10 Wrestling Ripoffs Better Than The Original

No, nobody's suggesting that Charlie Haas was a wrestling giant who flipped between heel and babyface more times than people flipped their pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Haas did find fame by trading his functional technician role for something a little more off the wall in mid-2008, however, and that must've been at least partly inspired by Big Show's own impersonation-heavy gimmick from 2000.

Back then, Show dressed up as everyone from Hulk Hogan ("Showster") to Rikishi ("Showkishi") for comedy skits and matches. It was a riot, so it was surely only a matter of time before WWE would try it on again with somebody else. Haas was the least likely candidate, but he smashed the gig by working send ups of JBL, Steve Austin, Carlito, Bret Hart, The Great Khali and countless others.

Charlie also achieved something few thought he could: He bettered Show's Hogan impersonator bit by doing a stupidly great impression of Hulk. Live crowds roared with approval, and Haas's cosplay act was cleverly never treated as anything more than a midcard distraction from the more serious stuff. It showed that Charlie had charisma and personality too, which is something that had been levied against him throughout most of his career up until that point.

The impressionist thing was never going to last forever, but Haas made the most of it. He was a way more entertaining Halloween gag than Show had been years before. This was an increasingly rare example of WWE comedy flying in front of fans as well as with those camped out behind the curtain.