WWE managed to give us a holiday-themed ‘shoot again this year, albeit with a bit of noire twist: yes, there is the usual holiday décor and cute outfits, but this year, the Riott Squad is giving us their best Grinch-impersonation and attempting to make the celebration a bit more …well, riotous :).
Things begin sweetly enough, with Alexa looking appropriately wintery in a layered look comprised of a white tank, black vest, white and black checked button-down and leggings. I love the way she’s styled this: the open cardi lets the textural and graphic play of all the layers shine, while the belt keeps everything tidy and adds needed definition at her waist. She takes this look from “any ol’ weekend” to holidays status with her gorgeous shimmery eye make-up. The glittering silver-blue looks incredible on her! We’ve seen her reach for it a number of times and its always on point. She warms it up with a wash of blush at the outer corners that ties in perfectly with the pink tones in her hair and her rosy lip shade. I’m so here for this, head to toe!
Mickie slayed in an ivory off-the-shoulder sweater, paired with burgundy velvet shorts. I adore this combo – its on-trend, luxe and sexy all at once! I’m firmly on the fence, though, about her leg warmers.  There are definite waves being made about a comeback for them and I kind of think they’re best left in the 80’s. However, here, the Fair Isle pattern adds a nice touch of contrast and they serve to carry the ivory color through the outfit, echoing Mickie’s sweater nicely before she rounds out the look with another touch of burgundy via her suede ankle boots. Let’s say that I might have preferred ivory over-the-knee socks, but I can live with this, especially since they don’t negate the incredible fashion statement of the top two pieces in the least. Nicely done, Mickie!

2018 brought us one runaway winner and one nail biter of a race that was won by only two votes.  Whose work were you loving this year? The winners are:

Are you ready to be your favorite Lady Superstar? Bringin’ back a former fave feature for a little inspo from Diva-Fierce on how to be her for Halloween!
Want to metamorphosize into Naomi? Grab your neon-est of neon workout wear. Her top colors are bright pink, glowing orange and highlighter lime, but we’ve seen her rock some turquoise and multi-hued looks as well. Finish with bright, fab sneakers and def do not forget about the beauty side of things! Sparkling neon nails and totally fierce eyeshadow are absolute musts! Lastly, you can’t possibly be Naomi without unlocking your own mystical GLOW, so set it free, babes!

Tonight will be a night to remember. We are going to witness Evolution, the first ever all women's PPV put on by the WWE. Superstars from the past and present will come together to make history, and to get us ready for this big night, we've got a brand new photo gallery to review. Now, gear shoots are generally pretty hit or miss, but there's something special about this one, there's a different feeling. These women are coming in Sunday to fight. They're coming to do battle. Why wouldn't they be in their gear? This is their battle armor, the cute dresses and heels can wait for another day. Carmella's bodysuit is one of my favourite ring gear styles, and this bright blue and neon yellow is a killing combination. Paired with her recently dyed locks,  the former Miss Money in the Bank and Smackdown Live Women's Champion looks fierce, powerful, and fabulous. Speaking of powerful, that's a perfect word to describe the current Raw Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey. She is definitely ready to go in this all black, fighting inspired outfit, embellished with her nickname in gold. Brie and Nikki Bella both stuck with their signature shade for their gear, with Brie adding some black lace up details and slits, and Nikki made her Fearless logo sparkle and shine. It wouldn't be a Bella look without a flannel tied around the waist and backwards snapback.

In yet another wrestling-themed photoshoot, several Lady Superstars dressed up as their favorite ECW wrestlers. This kind of theme has been a favorite of WWE, going all the way back to 2013 when Natalya won our Silver Snaps Award with her portrayal of Sean Michaels.  I loved this idea much better back then when it was rarer, but I’ll take it.
Track pants and an ECW tee: Tommy Dreamer’s trademark ring gear  was made for Becky! She looks very much at home in this type of styling, and stays true to Dreamer’s choices, all the way up to his taped hands. She replicates his gritty stare perfectly and the background lighting helps to add interest to these snaps, which makes them particularly appealing.
Lana replicated The Sandman’s signature look of a personalized tank and denim (sometimes track pants). Her choice to go with all-black plays well against the barbed wire and chain link background, as well as the red and blue lighting that somehow creates a grimy atmosphere.  She utilizes his trademark prop – a kendo stick – in her poses to good effect. Her work here is stellar, as usual…though I admit to being quite distracted by her gorgeous messy braid!

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!

Alexa got in on WWE’s SummerSlam gallery in which several Superstars took to the streets of New York city. As with Bayley and Sasha’s ‘shoot, I’m happy just to get anything in the photoshoot genre. Alexa wore her black and silver gear, the Wrestlemania Gear Count-up-Winning, be-crystalled rendition of a style that has long earned my praise. Her stunning cape is equally jaw-dropping; it says something very good that I’m still in awe over it all these months later. Beyond that, what we have here is a fairly basic gear ‘shoot, done in a city background. New York alone gives this set a big step up over the plain canvas we usually get for gear ‘shoots. However, Alexa win serious points from me for her effort to make this one stand out even more. Her poses are superb! She slays a squat, nails a couple of stances – including a fabulous one taken coming out of a subway station – and even throws in an adorably appealing one of her dangling on a police barrier. She takes what could be something fairly ordinary and gives it life and interest. This feels engaging, like editorial ‘shoot filtered through the life-lens of a WWE superstar, a couture magazine take but done for the ring. She’s selling me on this and I’m going for it. Excellent work, Blissy!
Addendum: I don't think anyone, anywhere in the universe can spy a crosswalk without recreating the classic Beatles' Abbey Road album cover. It's at that critical mass where it's way too done, but then again you can't possibly resist the opportunity. The WWE Superstars indulged and it has a bit of a thing, a slightly humorous, slightly nostalgic, slightly passé, slightly.."really?" thing. Included just because :).