WWE created one of their lately quite rare photoshoot opportunities for the Lady Superstars concurrent with the 1000th episode of Smackdown. The theme? Smackdown tees. Novel? Not so much. Slayable? Abso. The pull toward blandness is understandable, though:  add a pair of pants and ta-da: you’re done. It’s so simple…maybe a little too simple for anyone who considers these activities not as art or expression but as a not especially interesting aspect of the game. Consequently, I can’t help but give a few more XO's to the ladies who put in extra effort to switch things up.
Billie Kay and Peyton each tossed a t-shirt over their ring gear, with Billie going for blue and Peyton for black. Their saving grace is their pose, one of their interesting and unique two-for stances. Billie also scores and extra point for her bright red lip that gives her look a bit of pop. I’m not sure how Charlotte managed to turn her tee into a cutout mockneck piece, but whatever forces she used, I’m down for them. She threw an on-trend sporty spin into her look by adding striped track pants. Her pose drips attitude and I’m here for that. Though not groundbreaking, the snap is 100% solid. Becky and Zelina chose the same leather leggings and were saved from the dread fashion sin of wearing the same look by Zelina opting to make her top a cropped silhouette. Her look works well and her pose is competent . I would have loved to see her chose a punchier lip shade to add a real exclamation point to the outfit. Beckys’s super simple tee needed the impact of the leather leggings to save it from yawnsville. Irl, the success of this look would come down to shoe choice. We don’t get the chance to see Becky’s choice, so I’m just going to imagine she went with some fab pair of boots or sneakers. I won’t dare go so far as wishing for blue suede pointy pumps ;). I’m wild over her hair and make-up here – these nude and peach shades are flawless for her and the soft volume in her hair is crave-worthy!

WWE recently released a photo gallery showcasing some of the most dominant duos in sports entertainment. Naturally, they included my favorite pair: LayCool, and coincidentally also one of my favorites snaps of the devious ladies (I had nothing to do with this, I swear!).  This fabulous wordy white tank paired with black shorts is from one of their series of Famous & Flawless ‘shoots. We just don’t get moments like this nowadays *nostalgic sigh*. I love what the ladies are doing now, but I miss the fashion-high of those days. Can’t lie. The ‘shoot was so well put together, with fantastic style (crystal-covered belts added a shot of glam to this chill look) and gorgeous, fierce poses. Even against the simple black backdrop, this set had such a powerful effect! Mickie is an established queen of the ring these days, but back when she debuted, she was  best known as Trish Stratus’ biggest fan, eventually earning her place as Trish’s tag partner.  With the significant skills of both ladies, they became a serious force in the Divas’ division in no time! Trish’s girl-next-door vibes perfectly matched Mickie’s Americana-hottie looks, making for sexy, effervescent photoshoots and in-ring moments.

I’m going to do something a little different this year: instead of releasing the Hall Of Fame Review in one fell swoop, I’m going to keep adding a new group to the post each day. This will let me get the post up sooner ( I reeeeaaaly don’t want to be doing the HoF in June again!) and lets me devote time to each review and not feel like I’m rushing to get it all done so I can get the post up.
Every year, this is probably the most difficult review I do. There are always so many killer looks that I’m splitting hairs and weighing miniscule differences to determine who lands where on the count-up. The only choice that was easy this year was the top spot. I knew that placing immediately after going through all the looks the first time. Who earned that nod? Well, stick with me :). We kick things off with the ladies who I loved, save for one something or other.

Wrestlemania 34 featured the first - and hopefully inaugural – Battle Royal for the Lady Superstars and there was a LOT of ring gear flying around the squared circle…and out of it! Consequently, we decided to dedicate an entire post to  :) breaking it down, analyzing it and raving over it. Are you stoked yet?  We are! First, a clarification: although Nia is part of our collage here, she was not part of the Battle Royal; she won the Raw Women’s Championship later in the evening, defeating Alexa Bliss. So why is she here? Basically, we had this awesome snap of her gear to show off, so show it off we did! :)

So, about forty years after the Rumble, WWE managed to release photoshoot-style snaps of the ladies in their ring gear, under the guise of celebrating International Women’s Day. Ok, Big Dub, whatever. It’s a gear ‘shoot and I’m good with that. No need to try to convince me its anything else. So, now about forty years after they released it, I’m reviewing it…under the guise of rounding up the Royal Rumble :). I like that these snaps give you a close and clear look at each of the ladies’ in-ring looks and it allows me to comment on a few of the gals I couldn’t acquire good pics of the first time around.
Aaaaand Becky isn’t in her gear, but this actually looks like it could have been. Its  a taste of her chill-gal-meets-medieval-punk stylings that we saw early in 2017. The hints of metal give this look a nice touch of flash and the rust and black tones work beautifully with her hair. While I would have found this a little lowkey for a major event like the Rumble, I could get behind her wearing this for a tv event.

WWE has recently had two new heel squads debut…and the two crews have some interesting similarities. They are each comprised of a perky blonde and two brunettes.  They are each led by a punky chick with an attitude. They each go around decimating whatever face happens to be in their way at the moment. Only one recently received their own photoshoot, however. Of, course, that doesn’t matter because we’re going to break down the looks of both teams anyway :). You’re likely to be most familiar with two thirds of the squad manhandling superstar divas on Raw, Absolution: the recently returned Paige and the Golden Goddess, Mandy Rose. The other brunette in the trio is former MMA artist Sonya Deville. I’m excited to see her translate her martial arts skills to the ring. I’m also excited to see her change up her gear. The red marble print I can handle; I even like it’s smooth, hard connotation. The silver edging is livable, as well, But the styling of her skirt – as appropriately warrior-like as it is – unfortunately brings to mind a loin cloth. And I’m not saying one couldn’t make a loin cloth look totally modern and fierce, but this iteration is not there quite yet. Skirt-type gear is always challenging and it takes a really well-conceived and special design to work.  A few ladies have sold me on it – Alicia Fox comes to mind – but my suggestion here would be to re-vamp this look with shorts or pants, either of which I think could work really well. Paige’s look is classic Paige – plenty of leather, plenty of studs, fishnets, and a little camo thrown in for good measure. She’s fully embracing her reputation with this persona and her gear, as we know it, fits right in. I like that her comeback looks have been so familiar. It’s a great way to bring us back to who she is. It feels comfortable, like welcoming an old friend. Paige’s challenge is going to be to keep things interesting as the character and storyline evolve. Leather and studs have always been her trademark. Previously, she branched out with over-sized snake prints and deep colors. She’ll need to have a new twist to showcase fairly soon to prevent ennui from setting in. Interestingly,  fashion has embraced punk and grunge during her time away, making her look feel more on trend, but less fresh and somewhat exotic. Hopefully, she’s got some ideas up her sleeve that will continue to set her apart. We’re equally familiar with Mandy’s well-received golden metallic gears. We’ve also seen her explore lace-embellishments and Celtic-knot-like designs. I was blown away with her lingerie-like metallic and lace outfit. And I like this version, with the black piping and crystal accents. I’m 100% on board for her addition of the choker, as well. On the other hand, all gold all the time is going to get old in a hurry, even with variations in silhouette, unless she’s super creative about how she handles her look. I’ll be interested to see what directions Mandy goes in, especially since she’s already proven herself to be a superstar who is aware of fashion and has an interest in it.

The moment many of us have been waiting for finally happened last night on RAW when Paige made her much anticipated return to the WWE. Not only that, along side her debuted Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville from NXT.  Both women were part of the 2015 season of Tough Enough, where Paige was a judge. Mandy was also a cast member for season 5 of Total Divas. The three women took out the competitors in the ring, before attacking the current RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss backstage. What a way to remind everyone that this is her house. Welcome back, Paige! And to Mandy and Sonya, welcome to the main roster!