10 WWE Gimmicks Which Ripped Off Real People

3. Clarence Mason - Johnnie Cochran

RVD Jean Claude Van Damme
WWE/By Mark Winograd [Public domain], Wikimedia Commons

Naming the Nation of Domination mouthpiece for Clarence Darrow showed rare subtlety on WWE's part, given his namesake's significant role on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People during the Sweet Trials. Or at least, it would have, had he not actually been introduced as an acting attorney for Jim Cornette years before the group formed. The company simply wanged the names of two historically prominent lawyers together and left it at that.

Clarence Mason didn't have much in common with his nominative bequeathers, but was in fact based on O.J. Simpson's defence attorney Johnnie Cochran, introduced to the product in 1995 as a way of capitalising on the ongoing trial's notoriety. The role wasn't a huge stretch for Herman Stevens, the man behind Mason; before entering the business, he had practised law in Florida. Doing it for pretend was just much more fun.

In this post: 
Rob Van Dam
 
First Posted On: 
Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.