15 MORE Wrestling Gimmicks That Got Weird Rip-Offs
9. Dave Meltzer (Little Davey Meltzer)
A pasty jobber with a mullet called Dave(y) Meltzer getting monstered by Dr. Death Steve Williams for Herb Abrams' UWF long before the vast majority of people who watched wrestling knew that the Wrestling Observer even existed?
Vintage wrestling pettiness, literally.
The fun squash took place in 1990 when the sheet did the rounds in the locker room and only the most hardcore of fan circles, but it didn't stop Abrams deciding to poke fun at one of the few pre-eminent journalists in the game by having his biggest killer smash through him just so he and co-commentator Bruno Sammartino could reference "Meltzer" taking such a beating and having absolutely nothing to offer in response.
Not a place for the most nuanced symbolism most of the time, the group doubled then trebled down on the bit as Williams shoved a sheet of paper into his mouth, then heaped literal dirt on him after the three was registered. The real Dave took it in his stride and continued to get more prominence thanks to his extremely diligent coverage of a medium with a notoriously tough beat. Adam Michaels was the wrestler that took the payday to mock him, though ironically you'd have to dig deeper through Meltzer's own archives to find what became of his career.