10 Most Shameless Wrestling Ripoffs Ever

10. Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw

Ripped Off: Stan Hansen

Stan Hansen is John Bradshaw Layfield's favourite wrestler. This should be apparent enough from watching his work (and particularly his bruising Clothesline From Hell finisher - a shoutout to Stan's industry-best Lariat), but check this footage on the former Acolyte paying tribute to Hansen backstage at the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The man is beaming. Have you ever seen JBL so happy?

As a fixture in any credible greatest-of-all-time discussion, there are certainly worse guys to fawn over than Hansen, whose roughhouse style informs so many of today's brawlers. JBL's original WWE gimmick, however, was essentially a tribute act.

Justin 'Hawk' Bradshaw aped Hansen's wrestling style, attitude, and look, even going as far as swiping as signature hand gesture, cowboy hat, and bullrope. The very definition of a cheap knockoff, the character was fortunately short-lived as Layfield eventually transitioned into another tribute bit, this time as one half of the New Blackjacks, before eventually forging his own identity as an Acolyte. Echoes of Hansen's style would pepper his work for the rest of JBL's career, though the aping was never as gratuitous.