Hey Scott --
I thought this might be an interesting topic, especially for younger fans who may be aware of certain wrestling characters but unaware of the original inspiration for them. Obviously wrestling has lots of characters based on general archetypes or occupations (garbage men, plumbers, tax men, etc.) but a fair amount have been inspired by real people and events or characters in popular fiction.
A few obvious ones that I can think of:
Cactus Jack: Once known as Cactus Jack Manson, a gimmick that was chosen due to Foley's passing resemblance to cult leader Charles Manson. I suppose the gimmick had some aping of Manson characteristics early on as well.
Sgt. Slaughter: As an Iraqi sympathizer in response the the incredibly high ratings for CNNs coverage of the 1990-1991 Gulf War / military conflict.
Magnum T.A.: Based upon the look and namesake of Tom Selleck's character Magnum P.I.
The Bolsheviks: In reference to the Russian Revolution, but mostly just used to exploit ongoing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.
"Perstroika" Nikolai Volkoff: Vince's way of reflecting the change in the relationship with the Soviet Union as well as its dissolution (via a face turn and teaming with Jim Duggan) and the falling of the Berlin Wall.
Vince McMahon: Well, he must be based on a Roman Emperor like Caligula -- with all the family in-fighting, potential for incest and insatiable appetite for power.
Two I have wondered about are Nikita Koloff and Berlyn.
I assume Berlyn was supposed to be some sort of Holocaust denier, but was there anything specific in the news at the time that may have prompted that character? Nikita Koloff I always assumed was just a generic Cold War villain, but was he actually based on a specific person?
Any others?
Berlyn came out of nowhere as far as inspiration that I can remember. Koloff was just your standard evil Russian.
A few more I can add off the top of my head: "Simon Dean" was a rib on Dean Malenko (real name Dean Simon), and obviously Steven Richards as the leader of the RTC was a subtle comment on L. Brent Bozell. There's tons of others because wrestling isn't known for its creativity and originality, generally speaking.
Waylon Mercy based on Cape Fear!
ReplyDeleteI know who Ric Flair WASN'T based on...an accountant. Woooooooooooooo!
ReplyDeleteRazon Ramon - Manolo from Scarface
ReplyDeleteI believe Bret Hart's "majorett" jacket and hair was based off Micheal Jackson, and the Rock's eyebrow raise and haircut was based off of Dr. Spock.
Montel Vontavious Porter was based on Terrell Owens, but wasn't good enough to back that up. They also called Shelton Benjamin the "Terrell Owens of the WWE" but didn't go anywhere with it. Too bad: he should have been holding press conferences where he threw Charlie Haas under the bus one week, then cried and said "that's my teammate. That's my tag team partner" the next.
ReplyDeleteBerlyn as a Holocaust denier?! As far as I dimly remember he was supposed to be a post-Matrix rich Eurotrash fascist...
ReplyDeleteThen again, it wouldn't be the first WCW character inspired by the Final Solution.
What about that stupid backstage thing on RAW they did with Shelton that was apparently a parody of some skit that the NFL did? Was that supposed to be Owens too?
ReplyDeleteBerlyn: The Holocaust didn't happen!
ReplyDeleteThe Harris Brothers: No, it happened. And it was AWESOME.
Yes. Owens had done a skit with one of the Desperate Housewives to open up an episode of Monday Night Football. The nfl got into some hot water over the skit (the usual "What about the children???") nonsense, so naturally Vince did the same thing the next week.
ReplyDeleteWaylon Mercy: Max Cady from Cape Fear
ReplyDeleteDolph Ziggler: Dirk Diggler from Boogie Knights
Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz: Cincinnati Reds mascot / 1994 MLB strike
Stone Cold Steve Austin: serial killer Richard Kuklinski
Sting: The Crow
Triple H as God.
ReplyDeleteROB. VAN. DAM
ReplyDeleteHe was brought out with definite Nazi implications, with a lot of fascist looking imagery and an Aryan translator, but then they panicked and ditched all the accoutrements and just had him do the armpit dance again.
ReplyDeleteHulk Hogan as the Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk.
ReplyDeleteGod doesn't think he's Triple H.
ReplyDeleteTo be the man, you have to beat the man... Somewhere other than a court of law.
ReplyDeleteI thought Razor was supposed to be Tony Montana, the whole "say hello to the bad guy" schtick and all.
ReplyDeleteThe Artist formerly known as Prince Iaukea - Prince
ReplyDeleteKwee Wee - Some SNL character, I think
Paul and Katie Lea Burchill - Cruel Intentions
Mike Awesome's 70s gimmick - That 70s Show
Didn't WCW go through a period in the early 90s where they ripped off popular fictional characters, but made enough changes to avoid being sued (although knowing WCW, they probably *did* get sued)? The Juicer (Beetlejuice) and Arachnaman (I'm blanking on the inspiration for this one) come to mind. I think there were others, though.
ReplyDeleteKwee Wee would be based on Kiwi, yes. As a said, creativity wasn't exactly a hallmark of anyone in wrestling.
ReplyDeleteWas "James E." Cornette supposed to be some sort of shot at Jimmy Carter?
ReplyDeleteAlso , Hunter Hearst Helmsley was obviously a comment on Leona Helmsley.
ReplyDeleteJohnny B. Badd- Little Richard
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and that singer everybody seemed to like...Totally ripped off the Honky Tonk Man. Elvis who?
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Bruce Lee, I suppose, but it's odd to think of it like that.
That was actually a pretty funny skit by WWE standards as they just stuck to mocking how dumb the original MNF sketch was in the first place. You had Trish in the towel but also wearing her plastic faceguard from the time period, plus nonsense like Vince saying, "I don't know if you realize this Shelton, but you're African-American." It was goofily tongue-in-cheek and actually timely, unlike now when you have Vickie Guerrero spoofing Elaine's dancing on Seinfeld 16 years later.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Vince's enthusiastic "are you ready for some wrestling?!" was actually a helluva tag line. Had he said "are you ready for some sports entertainment?!" it would've sounded terrible.
Trish in a towel >>>>> Nicollette Sheridan in a towel
There was no similarity between their actual personas but I found it weird that within a decade of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols dying, there was a pro wrestler with the same name. I'd be like if WWE had debuted Test in 1999 under the name of Kurt Cobain and never made a Nirvana reference.
ReplyDeleteAlso, kinda surprised that lawsuit-happy Lucasfilm didn't pursue legal action against Vader.
I forget the specifics, but the character of Eugene was inspired by the son of someone closely associated with WWE. He's here in Pittsburgh, and a friend of mine has pointed the guy out on numerous occasions.
ReplyDeleteBuzzkill was based on Road Dogg. :P
ReplyDeleteArachnaman was based on Spider-Man (hey, Brad again).
The Juicer was based on Beetlejuice.
Robbie E was based on Pauly D, and Cookie and Snooki.
The Road Warrior (Animal, back before there was an LOD, and even then the LOD was a stable) was based on the Mel Gibson movie, I believe.
TAFKAPI was based on TAFKAP.
Well actually he was based off of Chris Kattan's character Mango, although once they did one when someone (Dana Carvey, maybe?) was guest hosting and called him Kiwi. The WCW character was originally called Kiwi, and then they changed it to Kwee Wee because they apparently thought that gimmick was too subtle as it was and they really had to beat you over the head with "THIS GUY'S KWEEEEEER! SO WE CALL HIM KWEE WEE!"
ReplyDeleteKISS Demon based on Gene Simmons' Demon persona (which is why he was always featured in a "co-main event").
ReplyDeleteThe original FBI were based on stereotypical Italians. :)
With the Cactus Jack thing I think we had already been wrestling under that name for awhile. If I recall in his book he mentions that he bought a wrestling role-playing board game or something, and at one point his dad played, and referred to himself as "Cactus Jack Foley". When Mick started wrestling, he wanted to be Dude Love, but knew he wasn't 'ready' or something to take on that persona, so he came up with Cactus Jack on the fly.
ReplyDeleteThe Manson part was added later, and when he signed with WWF initially Vince wanted to call him "Manson The Muitilator" before Mick was like "uh no"
The look was Manolo. Catchphrases were Tony's.
ReplyDeleteAny idea who that is?
ReplyDeleteI remember there being a mentally challenged kid who would help out ringside at all the local WWF house shows by grabbing the entrance gear for the guys. I even remember Savage encouraging him to put on the neon cowboy hat once which made the kid seem very happy.
HHH would never disrespect this business or the WWE Universe by no-showing a
ReplyDeletePPV.
You mean Jesus Christ, the King of Kings!
ReplyDeleteCatholic school represent!
Does Hogan still have to pay Marvel royalties for that? I remember that being the reason why he became Hollywood Hogan in WCW, so that they didn't have to pay royalties to Marvel to use the "Hulk" name.
ReplyDeleteArt Barr did the Beetlejuice gimmick prior to and after his WCW run actually, mostly in Portland Wrestling. Arachnaman is a good one. Oz is probably the most famous one I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI knew I could count on you guys to come up with more lol.
ReplyDeleteOne I just realized I forgot in my original email and nobody mentioned was Kevin Nash as Oz. I've never read the Oz books, so I'm a little bit confused on who Kevin Sullivan was supposed to be, but at least they accessorized him with the monkey.
The only thing I remember about that night was the Cowboys getting BLOWN OUT by the Eagles.
ReplyDeleteBret's jacket was definitely a Beatles thing.
ReplyDeleteJohn Cena based on Every Masshole Ever.
ReplyDeleteVince wanted to call him Mason the Mutilator. Yes, I'm THAT guy.
ReplyDeletewhy do you think his translator was supposed to be "aryan" and not just german?
ReplyDeletePaul and Katie Burchill were about seven years too late.
ReplyDeleteThe MVP thisng wasn't supposed to be Terrell it was MVP's own idea, he worked as a bouncer in Miami and claimed the truely amazing atheletes turned up withoout an entourage and were approachable, the second stringers were the ones who needed the ego boost. Now I don't know TO that well but does that describe him?
ReplyDeletePS that skit was pretty awesome
I've never seen Deliverance, but I have a sneaking suspicion that at least one of Vince's hillbilly characters (Hillbilly Jim/Cousin Elmer/Godwinns/Freddy Joe Floyd) is more or less directly inspired by it.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Nailz also based on a specific guy?
Blood Runs Cold was intended as a shameless Mortal Kombat ripoff.
The unfortunate "Stewart Pain."
Also didn't they bring in IRS when the WWF was having tax problems? Of course , the Quebecers were formed because the RCMP sued over the portrayal of The Mountie.
Yep, thousands of fans were screaming, "We want God!" at Backlash '06. We were waiting for that hot tag where He'd come in and hit the McMahons with his signature moves like The Reckoning, The Wrath of God, and The Holy Driver (which doesn't have to be seen to be believed). And then Shawn and God would parade around the ring like Rocky and Apollo after a race on the beach. But then... nothing. It's almost as if He thought He was bigger than THIS BUSINESS.
ReplyDeleteProbably someone mentioned the name in passing to Crockett or Jim Barnett or whoever and not being familiar with the Sex Pistols, he greenlit it.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they end up having to pay Marvel anyway?
ReplyDeleteDown in Memphis, they had Nightmare Freddy and Cowabunga the Ninja Turtle. And in Japan, there's Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger.
ReplyDeleteFreddie Joe Floyd was a rib on the Brisco Brothers. And Alberto Del Rio's character is based on Mil Mascaras' real-life personality.
That name is actually a combination of Leona Helmsley, William Randolph Hearst, and someone else for the "Hunter" part. Pretty clever, actually.
ReplyDelete"The Dragon" was specifically added to his name by WWF because of his resemblance to Bruce Lee, so it's not that odd.
ReplyDeleteKane is based on Jacob Goodnight.
ReplyDeleteHow about a wrestler based on the writings of KOOL KEITH~?!?!
ReplyDeletehe could close out vignettes by saying "Wrestlers suck my dick and they girls drink my pee"..
ReplyDeleteSpock never got his MD
ReplyDeleteSurprised no one has mentioned the Virgil/Vincent thing. Virgil was named after Virgil Runnels(Dusty) because Vince thought Dusty sounded like a black guy and then got the name Vincent after Vince. Also wasn't he named Shane too?
ReplyDeleteRob Van Dam got his name From Jean-Claude Van Damme, based on their similar look and he also happens to throw a lot of kicks and do the splits. dunno if JCVD smokes pot all the dang time.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth pointing out that the WWF in the late 80s had no fewer than three characters dedicated to ribbing Dusty Rhodes. In addition to Virgil, there was Akeem the African Dream and Dusty Rhodes himself in polka dots.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of wrestling, those are the same thing.
ReplyDeleteLucasfilms pursued legal action to the great
ReplyDeletehttp://bigvanvader.webs.com/ so they had to change the URL to bigvancrush. Appears to be changed back though, so hooray.
Half shark-alligator, half-man!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of this, have any of you seen this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvB9soqceQA&noredirect=1
Well "Aryan" just means having that blonde hair, pale skin, blue eyed look. Not specifically referring to a Nazi, just Hitler's ideal of the perfect human race.
ReplyDeleteProbably. I know certain video games he was in had a little "Thanks to Marvel, Enterprises" tag or some such. I think he had to really dig in & reclaim the trademark once he got the reality show & stuff. I'm not sure if he's had to cut out the shirt-ripping since then.
ReplyDeleteI would doubt it for Deliverance with the Hillbillies, they were all fun-lovin' simpletons whereas the hillbillies in Deliverance were psychotic twisted rapists. Some say the Godwinns when they turned heel were supposed to be inspired by it but mainly all they did was change their music to a banjos & pig squeals thing, which would maybe refer to Deliverance. The closest the Hillbilly Jim family would come to a move reference is probably the Beverly Hillbillies, or Emmet Otter's Jug Band from the Muppets.
ReplyDeleteRip Rogers
ReplyDeleteA good line, but not exactly accurate. Not enough Adidas track suits. I think I'd like Cena about ten times more if his gimmick were a loveable, wiseass Southie hooligan. Maybe I'm too close to the source, but if that's what he's going for, he fails miserably. He just reeks of suburban poser.
ReplyDeleteEric Clapton and Gary Ablett don't think they're Paul LeVesque
ReplyDeleteWorks for me
ReplyDeleteNope. James e. was an ode to the lavish and gay wrestling promoter Jim Barnett, who was James e. Barnett. He stayed around wrestling all the way to 2002 when he kept pushing management to do something with a charismatic youngster named john cena.
ReplyDeleteDidn't someone eventually force Vader or WCW to drop the "Big Van" part from his title?
ReplyDeleteSting - Sting?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiZaqhuL6nU
ReplyDeleteVader is Dutch for father, so it would be difficult to push too hard. It's not like he used the Dark Side of the Force or anything else SW-related.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that Hunter wasn't really a blueblood. Good try, though.
ReplyDeleteHe is the original Black Elvis.
ReplyDeleteWithout hearing any info about where it came from the MVP character to me smacked of TO. God I hate that idiot and am glad he didnt last in his comeback this year. He was a total elitist jackass who thought he was owed evertying and when chips were down would blame everybody else. Which really does make for a great wrestling heel.
ReplyDeleteMust be Rip Hunter. One of the Time Lords.
ReplyDeleteThe Dudley Boys were based of the Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot.
ReplyDeleteScott Hall is on record as saying he got the Razor Ramon gimmick when Vince heard him quoting the movie Scarface verbatim
ReplyDeleteWhat is with Vince and Hillbilly characters??????
ReplyDelete