Playing dress up is part of the fun of being a professional wrestler. Hell, it’s part of the fun of being a professional wrestling fan. But it’s even more fun watching other wrestlers as their rivals mocking the way they dress and/or talk. In reality, it’s not that hard to impersonate a wrestler. Pro wrestlers are relatively one-dimensional cartoon characters. They oftentimes wear the same clothes and spout out memorable catchphrases. So, in the spirit of it being October and with Halloween and all, let’s look at some of the best moments in wrestlers dressing up as other wrestlers history.
Tag: John Cena
What Pro Wrestling and Comic Books Have in Common
While not necessarily a post regarding a certain wrestling-themed comic book series or character, our friends (although they don’t know it yet) over at http://www.comicbook.com broke down the 10 things comic books and pro wrestling have in common.
Continue reading “What Pro Wrestling and Comic Books Have in Common”
The Ultimate Bad Ass Wrestler
With Brock Lesnar having dominated John Cena at SummerSlam 2014 in a way nobody has ever done, and in a championship match no less, it’s only fitting The Art of Gimmickry explores the bad ass character. It’s safe to say that the idea or gimmick came about during the late 90’s, specifically around the Attitude Era. But not because of guys like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who was more of an anti-hero than a one-man wrecking machine. What really helped inform the creation of the bad ass gimmick was the rise of the UFC.
Quantum Leap
“Heart of a Champion – July 23, 1955”
Season 3 Episode 20
5/8/1991
Watching the opening title credits for Quantum Leap made me nostalgic for 80’s and 90’s cheesy TV opening credit sequences. I’m sure I’m not the only one who pines for the days of edited footage from previous episodes with terrible music and actors turning at the right time just as their name is displayed across the screen. Why else would WWE.com decide to reimagine Raw as a 90’s sitcom? Other than that bit of nostalgia, I don’t know much about Quantum Leap other than it used to be on after Monday Night Raw back in the day. Having watched this particular episode I kind of want to binge on the entire series courtesy of Hulu Plus. Then again, I’m sure the other episodes cannot compete with Scott Bakula time traveling to 1950s professional wrestling as a kayfabe Russian heel.
The Assimilated Foreign Wrestler
Oftentimes, a foreign wrestler who has such a strong hatred for America that it could only be remedied by moving to the U.S., joining the WWE, and fighting American wrestlers in American cities, with the occasional tour to other countries where they’re still booed, will sometimes turn babyface once they realize that America isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be. Usually, the foreigner’s xenophobic stance on American culture is gradually pacified by an American friend. Or, in the case of Tajiri and Kozlov, someone who speaks English better than they do. More often than not, despite how talented the wrestler is, assimilating to American culture means letting your guard down and becoming the comic relief. Because when we Americans aren’t busy trying to run foreign people out of our country, we’re usually laughing at them.
Ren & Stimpy
“Mad Dog Höek”
Season 2 Episode 5
11/21/1992
Like most of the episodes of Ren & Stimpy, there’s no context given or any kind of a backstory that sets up Ren and Stimpy finding themselves inside a wrestling ring opposite two large, roid-raging freaks. So let’s get right into it.
The American Militaristic Wrestler
What better way to honor Memorial Day than to spotlight the brave men who made the seamless transition of protecting our freedom overseas to protecting it in our hometown within the confines of the squared circle? And while Memorial Day honors those who served our country and are no longer with us, I didn’t want to wait until Veterans Day to showcase this particular gimmick. Now, seeing as this is in honor of Memorial Day, there’s no room here for your Gen. Skandor Akbars or Col. DeBeers. This is a look at American militaristic wrestlers. A gimmick that has seemed to fizzle out for the time being. Sure, Cena’s done a good job of trading in his rapping gimmick for the pseudo military thing he adopted after filming The Marine. Like, occasionally switching it up from wearing jorts to camouflage cargo shorts, pushing John Cena dog tags on WWE Shop Zone and, of course, incorporating the military salute into his entrance.
Barefoot Wrestlers
With Alexander Rusev making his second WWE wrestling debut, only this time on Raw, it only seemed fitting to take a look back at wrestlers who paved the way for him with their bare feet. Wrestlers who also just happened to be ethnic, and from some wild uncivilized place where shoes, and more importantly wrestling boots, are a luxury.
Ebony and Ivory Tag Teams
“Ebony & ivory fit together in perfect harmony.” – Stevie Wonder & Sir Paul McCartney.
With Survivor Series having just taken place, I feel that a certain aspect of the big time main event tag team match between The Rock & John Cena vs. Awesome Truth had been overlooked due to the magnitude of this somewhat-epic tag team match. That aspect? That this was the biggest match ever to take place between two teams consisting of ebony & ivory tag team partners. Continue reading “Ebony and Ivory Tag Teams”
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