10 Most Successful Things WWE Borrowed From Other Promotions

The use of foreign objects has been a staple part of WWE since its inception, but in the early goings it tended to be the preserve of heels looking to gain an unfair advantage over their opponent while a hapless referee was looking the other way.

Hardcore wrestling in the sense of brutal chair shots, kendo sticks, barbed wire, and thumb-tacks wasn't brought to the (sort of) mainstream until ECW came along in the 1990s, after which Vince McMahon suddenly realised that he wanted to see his wrestlers get more violent.

A few years after, WWE went so far as to create a 24/7 Hardcore Title division, wherein competitors were explicitly encouraged to use weapons - and, occasionally, the elements - to ambush their opponents in and around the backstage area.