10 WWE Angles Ripped Straight From The Movies

10. US Pride > Mother Russia (Rocky IV)

Rocky IV John Cena Rusev
MGM/WWE

Patriotism has been a staple in both Hollywood and WWE since forever.

In Rocky IV, the titular Balboa fought valiantly to restore American pride against the invading, almost-mechanical Russian force Ivan Drago. It was a classic tale, one that ended with so much "USA! USA! USA!" happiness that one thought Jim Duggan might burst onto the scene waving his flag.

Flash forward from the film's 1985 release to 2014-2015 and John Cena was playing Rocky against Russia's new 'Super Athlete' Rusev. Led into battle by Brigitte Nielsen lookalike Lana, Rusev filled the role of Drago by promising to end Cena's run as the top hero in WWE. It was a complete lift of the movie's core plot.

What resulted was a familiar feud the company eventually returned to in 2017 - they couldn't resist booking more xenophobia and in-your-face nationalism by way of Battleground's 'Flag Match', or refrain from reliving the glory of Rocky IV all over again.

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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.