10 Weird Secrets To Wrestlers' Success

5. Scott Hall - Outright Plagiarism That Somehow Went Unnoticed

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WWE.com

Wrestling is plagiarism.

Hulk Hogan was Superstar Billy Graham; 2008 Chris Jericho was Nick Bockwinkel; The Fiend is Seven from WCW.

Jerry Lawler and Jim Cornette raided joke books. Vince McMahon raided the AWA. WCW raided ECW. WWE raided "high school gyms" they didn't give a f*ck about a few years ago because they got scared about a Bullet Club t-shirt.

But man, Razor Ramon was blatant - so blatant that it's quite insane Vince McMahon never caught it. Yes, yes, he lives in a bubble. He literally once told former creative writer Freddie Prinze, Jr. to watch WrestleMania instead of a film to wind down on a flight. When Freddie said he fancied a comedy, Vince said "We have Santino!"

But Christ, he might have actually watched Seinfeld, for real, unlike 'The King Of The Hill'. And everybody has heard of Scarface, even if they've somehow never seen it. "Say hello to my little friend!" is one of the most parodied lines in cinema history. Triple H says it every time he takes a picture with a new NXT Champion. He's seen it.

But Vince never did, and right down to the "meng," Scott Hall got away with a not particularly "on" Tony Montana impression for which the WWF was probably glad to be so culturally irrelevant at the time.

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!