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Whether it's the WWE Universe or the legends within the industry, certain wrestlers have always been singled out by with their fellow counterparts.
In some cases, similarities in the gimmick and their overall attitude are what draws comparisons, and at other times it's the skill and in-ring style.
Many older wrestlers are either retired by now or are on the verge of it. The Undertaker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, while Edge is on a retirement tour. He has announced that he will ride off into the sunset in August 2023 after performing in front of his home crowd.
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As we head towards the new year, WWE has evolved with the times and has a fresh crop of talent.
Read on as we look at five current wrestlers who have been compared to WWE Hall of Famers.
#5. The Show Off and The Showstopper
Ah, Dolph Ziggler.
Perhaps the biggest roar ever received for a cash-in was in 2013 when The Show Off captured the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio. The man was once a sure-fire main eventer, but things took a turn somewhere along the way.
His entire career has been rather middling, but the comparisons to Shawn Michaels never stopped. Ziggler is partly accountable for that too, having plainly adopted a thing or two from The Showstopper's book, most notably the Superkick finishing move.
That doesn't mean all the unoriginal attempts were not fun to watch as a casual viewer. In 2018, Ziggler recruited Drew McIntyre to the main roster, who had returned to the company the year before at NXT, as his bodyguard and later tag team partner.
Their alliance has created some of the best moments in the latter part of The Showoff's career over the last decade.
Dolph Ziggler and Shawn Michaels have met in the ring several times throughout their careers. This included The Showoff's time with the Spirit Squad in 2006, and in the 2010s when The Heartbreak Kid made sporadic television appearances.
#4. Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker
The Undertaker is the greatest and most remarkable character ever created by WWE. So when Mark Callaway's Deadman is compared to Windham Rotunda's Bray Wyatt, it's not directly related to their gimmick or in-ring style, but their dark and supernatural tones.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Booker T recently spoke on the Hall of Fame podcast:
"The Bray Wyatt character for me is the character that I would be really, really trying to lean into, just because that character has got legs, it could go forever. That’s what made The Undertaker work, he was The Undertaker, but he was still beatable, he was still a guy that could go out and his shoulders could get pinned to the mat in certain situations.”
Comparisons have been prevalent since the Eater of Worlds debuted in 2013. He even had a showdown with The Phenom at WrestleMania 31, and later in a tag match at Survivor Series the same year.
Wyatt's character work in 2022 has been nothing short of spectacular, fitting into the current culture and landscape of the wrestling world.
#3. WWE anti-Heroes Becky Lynch and Stone Cold Steve Austin
Their anti-authority demeanor is predominantly the basis of the comparisons. Both Becky Lynch and Steve Austin had similarly iconic moments in their respective careers that former WWE Superstar CM Punk pointed out in WWE Backstage.
Nia Jax accidentally punched Lynch during a chaotic segment wherein the SmackDown women, led by the former, invaded RAW. This was during the go-home show heading into Survivor Series 2018, leading to "The Man" being unable to compete in a previously booked Survivor Series tag match.
Despite being unable to compete on the show, the incident catapulted Lynch to superstardom. At WrestleMania 35 in 2019, she became Becky Two Belts, defeating both world champions Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match.
#2. "AJ Styles is everything Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Ric Flair were to their generation, and he's updated it"
Paul Heyman made this statement after witnessing AJ Styles' in-ring performance firsthand against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2017.
The Phenomenal One has been one of the safest workers in the industry, smooth in the ring and putting on matches of world-class quality over the years. His WWE run alone contain several high-profile moments in an illustrious career.
Bret Hart is known to be the smoothest in-ring professional, and Ric Flair is considered one of the greatest ever to step foot in the squared circle. Perhaps the biggest comparison, however, among plenty all over the world, was between Shawn Michaels and AJ Styles.
Both men can go in the ring at a level only a few can reach, and they have the ability to switch back and forth into the world title picture at will. Styles and HBK are two wrestlers who not only know how to play the chords but also know exactly why they are being strung.
At 45, Styles is still going strong, with a resume that speaks for itself – two-time WWE Champion, three-time United States Champion, one-time Intercontinental Champion, and RAW Tag Team Champion alongside Omos. He is, without a shred of a doubt, a future WWE Hall of Famer.
#1. Rhea Ripley of Judgment Day reminiscent to Chyna of D-Generation X
On account of recency, at #1 is Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley, who is often compared to WWE Hall of Famer Chyna.
The Nightmare is the matriarch of the faction and has played a major role in the uniqueness and overall success of Judgment Day. One can even argue that she is the de-facto leader of the group.
In an interview with the New York Post, Rhea Ripley herself called on the comparison.:
"It’s something that we haven’t seen [in WWE] since pretty much Chyna. So it’s cool that I get to be that person. I get to go out there and pick them up to show everyone who the hell I am without actually having the bell ring and being in the ring."
Ripley has also demonstrated strength and dominance in fighting men, bodyslamming Luke Gallows of The O.C. in a recent episode of RAW.
On the other hand, Chyna was the woman who single-handedly revolutionized the industry of women's wrestling. She was the first woman to appear in the men's Royal Rumble and also to win a male title. She defeated Chris Jericho to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship at the 1999 Survivor Series.
With rumors circulating of a WrestleMania match against Bianca Belair in Hollywood, Rhea Ripley stands out from the pack as a force to be reckoned with.
