After missing out on PWR Renaissance 2018, it felt good to be able to watch PWR Live: Homefront because, as
you all know, the card was heavily stacked with lots of great stories,
match-ups and guests galore (you can read the Official Smark Henry review
here).
Of course, with every show, we’re
always on the lookout for new threads, gear, merch, and anything which fancies
the eye—my eye to be exact—so, here we are again with another dose of #SGQ–which we’ll dub #SGQ
Fashion-front.
Ang Mamatay Ng Dahil Kay… Tengu?!
PWR Live: Homefront’s main event was a
match between Mr. Philippine Wrestling, Jake De Leon and the returning Tengu
(of London Lucha League) for the PHX Championship. Now, we’re not here to talk
about the match (which, by the way, got five stars from me), instead, let's talk about what the Yakuza Assassin wore for this match.
We’ve seen superstars
try to sport the formal look, from the more recent Baron Corbin vests, to Right
to Censor’s buttoned-up shirts and slacks combos, and countless others. However,
Tengu’s choice of clothing for the night slightly resembles more of The Brood’s look and feel (think Gangrel and Christian.) In fact, he even made his choice of
attire more impressive and timely for the event by doing what no other
sports entertainer—or even athlete—has ever done: wear a barong in a competitive capacity.
I have to admit, I had to do a
double-take since barongs are not
exactly the most comfortable piece of clothing to wear; and they're also made of very lightweight and fibrous materials, hence, the possibility of accidentally
ripping the thing into pieces and feeling very itchy in the process.
For those who may not know, Tengu
actually does have Filipino roots and this may be him trying to get in touch
with his deep ancestry. That’s one reason. Or maybe it’s part of the
psychological warfare he played with JDL during the match. Tengu does have a
way of playing mind games so that could also be the case. We may never know the
reason, but one thing is for sure, it looked so cool and unique that it
deserved to be noticed.
Stylin’ and Profilin’
Bobby Roode. Charlotte. Ric Flair.
Even Goldust, to an extent. These names have a (sort of) common bond in the way they dress and present themselves.
They look and feel larger than life and they exude the sophistication, elegance,
and mystique that makes you go “Wow!”
when you see them during their entrances. Yes, it’s actually the magic brought
by wearing a good robe.
Robes aren’t normally special. In
fact, they’re very basic if you like to watch boxing. The magic actually lies
in the way the entertainer carries himself to make the robe look elegant and
stylish, while also making it part of his/her character.
If we look at GrappleMAX’s Ladykiller,
he wears a perfectly normal pre-match robe to the ring, however, he wears the
robe like it’s a part of him—an extension of his personality. Of course, the guy has naturally good looks (what with
the name Ladykiller and all) but he’s able to make himself look like a million
bucks (and probably get more ladies) just by wearing his pre-match attire.
On the other hand, we have
Rederick "Mainstream" Mahaba, who has recently donned a sparkly robe more akin to that of The Nature Boy or The Glorious One. With his recent success in film, the
addition of a pre-match robe makes this change of character seem legit and more believable.
The newfound attitude and
pre-match shenanigans helped flesh out Mahaba’s character, while giving a boatload of possibilities on where he may take this gimmick next. It also helps that he
has that gift of gab. If there's one thing that I feel detracts from the package, might I suggest changing the ring gear as
well? The tattered/tassled shirt doesn’t scream movie star to me; so that
maybe something to ponder on.
NOT from Divisoria
The YOLO Twins weren’t even dressed to compete against the team of GrabCamus and Kapitan Tutan when they showed up. Sporting their PhP 4000-worth—at least, according to them—polos and expensive jeans, which they reiterated were NOT from Divisoria, the two quickly denounced their current displeasure at their position on the card, but not before deciding to continue and eventually win their match.
Their attire for the night gets a
thumbs-up from me, as they really did look like rich and spoiled conyo kids, which in turn also helped
sell the angle that they didn’t want to compete. It’s good attire choices like
these which help tell the story even with the slightest nods and hints.
From Elwood City
Our last item on the list is one
you probably expected already so let’s make it short and sweet.
What were you thinking, Mr. Sy?
Raiding our childhood with a semi-reference to everyone's favorite aardvark Arthur is
definitely funny. I’m sort of looking forward to the next show PWR Live: Shake, Rassle and Roll. Maybe Mr. Sy will surprise us with a “The Adventures of Tintin”
attire or even better, Bananas in Pyjamas!
Your move, Mr. Sy. As you always
say, “Ginusto mo yan.”
See you at the next show, Smark Fashionistas!
Photos from Hub Pacheco and Smark Henry Contributor
*****
Disclosure: Smark Henry is independently managed and operated by a group of local wrestling fans, but includes members affiliated with the Philippine Wrestling Revolution.
*****
Miguel “The Migz” Llado is your supposed fashion guru and not-so-young boy at the Smark Henry offices. A lover of everything music, wrestling, videogames and food, he lives his life tweeting his mind off (@the_migz) and ‘gramming random food and destinations (@tha_migz) as he sets on his journey to completely do things at random for his own personal amusement. When not being a smark, he lives his life being (and trying to be) an awesome architect and musician extraordinaire.
: PWR Live Fashion-front){kind=link}