Seiya Sanada And The Case Of The Shrinking Shirt

Another piece of fashion commentary gold from New Year Dash was TJP (again, put this man on red carpet commentary!) noting that the bottom of Sanada's shirt has been getting shorter and shorter since he joined the Bullet Club War Dogs. This kicked my curiosity into overdrive and, when that happens, there is only one solution: RESEARCH! Here's the results of rewatching multiple NJPW events dating back to Power Struggle - Super Junior Tag League 2024, terribly edited screencaps and all.

Heel Turns and Hemlines: The Evolution of Fashion in Pro-Wrestling, a Case Study of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Sanada*

So is TJP correct? Is Sanada's shirt getting shorter and shorter as time passes? If so, what does this mean? Let's look at the evidence.

Exhibit 1


Power Struggle - Super Junior Tag League (11/4/2024): The sad day when Sanada betrayed Taichi, but what really matters is the fit. The shadows threw me off at first, but the red line marks where the hemline of Sanada's shirt is. It's a tad higher than it would normally be as he is lifting his shoulders to take off his jacket. If he were in a relaxed position, it would be covering a little bit of his upper thighs, but not much.

Conclusion: We have our test case.

Exhibit 2


World Tag League Day 1 (11/19/2024): This might be the same shirt, but, if it is, the hemline has indeed risen a bit in height. It's not covering his thighs anymore. Based on some shirtless pictures of Sanada (and let me tell you, looking those up was truly the most difficult part of my research as I had to spend so much time looking at them. For research.), I think the hemline stops roughly where his bellybutton is.

Conclusion: Definitely a little shorter. Did he cut it? Did it shrink in the wash? We may never know, but there is a noticeable change.

Exhibit 3

 

World Tag League Finals (12/8/2024): This one was also a little tricky. When Sanada comes out, it looks like the same shirt, same length from the first day of World Tag League. However, when he gets up on the ring apron, we can see that the length of the hemline is not even all the way around. His shoulders are lifted a little, but not enough for the shirt to have ridden up quite that much. So the shirt does seem to have gotten shorter, but only in the back.

Conclusion: Definitely shorter in the back, likely caused by scissors. Is Sanada doing this himself, or was this a weird prank by someone else?

Exhibit 5


New Year Dash (1/6/2024): Definitely shorter! If it were not for my very scientific red line, you could see Sanada's bellybutton. As you can also see from said scientific red line, the hemline is cut at a weird angle again. The shorty-shorty trunks also appear to be rolled in at least once, revealing even more skin. 

Conclusion: TJP was right! Sanada's shirt has been getting shorter and shorter since he joined the War Dogs. 

Questions for further research 
1) Is Sanada altering these shirts himself? If yes, is he typically incapable of cutting in a straight line, or is this some kind of fashion statement? 

2) If no, is this some kind of weird prank? Who is behind it? Does Sanada not notice the changes in his shirt? Does he not care because he looks good in anything? 

3) Whether 1 or 2 is true, could this be signifying the beginnings of a slutty-presenting Sanada era?

4) How high will this hemline go? Will we eventually see all his abs? His pecs? Is he going to end up just wearing the collar of a shirt or that weird arm cover thing with straps across the back that Tanahashi's been wearing for a while now?  

Research Update
I have been preparing this post since I watched New Year Dash and, by the time I had it almost finished, Blue Justice XV had happened. I talked about Sanada's new shirt in a previous post, but it is also relevant here.

Exhibit 6

Wrestling Life 40th Anniversary Yuji Nagata Blue Justice XV (1/19/2025): Another new shirt, this one looking homemade as opposed to just home altered. The cut is still not straight, but it seems to be maybe a tad longer than the one from New Year Dash. Perhaps he is just eyeballing the line when he cuts and sometimes he gets it shorter, sometimes longer. Or maybe he is grappling with just how high he is willing to let that hemline go.

Conclusion: With consistent, ongoing changes in the field, more research** is clearly needed on this topic. I am now dedicated and will do my best to keep the community*** updated on any new developments.



*You can take the girl out of academia, but not the academia out of the girl (or at least out of her writing style).

**By which I mean staring intently at pictures and videos of Sanada.

***By which I mean me, myself, and I.

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