10 Times Wrestlers Got Away With Ripping Off WWE

6. Avalanche

Undertaker Sting
WWE

It was easy for the WWF to massage the perception that WCW was a second-rate imitation league because it literally imitated the WWF throughout the majority of its existence - even when Ted Turner's wrasslin' was winning the ratings war.

The nWo tactic was one of subversion; WCW hired the heroes of Golden Era WWF and decked them out in villainous black and white, situating their star power in a fresh context. Elsewhere, though, the strategy was pure emulation - and in the case of John 'Earthquake' Tenta, WCW simply removed a thesaurus from the shelf, looked up various natural disasters, and ultimately settled on "Avalanche".

Funnily enough, Tenta didn't move heaven and earth in WCW; as a monster of the week already chewed up by Hulk Hogan (albeit a sorely underrated one), he was as battered a copy as your dad's old VHS porn collection. Incredibly, the Avalanche character - a shameless, almost antagonistic rip-off - lasted a good six months or so, before the WWF finally wised up and issued WCW with a cease and desist.

Drought was a more accurate natural disaster, given that Tenta's run down south failed to yield much critical or commercial success.

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!