10 Ridiculous Wrestling Gimmicks Which Are Actually TRUE

At first glance, Jim Cornette's legal counsel Clarence Mason seems like a broad and obvious parody on Johnny Cochran, the attorney at the centre of the O.J. Simpson trial. That's because it was. The case was still ongoing at the time the character was introduced, WWE typically indelicate with their current affairs commentary.

Clarence Mason was clearly rendered in the broadest strokes possible then, but WWE put a surprising amount of work into such a seemingly one-note gimmick. His name was a semi-subtle play on lawyers both factual and fictional - Clarence Darrow and Perry Mason respectively - whilst he hailed from Sioux City. Even the man who played him, Florida hopeful Herman Stevens, was a one-time prospective attorney, who'd decided sports-entertainment suited him better than courts-entertainment. When veteran Ernie Ladd nabbed him a screening with Vince McMahon, Stevens earned the opportunity to combine both.

Mason was latterly associated with the Nation of Domination, though he left the company after growing uncomfortable with the racial tone of the faction's storylines. He wound up performing a similar role in WCW. After all that 'practice' in the wrestling industry, Mason now practices law for real.