10 Modern Wrestlers Who Embody The Spirit Of Classic Superstars

5. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt still draws comparisons to Waylon Mercy, which is completely justified considering that Waylon Mercy was the single biggest inspiration for the Bray Wyatt character. (Though both are indebted to Robert De Niro's portrayal of Max Cady in Cape Fear.) In fact, aside from the more cultish aspects of the Wyatt Family, Bray started out as almost a complete copy-and-paste job.

But as he's started to expand his character, Wyatt seems to be harkening back just a bit further than Waylon's Cape Fear ripoff, to a time in the early '90s when the WWE was beginning to experiment with darker characters that would appeal more to adults.

The Undertaker, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, and even the original iteration of Doink the Clown all stretched the boundaries of how ominous you could make a character during an era that favoured light-hearted gimmicks and silly, job-related characters.

Like Jake Roberts, Wyatt isn't going to win any awards for his technical wrestling abilities, but he doesn't need to. He's an incredibly gifted storyteller, not just on the mic, but as an in-ring performer. Jake's limited move set and darker ring psychology weren't the norm in his era, but he managed to make it work. Bray is doing well for himself using those same assets.