Drop Toehold

footnotesofwrestling:

I think it was 2003 when WWE first began enforcing a dress code on its talent roster. I remember hearing complaints from both wrestlers (I don’t even own a nice shirt!) and writers (wrestlers aren’t accountants! Jesus Vince!), but after several years of it, I can absolutely say it’s done wonders for the mass appeal of professional wrestlers. Used to be, you thought of a wrestler as a big sweaty guy who wore mid-America Apparel from the stores in the Mall of America that also sold fanny packs. Nowadays, even if you hate professional wrestling, you generally assume they can at least spell and operate a vehicle. 

Some wrestlers dress better than others, and WWE has taken that and run with it as a class-based thing: bad guys dress like adults, good guys dress in their merchandise. There’s really no better example of this than Chris Jericho, who used to be one of the most horrific dressers in wrestling (look at the pictures in his biography) to being one of the best. But HHH, Batista, Randy Orton, and the Miz have all benefited from dressing well for their villain roles. 

You can cross-reference this with TNA, who often show their talent “arriving” while wearing workout gear and sweatpants. TNA wrestlers look like athletes: WWE talent look like performers. I’m sure both companies are fully aware of this distinction.