Like much art, pro wrestling is in constant conversation with its past. Sometimes evidence of that interaction is subtle. Sometimes it’s not. We’ve seen a few pretty overt examples lately, and we got two more on the Sept. 6 episode of Raw.
The one from former Raw Women’s champion Nikki ASH isn’t one she wanted to make, or that fans wanted to see... at least not under tragic circumstances like the end of Shannon Spruill (aka Daffney Unger)’s life last week.
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Going to assume it was intentional Nikki’s armband for her friend was placed on the arm she uses for her “superhero” pose...
Is the @WWEUniverse ready for SUPER BRUTALITY?!#NikkiASH most certainly is!@RheaRipley_WWE@NikkiCrossWWE#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/ImeLH5Z4an
— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2021
The night’s other hat tip wasn’t tinged with sadness. In fact, The New Day’s cosplay gear was a celebration of The Outsiders - and maybe a response to a certain Chicagoan saying during the post-All Out media scrum that the arrival of Bryan Danielson & Adam Cole to AEW is “bigger” than Scott Hall & Kevin Nash jumping to WCW?
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Either way, Big Sexy loved what Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston did. In a self-deprecating way...
@TrueKofi Thank you so much for the love tonight. It was amazing to watch that gear in actual motion. Always wondered what it would look like.
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) September 7, 2021
Hey yo. Thanks for these Nikki, Kofi & Xavier.