10 Times WWE Ripped Off WCW And Nobody Noticed

5. Vince McMahon Mimics Eric Bischoff

Randy Orton Hulk Hogan nWo
WWE

The Mr. McMahon character is roundly regarded as the prototypical evil authority figure in pro wrestling. It was so successful that anyone in a similar role is immediately compared to McMahon. Sadly, this means the idea usually feels watered down and played out before those cast even have a chance to settle in.

What's unfair about that? Well, technically, Eric Bischoff beat Vince to the punch there.

He became part of the nWo storyline starting on the 18 November 1996 episode. Think about this: McMahon didn't actually become the "evil owner" until after he'd screwed Bret Hart at Survivor Series '97 almost a full year later. In short, WCW set the template for the tyrannical boss gig, not WWE.

People were so swept up McMahon's feud with Steve Austin at the time that they didn't stop to credit Bischoff for effectively handing his competition a winning blueprint. In fairness, Vince was also seriously good at playing heel authority.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.