by Brandon Richard
The first pair of sneakers I ever owned was the original ‘Infrared’ Air Jordan VI, which my parents bought for my basketball season at a Base Exchange in Germany in 1991. Two years earlier, I watched my first professional wrestling match, Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man, on a Saturday morning. Both of those events continue to define who I am.
My name is Brandon Richard — I’m a sneakerhead and a wrestling fan.
This isn’t surprising news if you’ve caught any of my past work for Sole Collector. I link sneakers and wrestling whenever the opportunity presents itself, which is strangely pretty often. My favorite wrestler, "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan, has provided us with a wealth of content over the past year because of his unexpected Air Jordan pickups. There’s also entertainers like Batista and John Cena who compete in sneakers, while rapper Wale references sneakers and wrestling in his music and even confronts Twitter trolls at live events. Jordan Brand released a WWE-inspired pack of Aero Flights in 2012 and Foot Locker even dropped a new commercial featuring John Cena.
Truth be told, I’ve noticed that a lot of sneakerheads also happen to be into wrestling - often enough to make me question exactly why? So, I linked up with the SC team and thought of a few similarities between the two. Before you kick back and enjoy the WWE's Wrestlemania 31 WWE this weekend, dig through the list and let us know if you can relate.
One Company Dominates the Scene
1.
Since buying WCW in 2001, WWE has had a complete stranglehold on the wrestling business. While there are a few North American companies with television deals, none have been able to generate a following necessary to challenge WWE CEO Vince McMahon for grappling supremacy.
In sneakers, Nike owns more than half of the athletic footwear market. There’s more viable competition than there is in wrestling, but Nike continues to trend upward.
In addition to strong business and history, unwavering loyalists help both companies stay at the top. The same way there are sneakerheads who won’t even look at anything without a Swoosh, there are wrestling fans who won’t bother watching programming without a WWE logo in the corner of the screen.
The Others
3.
With Nike and the WWE firmly ahead of their respective packs in the United States, the number 2 spot in each industry is currently up for grabs.
Under Armour and adidas are battling it out in sportswear, with the former seizing the 2 spot for the first time in last year.
In wrestling, there’s Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and Ring of Honor (ROH). Both companies have television deals, but have failed to make up any significant ground on the WWE. In fact, TNA tried to go head-to-head with WWE on Monday nights back in 2010, but lost so badly in the ratings war that they moved back to their original Thursday time slot within two months.
That’s not to say that there isn’t opportunity to be found here. Under Armour and adidas make great products, while highly entertaining matches can be found on both TNA and ROH programming. There’s just a lot of ground to make up. But if you remove business from the discussion, you’ll find a lot to enjoy outside of the powerhouses.
Mainstream Boom in the '80s
5.
During the '80s, the then-WWF experienced a mainstream boom behind the meteoric rise of Hulk Hogan, described by many as the biggest star in the history of pro wrestling. Meanwhile, on the court, there was a kid by the name of Michael Jordan flying high and changing rules in Chicago. Hogan slammed Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III in 1987, two years after the Air Jordan I. Both took their industries to unprecedented heights.
Gimmicks
7.
In wrestling, a gimmick refers to the character portrayed by a wrestler. For example, Mark Calloway plays the Undertaker, a ‘Deadman’ with supernatural ability who is impervious to pain. If you’ve never seen him perform, that probably sounds ridiculous, but he’s an absolute legend with almost two and half decades of relevance.
Sneaker gimmicks usually refer to unusual technology introductions, like Reebok’s ZigTech, adidas’ HUG System, Jordan’s Articulated Propulsion, or Nike’s Shox.
More often than not, gimmicks in both industries are implemented to draw extra attention to the performer or product. They don’t always work — in fact, they often fail — but a successful one can be a game-changer.
Aimed at Kids, Adored by Adults
9.
Not an issue in international markets, the WWE is highly criticized for currently catering their product to kids. The company switched to PG-rated programming television during the summer of 2008, a sharp contrast to popular and profitable Attitude Era of the late-90s and early 2000s.
The sneaker industry as a whole doesn’t market exclusively to kids, but there is a certain strategy in place for marketing to ‘sneakerheads.’ Outrageously bright colors, ridiculous patterns and over-designed silhouettes speak to a younger crowd — and that crowd is spending the money to rationalize the decision.
While watching wrestling and collecting sneakers are hobbies most of us started as youths, there are many of us old guys who just can’t give up either. The creative visions are no longer aimed at us, but we still enjoy the nostalgia and rare moments when we didn't have to take life too seriously.
Peaked in the '90s, Despite Being 'Technically' Better Today
11.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: 'everything was better in the '90s.'
While you may disagree, enthusiasts generally share the same sentiment as it pertains to these two fields. Reasons? Variety. Options: Michael Jordan’s retirement made room for new sneaker stars and brands to shine, which created an overall more interesting market. Similarly, the rise of WCW and emergence of ECW gave the WWF much needed competition and made for some incredibly compelling television.
Between '95 and '96, Jordan returned from his retirement to lead a new Chicago Bulls dynasty and Hogan turned heel and helped form the revolutionary nWo. At the same time, new stars were being created in both industries: the likes of Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, and Kobe Bryant on the sneaker side of things, while "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, and Goldberg brought a fresh vibe to the ring. The result? A new level of innovation, legendary personalities and timeless product for both.
But while most would agree that things were better in the '90s, the industries could be considered technically better today. Performer for performer, this may be the WWE’s strongest era in terms of actual in-ring wrestling talent, and sneaker technology has continued to evolve and innovate in terms of both performance and production.
The Stories Matter
13.
In wrestling, what sells a scripted fight is the storyline; the chain of events leading up to the match is what sets up a meaningful payoff. The more intriguing the story, the more invested the audience becomes in the finish. Likewise, storytelling has become a very important element in sneaker design. Today, a brand like Nike will drop 20-30 colorways of a signature shoe, tying some kind of story or inspiration to most of them. Neither watching wrestling or collecting sneakers will ever be considered a complex form of entertainment, but both have a little more substance than meets the eye.
Global Appeal
15.
While we mostly keep an eye on what’s going down stateside, sneakers and wrestling appeal to people everywhere. In addition to serving as hubs, foreign countries add their own flavor to each industry.
Our sneaker friends in Asia are known for setting trends with crazy prints and cutting edge design. The European sneaker community favors classic styles and clean execution. We keep a close eye on the latest and integrate a little bit of everything into our style here at home.
The same concept applies to wrestling. Mexican wrestlers are usually high-flying luchadors; European wrestlers love to brawl; and the Japanese wrestlers use a ‘stiff’ puroresu style to paint a more realistic picture. American wrestlers adopt elements of all these styles to form a diverse moveset.
Outsiders Just Don't Understand
17.
What "They’re just shoes," is to sneakers, "It’s not real," is to wrestling. When an outsider asks you about either, you can almost see the judgment seeping through their pores. Yes, I’m fully aware that nobody needs a hundred pairs of sneakers. And yes, I know that punch didn’t really connect. But there is a legit artistry to both, just like any object that’s collected or fictional program that’s viewed.
Dedicated Online Communities
19.
Sneakerheads and wrestling fans are very opinionated, and often enjoy the instant gratification of expressing their views via the Internet. Just like there’s an online sneaker community, there’s the Internet Wrestling Community, commonly referred to as the ‘IWC.’ What Sole Collector does for sneakers, there’s sites like Figure Four Online, which uses several platforms to break down the latest happenings of the squared circle.
Brandon Richard is a writer for Sole Collector who once ordered 8 different Hulk Hogan shirts from WWE Shop in a week. You can talk wrestling with him on Twitter here.
