8 Wrestling Events That Pulled Inspiration From Strange Places
If in need of inspiration, it's time to turn to Baywatch, South Park, dive bars, and patriotism.
In 2019, it's so rare to see a wrestling show that looks any different to what was seen last week and what will be seen the following week.
Generic, formulaic, and uninspired are just three terms that can be applied to the vast majority of wrestling events when it comes to their look and layout these days.
Over the decades, of course, there have been some wrestling shows that have looked nothing if not unique, and there was a spell during the Monday Night Wars and beyond where every single PPV had a tailor-made special theme to it.
What we're going to explore here, however, is the inspiration behind some of the different stages and setups used for wrestling shows over the years. Not only that, but we're looking at the more odd and strange inspiration behind some of these notable PPVs or TV shows.
It's obvious that an event taking place on Halloween would pull ghoulish inspiration from Halloween - à la WCW's Halloween Havoc - and that a New York City-set PPV would pull inspiration from the streets of NYC - à la Royal Rumble 2000 - but what about the slightly more bizarre things that have influenced and inspired a particular wrestling event?
Baywatch, bars, and blind patriotism are just some of the delights to have inspired wrestling events.
8. WrestleMania IX – The Roman Empire
Granted, Caesars Palace is clearly synonymous with Caesar and the life and times of the Roman Empire, but WWE took this to a whole new opinion-splitting level when the Paradise, Nevada hotel and casino site hosted WrestleMania IX back in 1993.
Vince McMahon’s inspiration for this ninth edition of the famed Showcase of the Immortals was the very Roman Empire that was the loose theme of the venue itself. As such, McMahon gave that year’s ‘Mania a Roman theme that saw a colosseum layout, toga outfits for WWE personnel, Bobby Heenan riding a camel to the commentary booth, a faux Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, trumpeters, and, of course, Finkus Maximus on ring announcing duties.
To many, WrestleMania IX is viewed as one of the very worst WrestleManias in WWE history. Visually, though, the show had a fantastic, unique look that made it stand out from the slew of generic wrestling arenas fans were accustomed to. In fact, this was the first WrestleMania to take place entirely outdoors – and it would remain so up until 2008’s WrestleMania XXIV.
You also have to look at the irony of Vince McMahon pulling inspiration from the times of Julius Caesar, with both men infamous for their megalomaniacal tendencies.