9 Wrestling Gimmicks Ripped Off From Video Games

by Benjamin Richardson

1. Suicide (Himself)

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Impact/Midway

Confusingly, Impact's masked man Suicide inspired his own existence. He wasn't just based on a video game, but specifically created for one.

For their 2008 TNA Impact! game, developers Midway concocted a rather devilish scheme alongside the licensee. In a rather telling appraisal of the mass market appeal of the promotion at the time, the studio opted against using any of their current stars as the story mode's protagonist, and instead gave the position up to a fictitious grappler by the troublesome name of Suicide.

Several months after the game's release, subliminal messages began appearing on TNA TV proper, pointing to a website addressed whoissuicide.com. Apparently, the masked man was set to escape the digital realm and dive straight into the Impact Zone.

The flesh and blood Suicide eventually made his debut at Final Destination 2008, portrayed by Frankie Kazarian. Over the years, Christopher Daniels, Kiyoshi, TJ Perkins and Austin Aries all donned the red hood, but unlike his polygonal progenitor, Suicide never reached the upper echelons of the real-life industry.

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Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.