10 Times Wrestlers Got Away With Ripping Off WWE

9. Sting

Undertaker Sting
WWE

Scott Hall conceived of Sting's darker, cooler, The Crow-inspired persona.

Both men were backstage getting ready ahead of some TV taping or other. This being WCW, we can scrape through the apocrypha and guess that it wasn't a house show. Hall, a vastly underrated wrestling mind, surveyed Sting and the mess of halfway-there brown hair he was growing out following years of peroxide damage.

"Are you growing out your hair? Are you still gonna wear the happy guy tights?" asked Hall.

Sting was bemused. Unlike Hall, he hadn't thought to alter his still-popular 1980s aesthetic to become even more popular in the 1990s. Hall nudged him towards the Eureka moment.

"I'm not saying rip off 'Taker," he said. "But rip off 'Taker."

The new Crow Sting was a darker, trench coat-clad badass who traded in the piercing howl for hushed mystique - and while his cascading from the rafters gimmick was more super-heroic than supernatural, the jet-black look was a knowing nod to the man who inspired his killer silent killer act.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!