WWE.com Photoshoot: Riott Squad - Mirror, Mirror

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.

On the Riott Squad side of things, Ruby Riott is the Paige-like persona of the group: brash, cerebral and with attitude to spare. I’m intrigued by the patchwork-like quality of her gear, especially the newsprint-type pieces which remind me of the kind of cut-out collages geniuses or stalkers generally have in any tv show or film in which they’re represented. They create an aura of danger and mystery which is fitting and very unusual. I’m also interested by the one pant-leg/one short silhouette. Her use of a knee cover on the shorts side makes it work and not look too disjointed, which I give her huge props for, as it could very easily have come off lopsided. There’s a lot of cool elements here, but with so much going on, she’ll need to be watchful to not fall into the trap of getting the look too busy and with too much complexity to be effective. The other brunette is Sarah Logan, whose gear starts with a fun leather lace-up top that reminds me of a cropped corset. She paired it with blue denim shorts, accented with chocolate suede. I like the rustic-American vibe here, even though the gear is clearly in its early stages of development and I give mad kudos for using chocolate, a color we see very rarely. Her black belt ties the look in with her black wrestling boots, but I’d love to see those done (or covered) in chocolate leather or suede. Last up is Liv Morgan,who reminds me of a sporty version of Alexa, or a more chill version of Mandy. Outside of the suspenders (which are a fashion no, and a serious liability in the ring), her gear game is strong. I love the destroyed leather leggings, I love the attention-grabbing bright lime and I love the spot on-trend star print. That’s a lotta love for a newbie to earn, which makes me very excited  to see where Liv takes her athleisure cool-girl style from here on out.