For fans of WWE, it’s sometimes hard to decide which is more memorable between a fighter’s bouts and a fighter’s gimmick.
The enshrining of The Undertaker vs Mankind’s steel cage match for Hell In A Cell into both wrestling lore and internet memeology means that character takes prominence over Mick Foley’s other alter egos; even if just due to the sheer violence of the bout. There’s been luchadors like Sin Cara, there’s been evil clowns like Doink, and there’s been some just plain weird ones – there was Mantaur, The Gobbledygooker, and perhaps most bizarrely of all – have you ever heard of a male model coming from Scotland?
While some gimmicks are focused on an extensive character back story – The Undertaker and Kane’s tales of fraternal fire-raising, for example – many times a wrestler’s persona will stem from their costume and be worked in from there. And an easy way to add weight to that dress is via a pair of sunglasses.
Shades have enough cultural cachet that we can identify what they’re portraying pretty instantly. Bret Hart’s wraparounds and long hair, combined with his entry music, tied him to the metal music beloved in his era. A little later, Edge and Christian would sport the outlandish lenses of the early 2000s including Oakley Over The Tops, which were discontinued and now regularly go for four figures on the resale market.
However, we don’t need to spend the kind of money that would book a cruise to the Bahamas for grapplers’ glasses. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at four icons and see how you can flex their favorite frames.
Sgt. Slaughter
When Sarge first entered the WWF in 1980, lawmen wearing Aviators on screens big and small was pretty timely – think John Candy in The Blues Brothers or Erik Estrada in CHiPs. Combine them with being tied to the military in American popular culture for some three decades previous due to General Douglas MacArthur, and the public could easily identify Slaughter as being an authority figure. Canadian wrestler and alleged cop The Mountie also used Aviators, although the Sergeant doesn’t seem to be overly fond of his northern neighbors.
Gail Kim
Debuting in 2000, when the world was gripped by The Matrix, Gail Kim was styled almost like Keanu Reeves’ Neo. With her rimless wireframes and long leather coat, her look owed more than a little to the 1999 smash. However her sunglasses are not exact – they were a pair custom-made for Reeves by designer Richard Blinde, who designed one-off pairs for each of the movie’s main characters. Today, Gail’s look can be emulated closely by some commonly available women’s sunglasses, as they’re not miles off either the Oakley Whisker or Ray-Ban Rb3183. Be sure to add pink lenses and a bag of attitude to get the 100% Kim look.
The Rock
In his personal life, Dwayne Johnson is often photographed wearing Aviators. However, back when he was The Rock, and he had hair and sideburns, he complimented his pseudo Elvis-esque look with a pair of shades The King himself may well have sported. Ray-Ban Olympian Deluxes, to be precise. The glasses became somewhat famous as he managed to knock them off himself while delivering a monologue to Mick Foley. Mick, being a nice guy, picked them up and gave them back to him. It may have paid trumps a few years later when The Rock jumped into the ring with Mick to help him defeat La Resistance. And if perhaps The People’s Elbow doesn’t mind fans remembering that unscripted accident so much, he’d certainly rather folks forgot his original WWE haircut.
Sasha Banks
Sasha’s iconic glasses were quite something. A pair of customs, with BOSS emblazoned across the lenses in gold and what looks like Swarovski crystal, she’d be one of the very few people who could pull them off. Sasha is no shrinking violet and showbiz runs in her family – she counts Snoop Dogg, Brandy and Daz Dillinger amongst her cousins. Banks is currently wrestling in the Japanese NJPW promotion, but has branched out into acting, with roles in The Mandalorian and The Collective. It would take a brave lady to rock these. While plastic copies are widely available, it’s not clear how you’d get the OGs. Ask Jack, perhaps?
