8 Wrestling Events That Pulled Inspiration From Strange Places

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.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.

Posted On: 30th Jul 2019

In this post:

WWE Cyber Sunday 2008