10 Wrestling Parodies That Became Real

6. Southpaw Regional Wrestling

Parody Real HBK
WWE

Southpaw Regional Wrestling was a lovely bit of business, as affectionately remembered as it was affectionate in its send-up of the territories of yore.

It allowed the members of WWE's roster to break the usual scripted confines of a show that Vince McMahon gave a toss or even knew about, and sure as sh*t, Rusev in particular got over, a cadence-nailing John Cena was significantly cannier with a non-sequitur than he ever was with a fudgin' RAW script, and Fandango was eerie in his dead-on impersonation of Todd Grisham.

Southpaw Regional Wrestling, or S P Dub as fans mercifully never termed it ironically, captured perfectly the aesthetic of the early '80s studio show, allowed wrestlers usually lumbered with deadening scripts to reveal themselves as good promos, and wove several story threads over a limited series episodic run that culminated in a funny-dumb punchline. Southpaw Regional Wrestling, from its faithful fonts to its cosplaying undercarders to its improbable quality, is basically NWA Powerrr. Even its fake adverts made it to NWA White Powerrr, which is downright suspicious.

Billy Corgan watched Southpaw Regional Wrestling and repackaged it with his trademark earnestness, before proclaiming sports entertainment as dead.

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!