wrestle in torn jeans and muddied shirts, Harper and Rowan should relish their revived opportunity.
Everybody should. If there's one thing that sometimes spoils wrestling, it's all the bloody wrestling. Especially at WrestleMania. Break the bight with colour! If this wide-eyed wander back through wardrobe winners has achieved anything, its proved that people will still talk about your true 'WrestleMania Moment' for generations if you dare to stand out before the bell even rings.