20 Greatest Sneaker Icons In Pro Wrestling

Sneakers have had a very long connection to pro wrestling. While many of the greats of the past relied on boots to convey their swag and to protect their shins, the current generation has turned to kick pads to cover up their legs while rocking sneakers they are comfortable moving around in. And then of course you’ve got the wrestlers who made sneakers a big part of their character that has created a connection with the audience that previously wasn’t there before. Wrestlers, they can be sneakerheads just like us.

From cutting promos in the latest and greatest to delivering superkick parties in Jordans and Air Force 1s to building weekslong storylines revolving around who has them in their possession, sneakers becoming plot lines in pro wrestling is not a turn anybody expected. With WWE’s debut ESPN PLE taking place this weekend at the first-ever Wrestlepalooza, you can expect stars like John Cena, CM Punk, the returning AJ Lee, the Usos, and many more to attract some attention with their footwear choices.

To get you ready for the big show (no, not that Big Show), here are our picks for pro wrestling’s sneaker cream of the crop, aka the tower of power who's too sweet to sour and funky like a monkey and too hot to handle and too cold to hold.

Bret “Hitman” Hart: OG Sneaker Icon

To give you an example of how much wrestling shapes the worldview of their fanbase, there is a segment of wrestling sneakerheads who are adamant that the Air Jordan 11 was inspired by Bret Hart’s wrestling boots. At first glance, the similarities are undisputed (bay bay!), but in every single piece of documentation about the Air Jordan 11’s origins, neither Tinker Hatfield nor Michael Jordan have ever confirmed Bret’s influence. And when you consider some of Tinker’s most iconic designs were inspired by fighter jets, panthers, and Afropop, there’s no reason to believe the “best there is, was, and ever will be” wouldn’t have slid in nicely with that group.

Beyond the boots, however, people grew to appreciate Bret’s sneaker style through the years as classic photos emerged of him wearing everything from the original Air Jordan 1 High UNC to the Nike Air Trainer Max ‘96. CM Punk, a noted admirer of Bret’s work, was never really considered a sneakerhead until his most recent run through AEW and WWE. When he saw Bret wear the UNC 1s, Punk had to have the same sneakers. That’s the level of influence Bret Hart had on a generation of wrestlers that preceded him.

Killer Bees: Nike Dunk High Iowa

The Killer Bees tag team of "Jumpin" Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair might not be in anybody’s list of the greatest wrestling duos of all-time, but when it comes to coordinating their sneakers with their gear, they held the top spot for a very long time. Rocking the Iowa Nike Dunk High that was part of the model’s original Be True To You School program, the Killer Bees faced some of the greats at the time, including the Hart Foundation and Demolition. Ironically, the Iowa Dunks would once more be called to action to represent a different group of Killa Beez in the late 90s when Nike produced a limited run of the sneakers with the symbol of the Wu-Tang Clan. Seems like no matter how hard the Hawkeyes might try, they can’t escape the Bees or the Beez.

Kevin Nash: Air Jordan 13 Bred

Before he became Oz, Vinnie Vegas, Diesel, or one of the founding fathers of the NWO, Kevin Nash was a legitimate hooper. He played for the University of Tennessee in the late 70s (and was teammates with Magic Johnson for a game against the Russian Junior National Team) before taking his talents to Europe for a spell. A knee injury would derail his basketball career and eventually kickstart his wrestling journey, but that doesn’t mean Nash forgot his roots. As part of the NWO Wolfpac, Nash wore the Air Jordan 13 Bred when it was time to declare that they were indeed in the house. There’s also a famous picture of him lacing up the sneakers for a CBA exhibition. Unfortunately, there’s no video of the game. Maybe once Pablo Torre is finished burning the Los Angeles Clippers franchise to the ground, this can be the next thing he finds out.

Jim Ross: Air Jordan 12 Flu Game

No disrespect to other legendary announcers, but in the “voice of pro wrestling” hierarchy, there’s Jim Ross and everybody else. Ross’s calls and catchphrases were the soundtrack of a generation as he taught kids what a slobberknocker was and that there were few things tougher than a two dollar streak, like his sneaker game. During the height of the Monday Night Wars between the then-WWF and WCW, Ross would conduct in-ring interviews with Stone Cold Steve Austin in Flu Game 12s to match his iconic black and red Raw Is War jacket. As he tweeted a few years back, Good Ol’ JR was rocking Js decades before his beloved Oklahoma Sooners became a Jordan Brand school.

Rey Mysterio: adidas Chen-Tao Boots

Arguably the most stylish pro wrestler in history, Rey’s fits in and out of the ring kept everybody guessing like he’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the tunnel walk. Rey’s sneaker exploits include Jordans, Yeezys, Off-Whites and every luxury brand known to man. During his first run in the company that included winning the World Championship in 2006, Rey wore an obscure pair of boxing boots by adidas called the Chen-Tao. With a three stripes design that wraps around the bottom of the sneaker like the recent retro of the Taekwondo, Rey was just as ahead of the game in the ring as he was outside of it.

John Cena: Reebok Pump Omni Lite

These days, John Cena opts for a more lowkey sneaker profile as much of his final run in the WWE has been in black or white colorways of the APL TechLoom Pro. That was not the case during his Doctor of Thugamonics phase as he wore the Reebok Pumps and made like Dee Brown every time he was about to set up an opponent for the Attitude Adjustment F-U. The Pumps were a perfect compliment to Cena’s baggy jean shorts and throwback jersey style as he balanced being a respectable lyricist and certified cornball on his way to becoming one of the greatest WWE superstars of all-time.

Side Note: There’s an often repeated factoid shared by wrestling fans that John Cena is the only artist in the history of pop music to go platinum in their debut - 2005’s You Can’t See Me - and never release another album. Not only is that false, but Cena’s album didn’t even go gold. Redemption is on the way as Cena’s eponymous single sits at over 69 million streams on Spotify, and it takes 75 million to go gold.

Batista: Air Jordan XX8

After a prolonged hiatus that saw his star rise in Hollywood, Batista returned to the WWE in 2014 with the promise of a main event spot at Wrestlemania 30. The first step to making that happen was the company forcing Dave’s return down the collective throat of the fans with a predictable win at the Royal Rumble. While the booking of his return was uninspired and forced, it did eventually lead to a pivot back to his brilliant smarmy heel character that fans appreciated. What was not appreciated at the time was the way Batista turned a lot of heads with his updated gear that included the Air Jordan XX8 in various colorways. The new look may have been a welcome sight to sneakerheads, but wrestling fans had other thoughts. One particular pair even became a meme as the blue camo XX8 with matching blue gear had the fans up cackling as they called Dave “Bluetista.”

Shane McMahon: Air Jordan XXX

If Bret Hart was pro wrestling’s (accidental) OG sneakerhead, Shane McMahon carried the torch and made it a part of his persona. Shane’s daredevil approach to wrestling endeared him to fans and fellow performers who probably assumed he was nothing more than an untouchable nepo baby since he was the boss’s son. Watch a highlight reel of Shane falling with style from various heights and invariably you’ll see a classic sneaker on his feet.

The pair he wore when he took his biggest leap of faith was a gift from Jordan Brand, a Shane-O-Mac player exclusive of the Air Jordan 30 for a Wrestlemania 32 Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker. When that match was booked, everybody assumed Shane was going to jump off the top of the cell. What nobody was prepared for was the Cell being higher than it’s ever been and Shane still taking the risk. It’s a moment that will live on in Wrestlemania highlight packages for years to come and it might lowkey be the most important moment the Air Jordan 30 is attached to.

Nikki Bella: Mache Customs

Whenever you see a customized pair of Jordans and Dunks during a WWE event, there’s a very high chance that those kicks were courtesy of one of the best in the business, Mache. The veteran sneaker artist must be on retainer with the company because every few weeks, a Finn Balor or a CM Punk can be seen with another one of Mache’s creations. One of the original WWE superstars to put Mache to work is Hall of Famer Nikki Bella.

Her Mache sneakers have been a constant of her ring gear, including a Nike Dunk that was half Air Jordan 1 Bred and half camo for Wrestlemania 33. People might remember that as the night John Cena proposed to Bella in the ring. Granted, the engagement fizzled as Bella and Cena went their separate ways, but at least we’ll always have the memories of those Dunks.

Carmella: Air Jordan 7 Pure Platinum

As the Princess of Staten Island, Carmella lived up to the billing as she dressed up like an extra for an Iggy Azalea music video or that dreaded period when Miley Cyrus was into hip-hop and Air Jordans. The difference between them and Carmella was that she stayed true to her character and was rewarded with a win in the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match back in 2017, doing so in the Air Jordan 7 Pure Platinum that had just dropped a few weeks prior. Although the match would end in controversy as James Ellsworth - a man - was actually the one who pulled down the briefcase and threw it to Carmella, she would make up for it a few days later by re-winning the ladder match on her own.

Kofi Kingston: Nike Adapt BB 1.0

In Wrestlemania 35, Kofi Kingston made history as he became the first African-born WWE Champion in the company’s history. It shouldn’t have taken that long, but it could not have happened to a more deserving superstar than the veteran Kingston. To mark the occasion, Kofi tapped Mache to create a custom version of the Nike Adapt BB 1.0. Inspired by legendary New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the gold-colored kicks matched Kofi’s gear for the night as he turned in a performance of a lifetime against opponent Daniel Bryan.

The victory was a cathartic moment for Kingston and the fans as they practically willed this moment into existence after an injury to Mustafa Ali a few months earlier slotted Kingston into a spot and movement that would forever be known as Kofimania. 180 days later, Kofi would lose the belt to Brock Lesnar in a mere 10 seconds on the 20th anniversary episode of SmackDown in the same kicks, a moment that will forever live in infamy as one of Vince McMahon’s worst booking decisions.

The Rock: Under Armour Project Rock 2

During the height of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s days as a wrestler, he was more likely to be seen in a pair of $500 loafers to go along with his $500 Versace shirts than he was to wear a pair of trainers. That is, of course, until he had to sell his own kind of trainers. In 2019, to help usher in what would turn out to be the short-lived SmackDown era on Fox, The Rock helped out Becky Lynch in taking down Baron Corbin in a pair of his signature trainers, the UA Project Rock 2. The People’s Champ wore the People’s Trainers as he delivered the People’s Elbow and a Rock Bottom as he celebrated with Lynch on a job well done.

Eddie Kingston: Stealing The Young Bucks Dior x Air Jordan 1

As two of the co-founders and Executive Vice Presidents of upstart wrestling company All Elite Wrestling, Matt and Nick Jackson, aka The Young Bucks, revelled in getting a rise out of the terminally online wrestling fans. One of the ways they would push the buttons of older fans who felt the Bucks were killing the business was by flaunting their wealth and rocking obnoxiously expensive pairs of sneakers, like the Dior x Air Jordan 1. But just like everything else in pro wrestling, the sneakers would play a storyline role as rivals Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston feuded with the Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Championships. In one of their many altercations before their pay-per-view match at Double Or Nothing 2021, Kingston stole the Dior Jordans on the feet of Bucks while they were knocked out. Kingston would taunt the Bucks with the sneakers all the way to their match-up, which the Bucks would go on to win. After the match, they would get the sneakers back, although they probably needed to be cleaned after being involved in such a heated angle.

Young Bucks: Travis Scott x fragment design x Air Jordan 1 High

Wrestling fans and sneakerheads who waste their time debating whether The Young Bucks are real sneakerheads are missing the good work they are doing being jerks who use the sneakers to heighten their perceived status as EVPs. They love to incorporate their hyped kicks in matches, with the most famous example coming a few months after Double or Nothing at All Out 2021 against The Lucha Bros.

Deep into the match, The Bucks unveiled the Cactus Jack Fragment 1s with the bottom covered in thumbtacks in what was surely a nod to the original Cactus Jack, Mick Foley. And if you’re wondering if someone’s face ended up meeting those thumbtacks, the answer is absolutely, but we can’t show that here since this is a PG blog.

Jey Uso: Nike Air Force 1s

The greatest success story in pro wrestling in the post-pandemic era is the rise of Jey Uso from random twin in a tag team to arguably the most beloved superstar in the WWE. The signs were there for a breakout ever since The Usos got away from the face paint and the colorful entrances to a more realistic look and vibe, but it would take a seemingly throwaway storyline during the Thunderdome days outside of the Big 4 premium live events for fans to see Jey and his Air Force 1s in a new light. The momentum he built from those days when no one was in attendance to stadiums adopting “Yeet!” years after the word was no longer in style is a testament to Jey’s charisma. While Jey is opting for the white Air Force 1s as a babyface, it wouldn’t be shocking if he switched things up to black or red when the heel turn comes.

Seth Rollins: MSCHF Big Red Boot

Seth Rollins’ style evolution from CrossFit Jesus to a walking Fashion Week is something that needs to be studied when his career is all said and done. The meticulous attention to detail as he parades in some of the most outrageous fits the pro wrestling world has ever seen is a prime example of how performers need to constantly refresh their character in order to stay relevant with the changing times and audiences. Just like how we critiqued AEW wrestlers for jumping on the Dunk bandwagon a little late, Rollins gets credit for being in the thick of the madness of the MSCHF Big Red Boot saga as he wore them for a promo segment on Monday Night Raw with The Miz. For a few weeks the Astro Boy boots were on every social media aggregator feed and shortly after Rollins wore them, he was getting placement in accounts that normally wouldn’t cover pro wrestling. Mission accomplished, Seth…

Roman Reigns: Jordan Brand Athlete

Early in Roman Reigns’ career, he raised a lot of eyebrows like his cousin The Rock used to do when he wore a Nike Special Field Boot with white bottoms for a match. That’s how uninspired Roman’s ring gear became that a simple switching out of the boots made people take notice. By the time he got to his Tribal Chief phase, his looks and his footwear became more dynamic as he seemingly got the same Jordan Brand care packages that DJ Khaled keeps yapping on and on about in the meetings.

The culmination of the partnership came at Wrestlemania 40 when he was gifted an entire kit that included multiple Jordans with Roman’s branding and a special pair of boots that were Air Jordan 11-inspired. Since then, he’s rocked a ton of heat from the Jumpman, including Travis Scott’s signature Jumpman Jack and Nigel Sylvester’s Air Jordan 4 Brick by Brick, and more recently, a Stadium 90 PE that Bronson Reed wasn’t able to steal. No more “tribal thief” action, though we’d like to imagine Roman’s not too upset about losing Jordan 1 Mids and Spizike Lows.

Swerve Strickland: Reebok Answer 3 “Swerve’s House”

Reebok’s team-up with AEW has flown under the radar with special colorways made up for their top guys like The Young Bucks. It wasn’t until they unveiled the black and gold Reebok Answer 3 that got a lot of people’s attention if for nothing else, it was just fun to see the Answer 3 back in the spotlight once again. Inspired by Swerve’s outfit that he wore when he won the AEW World Championship in 2024 which was inspired by Black Panther, this sneaker ended up being an unofficial Marvel collaboration by proxy.

Bronson Reed: Tribal Thief

Channeling his inner Eddie Kingston, Bronson Reed snatched Roman Reigns’ Jordans after a pair of vicious attacks that left the Tribal Chief walking to the back without his Js. Adopting the nickname The Tribal Thief, the move elevated Reed from “guy who takes the pin for Seth Rollins’ faction” to someone who was worthy enough to get a premium live event match against Reigns. Granted, the whole story would have been a lot more effective if he stole hyped sneakers instead of GRs Lows that anyone can buy, but there’s no way Roman was going to let his shoes be paraded around even for a gimmick. As expected, Reed took the loss against Reigns, but getting that spotlight will only do wonders for his stock moving forward.

Dominik Mysterio: The Future

Ever since he turned on deadbeat father Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio has been on a path to not only superstardom, but doing the impossible and becoming the greatest Mysterio of them all. El Sucio De Los Sucios is now a double champion thanks to his victory at Worlds Collide that brought him the AAA Mega Championship. For years, he’s had the sneaker game to back it up, paid for by his deadbeat’s credit cards no doubt. Dom is a regular wearer and purchaser of obscenely expensive custom boots, Jumpman Jacks, and custom versions of Jordan 1s to match the colors of his faction The Judgement Day.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com