How professional WWE ring gear is designed and made We asked Charlotte Flair, Gunther and Dominik Mysterio

WWE is preparing to land in Italy for its first historic Premium Live Event, Clash in Italy, which will take place in Turin and will stream live exclusively on Netflix on May 31 at 8:00 PM. But the wrestling invasion does not stop there: in the following days, WWE will also hold new episodes of RAW (June 1 at 8:00 PM) and SmackDown (June 5 at 8:00 PM) in Italy and these shows will also be available exclusively on Netflix. An unprecedented event, for which wrestlers are training with extraordinary care and dedication. Every element must be perfected down to the smallest detail, including the stage costumes, known in wrestling jargon as ring gear.

To a casual observer, what a wrestler wears may seem secondary, but in reality their stage presence — and therefore their entire defining aesthetic — is deeply tied to their ring gear. It is what helps shape their gimmick, the character portrayed within a storyline, namely the narrative framework that builds events, rivalries, and the evolution of the wrestlers’ stories.

At times, WWE’s creative teams are responsible for developing wrestlers’ ring gear, although they place great importance on the input and character vision provided by the superstars themselves. However, since these elements are considered fundamentally important — if not essential — it is not uncommon for wrestlers to create their own gear independently, personally overseeing the entire creative process: from the initial design sketches all the way to the sewing stage.

To understand more about the meaning of a ring gear, we talked directly to some WWE superstars. "I feel like a superstar, or a queen when I'm wearing my gear, outfit or robes - tells us Charlotte Flair - . I know that I'm going to perform well because I feel beautiful. The fact that our gear and everything we wear sends a message about how we want to present ourselves is important to me. Personally, I always want to look my best. I want the fans to know that I care about what I'm wearing. I want them to care, too. I want them to be wowed. I always want to impress. But it's also about wanting to feel good. I invest a lot in my robes, gear and fashion. I already have two outfits planned for TV appearances in Europe.

Personally, I prefer to be more involved in the creative process. For example, I might see something that inspires me and send it to the custom makers with a note saying, 'This is my inspiration.' This is what I'm thinking. What can you come up with? I have new gear for this Saturday and for Europe, so I sent them the inspiration. I had these pieces, and these are definitely the two pieces that I'll be wearing. I'll give you a hint: it's pieces from the fans that I'm putting in the gear. So it's definitely a collaborative effort. But I let most of the people I work with have the freedom to take my ideas and expand on them”.

While Charlotte Flair is known worldwide for her flamboyant aesthetic, Gunther represents the opposite pole, embodying an old-school wrestler with minimal ring gear consisting of underpants and boots: "When it comes to outfits - he tells us - , I'm probably the least diverse person because, obviously, it's a big part of what we do . They're such a big part of the show. Everyone goes above and beyond to have the most creative or standard outfit, but I'm the opposite. I'm the guy with the most basic outfits, and that's my way of standing out when everyone else is trying to outdo each other. My ring gear is very traditional and classic. That's what I focus on. As I said, that's when everyone else tries to stand out. If you're the guy who doesn't want to stand out, that's what makes you stand out. So that's what I always follow."

Another aesthetic trend is lucha libre, which is currently being perfectly embodied by Dominik Mysterio in WWE: "My ring gear is very traditional. I carry a lot of traditions from lucha libre culture, and my gear represents lucha libre history. Starting with my boots, I used to wear that kind of boot. Jerry Estrada used to have little tassels on the side of his boots. So I have some little Jerry Estrada tassels too. You've got the La Parka gimmick up top, the Mysterio Falcons. I feel like the cowhide is a bit more original. I took it to another level with the cowhide and the material injection, the Falcons and the Dirty Bomb on the back, and the Ethan logo. It's just a mixture of everything. I mean, there are a lot of things that people don't really see, like little nuances. For example, I have hidden messages on the sides of my legs, where the tassels are. I have bullet holes that go down the sides. Some people notice them, some people don't. I also have little logos and designs in between my gear that people don't really see, but I like to include them.".

We also discuss sneakers with Dominik — another piece of gear that has become a classic WWE feature: "I have the Off-White Jordan ones that just came out, the Alaska highs. I saw Roman Reigns wearing those not too long ago. I got them before he did, but that's not the point. I also saw CM Punk wearing the Carolina Blues. But I like Roman. I don't like CM Punk. To me, it's kind of crazy seeing these old men wearing them. I'll leave Roman out of it because he's a bit younger than Punk, but seeing guys like Punk wearing them just rubs me up the wrong way because it's obvious you don't know what you're doing. You're just doing it to try and be cool. So what I did was take my Jordan 1 Highs, my Off-Whites, and cut them. I turned them into lows to be different from everyone else. I do things like that to stand out. I use a lot of high-end fashion in my gear, even in my shoes, to try and make it stand out".