20 Wrestling Gimmicks That Got WEIRD Rip-Offs
2. Kane (Blue Kane)
Wrestling's 2023 was a trip, and Blue Kane was a major reason why.
Suddenly, people started hearing rumblings of a 'Big Blue Machine' who was showing up on independent cards in the UK. It was all played for giggles, and it worked. Blue Kane went from indy show darling for those in attendance to viral superstar online thanks to social media. He blew up in a big, big way. That's when WWE's lawyers took notice of what was happening and shut it down.
They sent Blue Kane several cease and desist letters threatening him with the courts if he didn't stop immediately. Rather than give up, Blue Kane changed into Blue Pain, which is his current name. He also wrestles as Memes, for the record. All of this was incredibly smart, because it drummed up some instant buzz for the guy behind the blue mask. Wrestlers like Matt Cardona were tripping over themselves to get a match with this Glenn Jacobs parody.
Hey, perhaps Blue Kane should've changed course to become an evil dentist or a Diesel tribute act instead. Those who remember Jacobs having those gimmicks before he became Kane and changed his career for the better would've got a kick out of it.
Blue Kane is no more, but Blue Pain and Memes still wrestle on the independent circuit for companies like TNT and Game Changer Wrestling. Memes even sneaked onto the PWI Top 500 for 2024. That shows the true power of fan support on social apps. There's still a market for this gimmick in 2025, and that's just bizarre.