5 wrestling gimmick ripoffs that surprisingly succeeded

Even some of the most respected wrestlers and angles in pro wrestling history have been ripped off from some something that came before it. The five wrestlers/angles mentioned in this article all fit that category.

This article takes a look at five of the most successful gimmick rip-offs ever in wrestling.

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#5 Bullet Club

While they've certainly put their own spin on it, the bullet club is a rip-off of the New World Order angle from the late 90s.

Bullet Club was originally for non-Japanese wrestlers in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In 2013, Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale formed the original incarnation of the stable.

In recent years, Bullet Club has expanded to Ring of Honor and other independent promotions.

Much of what the Bullet Club started doing in NJPW was new for fans of Japanese wrestling. NJPW had traditionally used less interference, gimmick matches, and chicanery than what one would see in WWE.

So when the Bullet Club started utilising the same tactics the New World Order had used, it was considered revolutionary for wrestling in Japan.

#4 Sting

WCW's franchise player, Sting, wrestled for years as a bleached-blonde haired, face-painted, California bodybuilder before he morphed into the Crow version of his character.

While Sting was quite popular and successful in his previous gimmick, many feel the Crow character took him to another level.

The character was a rip-off of Brandon Lee's movie "The Crow", which had achieved cult-like popularity during the 90s. WCW made little attempt to hide the similarities between the two characters but fans loved the gimmick, even if it wasn't overly original.

#3 Demolition

The team New Day passed to break the record for longest tag team championship reign was Ax, Smash, and Crush - Demolition.

Demolition was one of many teams who was largely believed to have been a rip-off of the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. The Road Warriors themselves were actually thought to be a rip-off of characters from the Mad Max movie franchise.

In actuality, face-painted monster tag-teams are a genre of tag-team more than they are all a rip-off of the road warriors. The Ascension being the latest team to don the gimmick.

#2 "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

One of the most successful wrestlers of all time, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, is largely considered to be a rip-off of "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.

Bleached blonde hair, long sequin robes, and illusions to a lavish lifestyle were all part of the Nature Boy gimmick. That Ric Flair took the already-used gimmick and launched it to whole new heights is a testament to the performer.

There's nothing to say we couldn't see another Nature Boy gimmick again some day. Come to think of it, Dolph Ziggler has been looking for a new character...

#1 New World Order

The New World Order is one of the most successful wrestling angles of all time. In the 1990s, WCW did everything they could to pull ahead of WWE in the ratings. They signed Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and other big stars from the 80s.

It wouldn't be until the company packaged some of those signees into a group named the New World Order, however, that WCW would finally hit the ultimate of heights in the wrestling industry.

Eric Bischoff has not been shy in sharing the fact that he stole the idea for the invasion gimmick from an angle in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In 1995, the UWF promotion invaded NJPW and a large portion of the matches the company would put on that year we're between the two warring sides. Bischoff wanted to create the same atmosphere in WCW and he succeeded.