No good idea hasn’t been stolen in some shape or form in the world of entertainment.
There’d be no Black Mirror without The Twilight Zone, no Flintstones without The Honeymooners, and no Family Guy without The Simpsons. And since professional wrestling is known for ratcheting pop culture up to 11, so too is its “borrowing” of pop culture ideas in the development of some of its characters. Here, we’ve listed some of the most infamous pop-culture references that inspired some of our favorite wrestling personas.
Wrestler: Razor Ramon
Pop Culture Reference: Scarface
Before he became a WWE Hall of Famer, Scott Hall was known as the Diamond Studd in the WCW. Needless to say, he needed a fresh coat of paint when he went “up north.” When Hall met with Vince McMahon to come up with a new character, he asked if McMahon had ever seen the movie Scarface. Notoriously out of touch with most non-wrestling popular culture—the man didn’t know what a burrito was until the mid-2000s—Vince was clueless. Hall took advantage of this ignorance and essentially based his entire character on the infamous Pacino film. Thus, Razor Ramon was born. In anyone else’s hands, it might not have worked, but fortunately, Razor Ramon was a smash hit and to this day remains one of the most revered wrestling characters of all time.
Wrestler: Waylon Mercy
Pop Culture Reference: Cape Fear
By the mid-’90s, Dan Spivey had already worked with the likes of Sycho Sid, a pre-Undertaker “Mean Mark Callous,” and Scott Hall—to name a few. In the twilight of Spivey’s career, he was given one last run with the WWE and was rebranded as Waylon Mercy. Mercy’s character was directly influenced by the 1991 film Cape Fear remake—specifically, the character Max Cady as portrayed by Robert De Niro. Mercy wore Cady’s iconic Hawaiian shirts, applied temporary tattoos to mirror Cady’s, and cut his promos channeling the fearsome character. Though Mercy is still a cult favorite for many wrestling fans, Spivey had to retire earlier than expected due to a series of chronic injuries from his years in the squared circle. The legacy of Waylon Mercy lived on as it influenced the iconic cult-leader gimmick of Bray Wyatt.
Wrestler: Dudley Boyz
Pop Culture Reference: Slap Shot
From the land of Dudleyville came one of the most decorated teams in wrestling history: The Dudley Boyz. The Dudleyz were originally an entire family in ECW, consisting of many members, including but not limited to Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Spike Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley, Dances With Dudley, and of course, Big Dick Dudley. Despite being various sizes and races, they were all apparently the offspring of one journeyman wrestler, Big Daddy Dudley, who had seemingly spread his seed across the country. For their look, the Boyz drew inspiration from the infamous Hanson Brothers from the classic 1977 hockey movie Slap Shot. The Hansons were a trio of siblings who wore thick-rimmed glasses and were known as the fighting bruisers of the team. The Dudleyz were arguably one of the toughest tag teams to ever grace the ring.
Wrestler: The Toxic Turtles
Pop Culture Reference: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Many entries on this list are nuanced tributes to popular culture, but in some cases, like The Toxic Turtles, they can be complete and utter rip-offs. During the peak of early-’90s TMNT mania, a wrestling duo decided to make full-body suits that were eerily identical to those of the famous heroes in a half shell. They eventually did get noticed and were booked in a match in a WWE ring. The match was not televised (for obvious reasons), but thanks to the internet, the legacy of the Toxic Turtles will live on in wrestling history. Knowing that Mirage Studios would’ve been after blood if the Toxic Turtles ever made it to air, the grappling turtles were quickly shelved and never heard from again.
Wrestler: Kushida
Pop Culture Reference: Back to the Future
Yujiro Kushida is one of the purest talents to come out of Japan in recent years, gracing the rings of top promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling, TNA, and NXT. During his time in America earlier in his career, Kushida teamed with another great talent, Alex Shelley, to form the tag team, the Time Splitters. As a Time Splitter, Kushida changed his wrestling gear to mirror Marty McFly from Back to the Future, complete with an orange vest and glasses from the future (well, 2015). He even had an awesome entrance with a stand-in Doc Brown during his time in New Japan, complete with a DeLorean!
Wrestler: Glacier
Pop Culture Reference: Mortal Kombat
While WCW has given us a lot to look back on with fondness, they were also known for ideas that would make people scratch their heads. One of these was essentially their version of a Mortal Kombat character. In 1996, when Mortal Kombat was one of the biggest IPs in entertainment, WCW saw potential dollar signs and created a character that was pretty much a wrestling counterpart to Sub-Zero named Glacier. Glacier was a blue ninja whose wrestling moves and set consisted of mostly karate punches and kicks—and, oh yeah, it snowed when he made his entrances. Unsurprisingly, this character wasn’t long for this world and was quickly retired. However, you can still get a pic with ol' Glacier at many wrestling conventions as he has also become a cult favorite in the fandom.
Wrestler: Leatherface
Pop Culture Reference: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The wrestler known as Leatherface was not a slight nod to another character—Leatherface was, well, Leatherface. After his time in WWE came to an end, the former Corporal Kirchner took his talents to Japan in the early ’90s and decided to see what it would be like if the killer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was also a wrestler. The character was a spitting image, down to the mask of human skin, the butcher’s apron, and the chainsaw. Somehow, the wrestling Leatherface lasted years without any legal repercussions, so you can’t knock him for getting the bag.
Wrestler: Road Warriors
Pop Culture Reference: Mad Max
The Road Warriors are considered one of the best tag teams in wrestling history, if not the best. Two badasses who were not to be messed with in or out of the ring, Hawk and Animal exuded power and fear everywhere they went, from WWE and WCW to companies all over the world. Their look was lifted from the Mad Max films: two terrifying fighters from a post-apocalyptic world. In their early days, they looked more like the movies with their leather gear and strange hair; later, their look evolved to incorporate more metal and spiky shoulder pads. They even named their finishing move the Doomsday Device, which was feared by many wrestlers due to its brutality.
Wrestler: Sting
Pop Culture Reference: The Crow
This is a case, much like Razor Ramon, where using a character from pop culture catapulted a wrestler’s career to new heights. Sting was one of the names synonymous with WCW during the early ’90s. He was a blonde, neon-clad muscle man from Venice Beach who was kid-friendly; he was a clean-cut babyface who told his little Stingers to brush their teeth and avoid drugs. This persona worked fine for the early ’90s but as the aughts approached, anti-heroes became the new trend. People wanted characters with depth, flaws, and maybe a touch of evil to make them more human and relatable. During the invasion of the NWO, and after some advice from Scott Hall, Sting ditched the neon paint for a black trench coat, dyed his hair black, and painted his face black and white. Was he channeling Eric Draven as the “Vengeance of WCW”? Sting has recently said that he didn’t directly base the character off The Crow, but let’s call a spade a spade here, who’s he kidding?
Wrestler: Arachnaman
Pop Culture Reference: Spider-Man
WCW is back on the list once again with a not-so-subtle character rip-off. During the early ’90s, WCW rebranded Brad Armstrong (who was too talented to deserve such a ridiculous character) as Arachnaman, a wrestler who wore a Spidey-like purple-and-yellow costume covering his entire body and shot strings (or webs) out of his hands during his entrance. Arachnaman was billed as hailing from “Web City” and used a gymnast style full of tumbles and flips for his move set. To no one’s surprise, Marvel caught wind of this knockoff and sent a cease-and-desist almost immediately, thus ending the era of Arachnaman.
