There have been so many great gimmicks over the years, it’s always fun to learn about their backgrounds. Just like how many movie fans enjoy peeking through their favorite movies to find out how they were made, WWE Fans also do this with their favorite superstars, and sometimes these two worlds collide, with many wrestlers referencing great movies to perform their moves.
10 Iconic Gimmick Wrestling Matches (And Their Worst Versions)
Wrestling has had a ton of gimmick matches, some of which were successful and some of which weren’t, but even the best concepts have suffered from terrible variance.
Grab a big bowl of buttery popcorn, devoted followers, and read on to learn how some of Hollywood’s greatest movies have been incorporated into some of wrestling’s best (and worst) gimmicks.
Updated: 2024/06/09 14:30 EST Benjamin Vieira
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” is a saying that has been used many times in regards to any art. Some are very original with their ideas, others look to other media for their characters. Of course, this is not a bad thing. But it all depends on how well they execute it. Professional wrestling has taken quite a bit of inspiration from television and film. Some have been very successful, others not at all.
Success – Razor Ramon watches Al Pacino classic
Character inspiration: Scarface
- Hall often used pop culture references for his characters.
- In the AWA, he mentioned Magnum PI.
- Scarface It was released in 1983.
Scott Hall had his finger on the pulse of a lot of pop culture during his time. As Big Scott Hall in the AWA, he looked like a combination of TV’s Magnum PI and wrestling’s Magnum TA. With the help of DDP, he built “The Diamond Stud” and not only landed a spot in WCW, but also got noticed by WWE. When they came calling, Hall took everything that was good about Stud and borrowed from the now cult classic Al Pacino gangster movies. ScarfaceHe was so great as Razor Ramon that Puerto Rican Damian Priest, who was a major influence on “The Bad Guy,” was genuinely disappointed when he first found out that Razor wasn’t actually Cuban or Spanish.
Failure – Seven was one of Dustin Rhodes’ worst characters.
Character inspiration: Dark City
- The character appeared once in WCW.
- Television executives didn’t like the character.
- Dark City It was a notable noir film.
The name of Dustin Rhodes’ creepy late-WCW character recalls one of the greatest crime thrillers of all time, The Seven, but at least the look was influenced by some obscure mid-90s sci-fi/noir. Dark City.
Dustin was cast as one of the “Strangers” from the film, aliens who kidnap people and hope they’ll help save the world. No one knows what that has to do with Seven’s child abduction. The idea was scrapped before it even got going.
Success – Sting turned to Brandon Lee
Character inspiration: Crow
- Sting debuted this gimmick in WCW.
- Brandon Lee starred in the film.
- It was released in 1994.
Scott Hall’s arrival in WCW was another unexpected twist: after a backstage discussion with Sting about whether he should continue wearing surfer paint since he was growing his hair out, he suggested Sting watch a movie called “The Stinger.” CrowFor those unfamiliar with the film, it tells the story of a rock star who is brutally murdered along with his fiancé. A year later, he returns to “right the wrong”. This is exactly what happened in Sting vs. the nWo, minus the brutal murder and fiancé part. But obviously this storyline resonated with Sting, who stuck with “The Crow Sting” for over 25 years.
Failure – Oz was Kevin Nash’s early gimmick
Character inspiration: The Wizard of Oz
- Nash looked ridiculous in the role of Oz.
- It’s one of wrestling’s worst gimmicks.
- Nash was quickly repackaged as Vinnie Vegas.
Aside from the fact that Oz is the Wizard of City and Legend, Kevin Nash looked really lame when playing the real-life jolly green giant. Nash as Oz, flanked by a masked Kevin Sullivan and a capuchin monkey, is one of the few pieces of material that is widely acknowledged as the worst gimmick of all time. And he was smart enough not to give this walking nightmare a $300-a-night contract, so the company phased him out and eventually repackaged him with Vinnie Vegas.
Success – Chris Jericho’s “Honest Man” was inspired by a timeless classic
Character inspiration: No Country for Old Men
- Jericho has used a variety of gimmicks.
- Anton Chigurh played the bad guy. No Country for Old Men.
- Jericho used the character during his feud with Shawn Michaels in the late 2000s.
A master of disguise and gimmick changes, Chris Jericho has sported a new gimmick almost every year since he’s been in the industry, and his best gimmick was when he was feuding with Shawn Michaels. No Country for Old MenChris Jericho is probably a confused “honest guy” who has no idea why fans root for a liar like Shawn Michaels.
Chris Jericho’s wrestling career ranked from worst to best
One of Chris Jericho’s best qualities is his willingness to reinvent himself, constantly evolving with different looks over the years.
FAIL – Zeus was taken straight from a terrible WWE movie
Character inspiration: No limit
- Zeus was played by Tiny Lister.
- Lister appeared in the following films: Friday and dark Knight.
- He teamed with Randy Savage.
When WWE first released No Holds Barred, they also added the film’s leading heel to their team. Tiny Lister played Zeus, the crazy beast who couldn’t beat Hulk Hogan’s Rip Thomas in the film. That defeat prompted Zeus to come to the real WWE to attack Hulk Hogan. But even teaming up with guys like Randy Savage and Sensational Queen Sherri couldn’t hide how ridiculous this was.
Success – Tyler Breeze was inspired by Derek Zoolander
Character inspiration: Zoolander
- Breeze works as a trainer for WWE and also works on the indies.
- Zoolander It was released in 2001.
- The film is directed by Ben Stiller.
In the early days of NXT, Matt Clement was one of the trusted hands but struggled to find the right character to play. He then took inspiration from the greatest supermodel of all time, Derek Zoolander. He became Tyler Breeze and never looked back, adding some ridiculous furry tights and a ring jacket, a selfie stick and his own version of Derek Zoolander’s signature look, the Magnum.
FAIL – Paul Burchill Incorporated Popular Movies Into His Look
Character inspiration: Pirates of the Caribbean
- Burchill said he is related to Blackbird.
- He continued to use this gimmick throughout the mid-2000s.
- He feuded with William Regal.
When Johnny Depp first donned the eyeliner and weird pirate accent in 2003, it caused a Hollywood frenzy and spawned the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It was bound to happen in WWE eventually. Paul Burchill tried a few gimmicks, including a strange relationship with his sister, Katie Lee, before jumping into arenas doing his best (or worst) impression of Captain Jack Sparrow.
Success – Robert De Niro inspires Waylon Marcy and Bray Wyatt
Character inspiration: Cape Fear
- Wyatt and Marcy were inspired by the characters of Max Cady.
- De Niro starred in the 1991 remake. Cape Fear.
- Wyatt had a doll named Marcy as a homage to Danny Spivey’s character.
Bray Wyatt has evolved since his original incarnation, but it was that first version that captivated WWE fans, with his gentle Southern gentleman character derived from Dangerous Danny Spivey’s Waylon Marcy character.
It was a fitting tribute to Robert De Niro’s character Max Cady in the remake of Cape Fear. In both the film and the ring, Cady, Marcie and Wyatt all played nice but dangerous characters until they either snapped or betrayed one another.
Failure – Kazuchika Okada’s bad gimmick caused tension between NJPW and TNA
Character inspiration: The Green Hornet
- Okada was with TNA from 2010 to 2011.
- The man who came up with this idea was Vince Russo.
- TNA apologized for the gimmick in 2017.
Explaining Kazuchika Okada’s forgotten legacy as “Okato” in Impact Wrestling
Kazuchika Okada is one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling today, but his time as Okato in Impact Wrestling was the lowest point of his career.
It’s amazing to think that Kazuchika Okada, who would go on to become one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, was in TNA early on in his career. However, like so many different aspects and wrestlers in TNA, the promotion didn’t know what to do with him and barely used him. Vince Russo, of all people, decided to put him on TV, but it was a disappointing rip-off of Bruce Lee’s Kato. The Green HornetThis embarrassment led to NJPW not doing business with TNA for years.
