NWK to MIA: October 2015

VIA: Ever wonder who creates all of WWE’s increasingly shiny and elaborate gear? It may not come from the source you were expecting. For years, most of WWE’s gear was the work of head seamstress Sandra Gray, but she recently retired, and so WWE hired wrestler Sarath Ton as their new tailor. You may recognize Ton as “Rutherford Hayes” from this infamous early Ryback squash.

He’s also the fiancé of Sasha Banks, so yeah, there’s hope for us all, fellas.

Ton, who wrestled on the indie scene as Kid Mikaze, caught attention for his elaborate, self-designed outfits and started getting requests for gear from other wrestlers. One of his clients was Sasha Banks, which would lead to a relationship, and more NXT clients like Summer Rae, Paige and Emma. Eventually, it would lead to WWE hiring Ton as a full-time costume designer. The above mini-doc by Chris Emswiler and Taylor Ellis was filmed before Ton was hired by WWE, but it’s nevertheless an interesting look at the creative process of the man now in charge of what the guys and girls of WWE wear.

So yeah, if you’re a small guy gutting it out on the indies and that call from WWE just doesn’t seem to be coming, maybe you should start studying sewing machines and sequins. You definitely should if you spot a pretty bossy lady who’s totally in need of some fabulous new wrestling duds.