15 worst T-shirt designs in WWE history

For every iconic shirt that the WWE has put out, there are at least five terrible ones. It doesn't seem to matter to them whether the shirt fits the character it's assigned to or whether anyone in their right mind would be willing to wear it in public - they had to push merch.

Recently, I did a list of the Top 15 greatest shirts in pro-wrestling history (which, if you haven't read, you totally should). In it, I said that the "Austin 3:16" shirt was a primary impetus for the creation of so many other shirt designs for many other superstars, for better or worse.

This list takes a look at the "worse".

Before I begin this list, however, I would like to offer a few disclaimers - the first is that you are free to list other awful wrestling shirts in the comments, which there are plenty of. Believe me, it was really hard to narrow this down to only 15 selections. Additionally, this is a WWE-exclusive list, so you won't see certain gems, such as the infamous AJ Styles shirt with the questionable font, on here.

Anyhow, without further ado, onto the list -

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#15 Chris Jericho: Wanna Bee

That's what I want on the front of my shirt - a giant dead animal photo

The suit-wearing Chris Jericho of the late 2000's was pretty excellent. This shirt, however, was not.

Around 2008, the heelish Chris Jericho started to strip the comical characteristics of his earlier years. He would come to the ring wearing a fitted suit and chiding wrestlers and fans for being "Chris Jericho wannabes". His articulate, serious promos and his repeated sardonic commentary on these so-called "imitators" was critically acclaimed. Naturally, WWE wanted to capitalize on this somehow.

Needless to say, they didn't do a good job. Some dingus at creative figured out that the word "be" is a homophone of the word "bee," so they created this eyesore with a dead bee on the front and a pun-laden spray can on the back.

First off, who in God's name would want to wear a shirt with a dead insect on the front? Secondly, why would anyone want to wear a shirt that labels them as a "wannabe"? Third, why would Chris Jericho refer to himself as a "buzzkill" in any regard, if he's playing the role of a man who only speaks the truth?

There are no answers. Because the shirt is dumb and it doesn't make any sense.

#14 Becky Lynch: Lass Kicker (for men) / Nia Jax: I'm Not Like Most Girls (for men)

Pro-tip for men: maybe don't wear a shirt that suggests that you beat women

I decided to put both of these in the #14 spot because they're here for the literal exact same reason. Let's go one-by-one.

On its own, Becky Lynch's "Lass Kicker" shirt isn't too offensive - it's a simple design that looks fine and underlines Lynch's propensity to make puns.

So why is it here? Well, because the shirt was also released for men.

That's right - there was a men's shirt on WWE Shop that said "Lass Kicker" on it. This was before they added the words "Becky Lynch" to the bottom, too, so all that was left was a catchphrase that suggested a man's pride in committing acts of violence against women.

Now, I get that WWE feels a need to release both men's and women's versions of merchandise so that anyone could buy them, but...why this one? What were they thinking?

Evidently, they weren't. Because they did it a second time -

To be fair, it's not incorrect...

This is the men's version of Nia Jax's shirt. Yes - they actually released a shirt, for men, that read "I'm not like most girls" in big purple letters on the front.

I mean, to give it some credit (and by "some," I mean minimal), it's also not bad on the eyes, per se. And hey, at least it didn't imply domestic violence. But how clueless do you have to be to release not one, but TWO gender-specific shirts to the opposite gender?

Luckily, both of these were quickly pulled from the shelves and replaced. Lynch got a new shirt altogether, while the male version of Jax's read simply - "I'm not like most". It's still nothing special, but at least they remedied it to an extent.

#13 Carlito: Do You Spit or Swallow?

Look at the grin. He knows it's terrible.

Carlito was pretty vastly underrated during his tenure in WWE. He was a compelling and often funny heel that spat apple chunks in the face of people who "didn't want to be cool".

So of course, WWE just had to make a sexual pun out of it (psst, by the way - that's a hint for a lot of the rest of the list).

I get that the Carlito character wasn't really supposed to be taken all that seriously, but this shirt was a grave injustice. While not aesthetically awful, it drew little to no connection to the character it was assigned to. Carlito wasn't a sexual deviant - he was just a cool guy that liked apples.

Plus, did they honestly expect anyone to step outside wearing this shirt? Good luck finding a place that would even allow you to. And imagine if someone tried to wear this shirt out somewhere in 2017...yikes.

#12 Blue Pants

Hah...because it's pants on a shirt

Leva "Blue Pants" Bates deserved a lot better than what she got in NXT. She was used as a jobber, her name was born from an Enzo Amore and Big Cass promo, and the only official merch she ever got on WWE Shop was...this.

Now, if someone asks you why you have a grey shirt with a pair of blue pants on the front and the words "Blue Pants" on the back, try responding like this and not having them look at you like you're a complete fool - "well, there's this wrestler named Blue Pants and she loses a lot but a lot of people really like her".

It's bad enough that it's literally just a picture of sweatpants printed on a shirt, but it's worse when you remember that those weren't even the kind of pants she wore. She wore blue tights with a yellow strap, not blue jogging sweatpants.

So now it's both stupid and inaccurate. Great shirt, guys.

#11 Sin Cara's first shirt

The shirt was quickly yanked (hehe, nice) from shelves

There was a lot of hype surrounding Sin Cara when he first debuted for the WWE in 2011. The former Místico had made a major name for himself in Mexico, having won Wrestling Observer Newsletter's awards for Wrestler of the Year and Best Box Office Draw in 2006, as well as Best Flying Wrestler in both 2006 and 2007. He was even voted the Best Draw of the Decade (2000-2009), beating out the likes of John Cena, The Rock, and Kenta Kobashi, among others.

Unfortunately, his style didn't mesh well in the WWE. His frequent botching became somewhat of a meme amongst the Internet wrestling community, so it's only apropos that his first shirt was botched as well.

What was supposed to be just a plain picture of Sin Cara ended up with some strangely-placed shading, creating some overtly-phallic imagery? Embarrassed by this realization, WWE quickly pulled the shirt from circulation, though some still managed to be sold. They're apparently pretty rare, as I couldn't find one for sale anywhere online.

Because of its extremely brief shelf life, this shirt places lower on the list. Still, it certainly belongs here.

#10 Trish Stratus: Into the Stratus-Phere

Charming.

Here's another shirt that didn't last very long on WWE's shelves, and for good reason.

In an era where women's wrestling was almost entirely neglected by creative and fans alike, Trish Stratus was a rose that grew from concrete. She was easily the biggest star in the division, and she connected with the fans no matter what role she was in.

So when she finally got a shirt...this is the best they could come up with?

First of all, it's a shirt that says "blow me" on the front in all capital letters. I don't even have to explain why this is appalling. Secondly, there's no effort here - it's just a sexual joke for the sake of it. Also, who is this shirt even marketed towards? If a woman wore it, people would wonder why she was wearing a shirt that says "blow me" on it. If a man wore it, people would wonder why he was wearing a Trish Stratus shirt. It works for nobody.

This shirt only lasted a couple of months before WWE realized how lame and crass it was.

#9 HLA

This shirt is just like the angle it represented - horrendous.

2002 was an interesting year for the WWE - the company re-branded, it birthed the "Ruthless Aggression era", and former WCW president Eric Bischoff became Monday Night RAW's on-screen authority figure.

On the whole, Bischoff's run as RAW General Manager was pretty spectacular. However, every now and again, we all swing and miss.

On the September 9th, 2002 episode of RAW, Bischoff came to the ring and vowed to "create his own controversy". So, in a desperate attempt to increase ratings, he promised the crowd that they would see "HLA," or "Hot Lesbian Action". It was completely idiotic, as pretty much everyone knew that two people would never actually get intimate on network television.

Anyway, the "lesbians" ended up being an integral part to the episode, but their in-ring segment was literally just a set-up to make Eric Bischoff's heavies, Rosey and Jamal, look strong and sadistic.

As if the blatant sexualization and objectification wasn't in poor enough taste, WWE released an official HLA t-shirt. This means that, if anyone were to wear this in public, they would have to clarify to others what "HLA" stands for.

So, tell me - how does wearing such a shirt NOT make someone seem like a complete pervert? Even without knowing what "HLA" stands for, it's still just a really strange shirt to wear around.

#8 "Mr Ass" Billy Gunn: 24kt. Ass

Of all the bad apples in the bunch, this one is probably the most rotten

Billy Gunn has had a LOT of bad shirts throughout his career. To be frank, I really don't recall him ever having a good one. I mean, it's bad enough that he had to go by the moniker "Mr Ass," but they couldn't even give him a passable shirt? They were all so bad, I considered putting them all here as one entry.

But in the end, I have to say that this one is the worst of them all.

Let me just start by saying that "24kt." is NOT a synonym for "good". Yes, I'm aware that it is the highest quality of gold you can buy, but you can't just use an item-specific descriptor for everything and have it mean the same thing. Like what if I said, "man, this salad is 24kt.!" It wouldn't make too much sense, would it?

No. It wouldn't. And if the front wasn't awful enough, the back reads "FLAWLESS: Perfectly round with a slight crack".

...I really don't know what else I can add. The jokes have already written themselves.

#7 APA: Always Pounding Ass

Hey guys? Maybe think about your verbiage a little more next time...

The APA were supposed to be a hard-headed duo of tough guys who smoked cigars, drank beer, and could beat literally anyone in a bar fight. So I do understand what they were going for here. I'd even be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe they simply didn't know of that connotation of the word "pounding".

Regardless, what an embarrassment this shirt was.

There's really not much else I can say about this shirt, other than I really don't think I'd like to attend this Bar & Grille anytime soon.

#6 Val Venis: I Am Cocked...

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that text is supposed to be

Since I can't put the AJ Styles shirt on this list, I'll put this one instead. And I'd argue that this one is WAY worse because at least with Styles' shirt it wasn't supposed to be...well, you know.

Val Venis' gimmick was that of a pornographic actor. His t-shirt read "I am cocked, locked, and ready to unload". You do the math.

This shirt knew exactly what it was. So, I ask - what self-respecting human being would ever willingly purchase this appalling piece of merchandise, let alone wear it? And I don't mean just in public - I mean anywhere. It's disgusting. It's a shirt I couldn't even imagine someone wearing on the set of a pornographic film. I don't even think the director of a pornographic film would wear this shirt.

Gross.

#5 John Morrison: We're Gonna Eat Your Lunch

Where do I start with this one?

Wait. What?

So apparently, John Morrison decided to name his fan base the "JoMoSapiens," which is dumb enough (I guess "MoFo's" wasn't PG enough). But it's even dumber when you realize that chimpanzees aren't even homo-sapiens. All you're left with, then, is the insinuation that John Morrison fans are a bunch of dumb apes. #BeAStar.

And then...what even is that on the back? "We're gonna eat your lunch"? Wh-why?

Is that supposed to be intimidating? Is that supposed to be funny? What does this have to do with John Morrison? Here, let me answer all three - don't know, don't know, and nothing. Let me know if you can make any sense out of it.

#4 Rikishi: Back Dat Ass Up

"Yes, hi, I'd like to try on that shirt with the big, wrinkly butt on the back", said no one

This is one of the only shirts that Rikishi ever got during his WWE run. And I think we can understand why - they didn't exactly have the best material to work with.

So let's take a look at this thing - the front reads "BACK DAT ASS UP!". Okay, that I can sort of let slide. After all, the rapper Juvenile had released a song of the same title around this time, so the phrase was pretty widely popular. It wasn't charming, but it was topical. And lord knows that the WWE often capitalizes (often poorly) on what's topical.

But then we get to the back of the shirt and we see the reason why this shirt is here - it's a giant picture of Rikishi's cellulite-ridden posterior in his signature black thong.

Now, let me ask you something - if WWE wanted to put over Rikishi's butt as this horribly disgusting thing, why would they ever print it on the back of a shirt? Why would they expect anyone to want to wear a shirt with something so repugnant on it?

This shirt stinks.

#3 D-Generation X: Vince Likes [Rooster]

Sadly, I owned this t-shirt at 14

When I was a teenager, I loved D-Generation X's run from 2006 - 2009. In retrospect, however, it was pretty terrible. It was all just a bunch of sophomoric humour and an overabundance of merchandise.

But of all the shirts they printed, this is by far the worst.

I don't entirely recall how this started, but at one point DX started taunting WWE Chairman Vince McMahon by saying that he "liked [obscene synonym for roosters]". How'd they get away with saying "c***ks" on television? Simple - roosters. There was even a segment where a man hand-delivered a rooster to Mr McMahon. It was low-hanging fruit, to say the least.

But they weren't content with just the occasional joke on TV. No, sir - they had to make a shirt out of it. Even when I owned this shirt, I never wore it because even a 14-year-old boy like me could see how abysmal it was in every regard.

Cash-grabbing, immature, and bordering on homophobic, this DX shirt was the worst WWE shirt of the 2000's.

#2 The Rock: Poontang Pie

Looks like Rocky is smelling something pretty putrid...it's probably the shirt

As I said in my previous list of the Best Shirts in Pro-Wrestling history, the "Austin 3:16" shirt was extremely influential. It inspired other wrestlers to print shirts with catchphrases on the front and logos on the back (or vice versa).

Enter The Rock, a man with many catchphrases. Among them were "layeth the smacketh down", "if you smell what The Rock is cooking", "The Rock says...," etc. He also had another one, but surely he wouldn't make a t-shirt out of that, right?

He did. He absolutely did.

There was a time when The Rock gained an affinity for eating "pie". But Rocky wasn't referring to grandmother's signature homemade apple pies - he was referring to women's genitals. He loved this type of pie so much that he made it into a t-shirt. The shirt featured a blue Brahma Bull eating a pie with no utensils and the words "Poontang Pie" in all caps underneath it.

Uhmmm... (Yeah, take a moment there my friend!)

First of all, that's a really dumb looking bull. Look at his face - he's got nothing going on upstairs. If a non-fan were to see this, what would go through their mind? Why would anyone allow their children to wear this? Why would anyone let themselves wear this? This is like the Val Venis shirt from earlier, only worse because The Rock was the much bigger star.

This shirt represents just about everything terrible about the Attitude Era - puerile humour, forced sexual humor, and rampant misogyny. I can only think of one worse...

#1 Chyna/Eddie Guerrero: Va-Chyna

Both of these performers, especially Eddie, deserved better than this piece of garbage.

If The Rock's "Pie" shirt represented almost everything awful about the Attitude Era, then this represented absolutely everything awful about the Attitude Era.

Alright, let me give you a quick rundown - one of Eddie Guerrero's first storylines in WWE was that he was courting Chyna, an imposing female wrestler that was often jokingly mistaken for a man, both in kayfabe and by fans. Now keep in mind that, at this time, Eddie Guerrero was rightfully considered one of the finest professional wrestlers in the world and Chyna was one of the biggest draws in the women's division.

So this is the best they could do? A shirt that says "Va-Chyna" (heh, get it?!) on the front and "Enter at your own risk" on the back? Really?

To start, this shirt made no sense for the Eddie Guerrero character. He was supposed to be somewhat of a Latin Lothario who seduced the "mamacitas" with his "Latino Heat". Why, then, would HE insinuate that Chyna was transgender? I mean, come on...how is "Va-Chyna - enter at your own risk" NOT implying that? This would've made a little more sense had they made it for DX, but honestly, it would probably still be on this list even if it were a DX shirt.

Secondly...Va-Chyna? Are we being serious here? Of all the low-hanging fruit that the WWE picked for the shirts that made this list, this is by far the lowest. Hell, it's practically touching the ground. This was a wholly unnecessary sex pun that made for a wholly unnecessary shirt.

So let's put it all together - misogyny, sex jokes for the sake of sex jokes, crass humour, and transphobic/homophobic tendencies...yep, this is the worst shirt that the WWE has ever made. It may even be the worst THING that the WWE has ever made. How anyone thought it was a good idea to make this shirt and sell it is beyond me.