I think that most of the most inspiring and creative shirts out there have such limitations. If things are boring without referencing, perhaps the viewer just doesn't have that imagination.
So let's start with the layout. The entire top of the design is chopped off. It's a big flat slice. there's no integration. same with the sides. then there's the issue of halftones. These are some sloppy, unnecessary, clunky halftones. they're not needed and quite honestly they're not very attractive. The lines and edges, also, are sloppy. there are times when imperfections like this are fine and good, but with the blocks of ink as they are, and the general style here, along with other bits like the layout and the upper thigh, where the tones and even chunks of all color disappear, it all just comes across as more of a mess than a cohesive piece.
It doesn't hurt that the dude in white looks like colonel sanders. Nor that this piece could be argued as being pure alt history, since there is such a glaring anachronism inserted.
So when I look at these things, it no longer becomes "I don't like this." it becomes a legitimate "I don't get how people could ever like this." And that is why I don't word it as personal opinion. Because the aesthetics go deeper than personal preference. It's simply sub-par by any viable viewpoint. Opinions have varying worths. They are not all equal. And the opinion that this is wearable and well done flies in the face of factual elements about the design.
