Last night was historic for the world of wrestling as WWE took its flagship program, Monday Night Raw, off of cable television, moving from the USA network after 1,649 episodes to now broadcast weekly on Netflix. To usher in this new Netflix Era, the wrestling promotion brought out just about every big name you can think of, from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, and other WWE Hall of Fame legends, alongside a stacked card of matches that helped wrap up multiple different storylines.
The night's first match involved arguably the biggest star in WWE, Roman Reigns, and his cousin Solo Sikoa, fighting in a "tribal combat" match for the right to wear the Ula Fala, a traditional Samoan necklace often associated with leaders and royalty. In WWE’s storyline, the Ula Fala represents the ultimate symbol of power, with only the true tribal chief deemed worthy of wearing it. During this match, Roman beat Solo to regain the Ula Fala; he paid tribute to the great Kobe Bryant with a custom pair of Nike Kobe 9 Elite Protros.
Roman is no stranger to taking the ring in highly coveted sneakers, as not only has he worn multiple Jordan retros, Travis Scott sneakers, and other models from both Nike and Jordan Brand, but he even had custom Air Reigns gear created for him during Wrestlemania 40 back in April 2024. Customized by Coessneakers, the pair uses the Nike Kobe 9 Elite Protro Halo as the base, with the upper being painted in Roman’s favorite color, red, alongside tribal patterns in black and white. Roman’s logo is painted onto the toebox alongside his iconic pose, hitting the Superman punch.
In a press conference following the show, Roman stated, “Everyone’s got such a deep respect for Kobe and what he brought to the game,” and that the pair would be auctioned off with proceeds donated to a children’s hospital. Although most of us won’t have a chance to secure this 1-of-1 custom, Nike has plans for multiple Kobe 9s in the near future, including the Kobe 9 Elite High Protro What The in April and a pack of Kobe 9 EM Lows in team bank colors for the Fall 2025 season. Check below for detailed images of Roman’s Nike Kobe 9 Elite Protro customs, and download the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.
Images via Coessneakers
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
