12 Gimmicks WWE Ripped Off From Horror Movies

10. Waylon Mercy

Waylon Mercy isn't the most memorable WWE character to take inspiration from the 90s Robert DeNiro Cape Fear remake, but he was the first. If you're older, you might remember the original 1962 Cape Fear (based on the novel The Executioners) with Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck. The film follows a lawyer and his family as they are stalked by a man he once put in jail. Fast forward then to 1991, and the remake starring Robert DeNiro as the psychotic Max Cady. DeNiro's performance as Cady landed him an Oscar nomination, and a Simpsons parody (with Sideshow Bob taking the Cady role). Wrestler Dan Spivey, during his second WWE run in 1995, was behind Waylon Mercy. He wore the familiar Hawaiian shirts of the Max Cady character, was covered in similar tattoos, and spoke in the same calm, chilling demeanour in promos. He would be fairly successful for a brief period, and soon went from battling enhancement guys to A-listers like Brett Hart and Diesel. However, after his lone PPV appearance as Mercy at In Your House 3, Mercy/Spivey retired, the result of numerous injuries over the years. He didn't wrestle again for a full two decades, before finally reappearing in Dory Funk Jr.'s !BANG! promotion in a 10-man Japanese Bonsai match in August 2015.