Ken Tuccio knows that not every grown man is comfortable walking around in a T‑shirt featuring a sweaty and shirtless John Cena.
But he’s betting they’ll be cool sporting a T‑shirt reading “Monsoon/Heenan 2012” or “I Broke Wahoo’s Leg.”
If you have any clue as to what those messages reference, check out Barber Shop Window.com, an online store Tuccio launched in October.
Tuccio sells professional wrestling-themed shirts. But they’re not your traditional wrasslin’ shirts. Tuccio’s T‑shirts have subtle wrestling references that appeal to hardcore wrestling fans and ironic hipster fashionistas.
The T‑shirt “I Broke Wahoo’s Leg,” is an obscure reference to old-school wrestler Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, famous, as we all know, for his “figure four leg lock.”
In the late 1970s, the wrestling icon wore a T‑shirt with the message, referencing a match between Valentine and Chief Wahoo McDaniel.
“Monsoon/Heenan 2012” is a reference to the greatest color commentators in the history of athletic entertainment — WWE legends Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “the Brain” Heenan.
Even the name of Tuccio’s business, Barber Shop Window, is an in-joke to wrestling fans.
“It’s a famous scene involving the Rockers, Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels, a WWE tag team in the late 80s and early 90s,” Tuccio said.
Ah, thank goodness for YouTube. Here’s the scene:
Hence, the barber shop window phrase is famous in wrestling circles, Tuccio said.
Tuccio, 29, grew up in Ansonia and now lives in Norwalk. He’s a graduate of Notre Dame High School in West Haven and has a degree in political science from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He’s a freelance web designer who has been toying with the idea of launching an Internet business for years.
Technology has made it relatively simple to design your own T‑shirt and open a shop online. There is an endless list of websites that already sell “parody” T‑shirts. Often the shirts are more clever and less obvious than officially-sanctioned mass produced shirts featured in the local mall.
Some of the most popular T‑shirt sites on the web include T‑Shirt Hell, a site featuring offensive shirts, and Busted Tees, which features funny shirts that won’t embarrass your mom.
Then there are sites with T‑shirts dedicated to specific niches, such as MondoTees.com, which specializes in cult movie T‑shirts. Basket Case T‑shirt, anyone?
Tuccio said there aren’t many ironic parody shirts aimed at professional wrestling.
“I had the idea about 10 years ago, but being very young I didn’t have the knowledge or the means to make it a reality,” Tuccio said. “But time went on, no one came out with a site, so I moved forward with it,” he said.
Tuccio ups the ante by putting out his shirts for a limited time. They come out every few days — and when they’re gone, they’re gone. The shirts sell for $20 each.
He uses two Derby companies — City Stitchers and Visionary Edge — to make the T‑shirts.
Tuccio said business has been good. He does some advertising on websites popular with wrestling fans, but people find out about the site through Twitter, where wrestling fans gush about the shirts. Click here for Barber Shop Window’s Twitter feed.
“It’s mostly word of mouth,” Tuccio said.
One of their big supporters on Twitter is former “Survivor” cast member and self-proclaimed reality television “icon” John Dalton, better known as “Jonny Fairplay.” He’s the guy who lied about his grandmother dying while on “Survivor.”
On Thursday, Fairplay was excited Barber Shop Window produced a shirt that references “They Live,” a cult movie starring wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper.
“SWEET! anyone looking for COOL wrestling shirts, check these guys out! They have a freakin’ THEY LIVE shirt!” Fairplay wrote.
Tuccio said the biggest seller so far is a shirt that combined wrestling with “Star Wars.”
The shirt featured Darth Vader with the word “HEEL” printed underneath.
Heel in the inside wrestling term for bad guy.
The references to wrestling could bring Barber Shop Window to the attention of World Wrestling Entertainment, based in Stamford. They’re known for aggressively protecting their brand.
Is Tuccio worried his T‑shirts could tick off the titans at the WWE?
“Everything we do falls under parody, or is such a vague reference, I don’t think it would violate any copyright,” Tuccio said.
