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InspirationGraphic Design

Nostalgic beers that celebrate the 'golden era' of professional wrestling

If you're a fan of grappling, fake tan and dramatic storylines, then these colourful wrestling-themed beers will quench your nostalgic, subculture thirst. Part of a collaborative "lockdown" side project by Glasgow-based Pim-Pam and Edinburgh's Want Some Studio, the fictional range pays homage to the 'Golden Era of Professional Wrestling'.

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Four colourful beer cans featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s on yellow, pink, blue and green backgrounds

From the drawing style and bright pop culture colours to beer naming and tone of voice, each can design hosts an iconic wrestling superstar from the 1980s and '90s. The goal was to create something that people would enjoy, engage with and reminisce about as they look back at some of the trailblazers of the professional sport.

"When I was a kid, I used to love WWF and would draw these guys from the photos in magazines," says illustrator Marco Bevilacqua of Want Some Studio. "So when Pim-Pam reached out for a potential collaboration, it almost felt like jumping off the top turnbuckle and slamming right back into the early '90s.

"The idea of working together and being able to share something with potential longevity to remind ourselves and honour that the golden era of wrestling was a real blessing."

Pim-Pam's Luke McCarthy adds: "In a time when the world feels quite uncertain, it was nice to get in a bubble and create something fun and colourful that brings back a glimmer of our youth.

"As we began to share the creative via social media, we received an amazing response with many people demanding we have these made."

Now Marco and Luke are hoping to turn the project into a reality, but they are facing some challenges. "The tricky part is intellectual property and imagery rights, which aren't the easiest to achieve on commercial products. We've started reaching out to the right places to look at gaining permissions from the wrestlers themselves – as ideally the beers could be brewed (even across several locations) with the view of having a charitable donation/percentage of proceeds going to some good causes," says Luke.

One wrestler the pair had contacted directly was Joe Laurenitis, better known as 'Road Warrior Animal', who tragically passed away recently. "We'd been in touch with his team on our approach, but with all that's happened, we only hope this could work as a tribute to the legendary team down the line," Luke adds.

"There are a few more in development, so depending on how things pan out we'd love to establish a full suite of wrestling legends – though perhaps we'll can it at 30 and have a Royal Rumble."

Three bright pink beer cans featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s, designed by Pim-Pam and Want Some Studio
Three yellow beer cans featuring a white-haired wrestler in a red and white feathered robe holding cans aloft against a turquoise background
Three blue beer cans featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s against a bright yellow background, including the "What A Rush" can design in the centre
Three purple and blue gradient beer cans featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s, with "Ravishing Ray Waxed" branding visible on the left can
Four colourful wrestling-themed beer cans featuring illustrated portraits of 1980s and '90s wrestling superstars against yellow, pink, blue and green backgrounds
Four wrestling-themed beer cans with colourful illustrated portraits of 1980s and '90s wrestling superstars on a bright yellow background
Bright blue beer can with wrestling-themed design showing humorous product description and ingredients list against yellow background
Four wrestling-themed beer cans displayed against a green background, featuring illustrated portraits of 1980s and '90s wrestling superstars with colourful purple and blue gradient designs
Four yellow beer cans featuring wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s, designed by Pim-Pam and Want Some Studio, displayed against a turquoise background
Four bright pink beer cans featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s, shown front, side and back views against a matching pink background
Vibrant purple beer can with yellow text reading "Cut The Music" and "Hit The Music" alongside wrestling-themed copy and ingredients list on bright green background
Four yellow beer cans featuring a wrestler in a red and white outfit shown from different angles, and four purple beer cans with a different wrestler illustration, displayed against turquoise and lime green backgrounds
Four blue cans labelled "What A Rush" and four pink cans labelled "Hop Foundation" featuring illustrated wrestling superstars from the 1980s and '90s, displayed against a yellow and pink background
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