Late in April, it was announced that Hot Topic would start carrying t-shirts from the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, The Elite, and the Bullet Club in July at select locations. If sales are good, they will look to expand the line to all stores. As a wrestling fan, I'm excited about what this means for the hardworking talent mentioned above, but also for the industry as a whole.
For those of you unfamiliar, the Bullet Club is a faction mainly in New Japan Pro Wrestling, with satellite chapters in Ring of Honor and other organizations. Founded by Prince Devitt (now Finn Balor in the WWE), Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale. A group of heels, the all-gaijin (non Japanese) faction became hated for their use of super-westernized wrestling tropes and blatant lack of respect for the tradition of Japanese wrestling. As this garnered quite a bit of heat in Japan, the US crowd ate it up. Clearly heavily influenced by DX and the NWO, the Bullet Club was a great mix of nostalgia and in-ring talent, as the group added AJ Styles, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Adam Cole (baybay), and many others to their ranks.
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, collectively known as The Elite (The The Elite), are three of the most polarizing men in professional wrestling. Some people watch in awe of their athleticism and innovative movesets. Some claim they're "killing the business" by wrestling nine year old girls and blow up dolls, or by superkicking a small child for his birthday, amongst many other complaints. The Young Bucks are the current ROH tag team champions as well as the hosts of "Superkick Parties" every time they come to the ring. They're like playing a video game with unlimited finishers turned on. Their gear is obnoxious, they parody past wrestling gimmicks, and they sell a boatload of merchandise.
Kenny "The Cleaner" Omega has been wrestling all over the globe for years, though he currently resides in Japan. He is the first gaijin to win the G1 Climax tournament, earning a title shot at the biggest show NJPW puts on every year at the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom. While he didn't capture the IWGP heavyweight title, he did come out still looking pretty great, and the match earned a 6 star rating on Dave Meltzer's 5 star scale. It was, quite literally, the greatest match I have ever seen.
If you are looking for top name draws from outside the WWE, The Elite and the Bullet Club have to be front of mind, so it only makes sense for Hot Topic to reach out to these money printing machines to carry their product. From the perspective of the wrestlers, I'm sure they will still be able to sell on ProWrestlingTees.com and YoungBucksMerch.com, as well as at live events and anywhere else you might find their gear. All this does is put even more eyes on these international top tier talents. The thing that I am most excited about is what this means for the industry as a whole.
With NJPW coming to the USA for this year's G1, Billy Corgan's acquisition of the NWA, Lucha Underground, Impact Wrestling, and ROH all easily enough to access in the United States, as well the slew of regional indie promotions, there may be challengers again to WWE's stranglehold on the number one spot in the world of professional wrestling. In today's world, you can find anything you want in wrestling if you look hard enough. The addition of these shirts to the inventory carried at a major staple of the modern American mall is a sign of just how easy that search is becoming.
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, collectively known as The Elite (The The Elite), are three of the most polarizing men in professional wrestling. Some people watch in awe of their athleticism and innovative movesets. Some claim they're "killing the business" by wrestling nine year old girls and blow up dolls, or by superkicking a small child for his birthday, amongst many other complaints. The Young Bucks are the current ROH tag team champions as well as the hosts of "Superkick Parties" every time they come to the ring. They're like playing a video game with unlimited finishers turned on. Their gear is obnoxious, they parody past wrestling gimmicks, and they sell a boatload of merchandise.
Kenny "The Cleaner" Omega has been wrestling all over the globe for years, though he currently resides in Japan. He is the first gaijin to win the G1 Climax tournament, earning a title shot at the biggest show NJPW puts on every year at the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom. While he didn't capture the IWGP heavyweight title, he did come out still looking pretty great, and the match earned a 6 star rating on Dave Meltzer's 5 star scale. It was, quite literally, the greatest match I have ever seen.
If you are looking for top name draws from outside the WWE, The Elite and the Bullet Club have to be front of mind, so it only makes sense for Hot Topic to reach out to these money printing machines to carry their product. From the perspective of the wrestlers, I'm sure they will still be able to sell on ProWrestlingTees.com and YoungBucksMerch.com, as well as at live events and anywhere else you might find their gear. All this does is put even more eyes on these international top tier talents. The thing that I am most excited about is what this means for the industry as a whole.
With NJPW coming to the USA for this year's G1, Billy Corgan's acquisition of the NWA, Lucha Underground, Impact Wrestling, and ROH all easily enough to access in the United States, as well the slew of regional indie promotions, there may be challengers again to WWE's stranglehold on the number one spot in the world of professional wrestling. In today's world, you can find anything you want in wrestling if you look hard enough. The addition of these shirts to the inventory carried at a major staple of the modern American mall is a sign of just how easy that search is becoming.
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