10 BEST Wrestling Rip-Offs

5. Kane (The Undertaker)

Billy Graham Hulk Hogan
WWE.com

Kane had to be a ripoff to make any kind of sense, but few could have predicted the staying power of a man brought in to mimic - and improve upon - the actions, powers and theatrics of his storyline sibling.

Undertaker's monster-of-the-week feuds had ran out of juice by 1995, with programmes opposite Mankind and Shawn Michaels over the following years highlighting how important fresh rivals were for the evolution of a 'Deadman' gimmick that had strayed dangerously close to becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

'The Big Red Machine' existed in canon nearly six months before he ripped the door off of the new Hell In A Cell structure, but WWE's decision to present him as somebody even more terrifying than Undertaker himself ensured that the package lived up to the billing.

The tombstone, chokeslam, control of the lights and assorted other magic powers were familiar, but this terrifying spin on it was brand spanking new. It informed not just this one WrestleMania-ready feud, but much of Kane's remarkable successes in the years that followed.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett