9 Wrestling Gimmicks Ripped Off From Video Games

8. Gangrel

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WWE/White Wolf

David Heath just bloody loves vampires. Before he was forcing Michael Hayes to reach for the Daz in WWE, the bloody bastard plied his trade in Memphis alongside his gothtastic wife Luna as the Vampire Warrior, inspired by Joel Schumacher's 1987 cult horror The Lost Boys.

When Heath finally clawed his way into WWE - outside a brief spell regularly jobbing to the 1-2-3 Kid, anyway - he was allowed to keep his vampire stylings; he had, after all, underwent dental surgery to have fangs inserted into his mush. The crimson-craving character was promptly re-christened 'Gangrel' - without the sprinkling of holy water, of course - a name cribbed directly from White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game.

Yes, at the back, we know: this began life as a tabletop dice-roller, though it eventually crossed over to Windows for an RPG developed by Troika Games. When the digital Drac 'em up's released in 2004, Gangrel had been already been excised from WWE - specifically because his moniker clashed with the new game. In order to facilitate his WWE run, White Wolf had originally licensed the Gangrel name to the company for five years, starting in 1998. When the lease expired, poor Heath was put back in his crypt. Fangs for nothing.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

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.