5 WWE Superstars who reminded fans of former wrestlers
Over the past several decades, WWE has slowly and steadily turned into a global pro-wrestling giant. After Vince McMahon bought the company from his father, he worked towards covering the entire North American market and succeeded in doing so by 2001, when he bought off his longtime nemesis, WCW.
With such a rich history behind the promotion, there are bound to be instances where wrestlers would remind the fans of a WWE Superstar from the past. This usually happens in two cases. There could be a striking similarity between the two wrestlers when it comes to their physical appearance. On the other hand, a wrestler's demeanor, the way they portray themselves, and the manner in which their character behaves in front of the audience, sometimes reminds the fans of a former wrestler.
The WWE creative team also has a massive role here as they repackage these superstars to remind the WWE universe of yesteryear legends to make them more relatable.
Here are five WWE Superstars who reminded fans of a wrestler from the past.
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#5 Mason Ryan and Batista
Batista left WWE in 2010, soon after losing an "I Quit" match to John Cena. The next year, Mason Ryan made his WWE main roster debut by interfering in a match between John Cena and CM Punk. Ryan was then presented a 'Nexus' armband by Punk. After a short-lived run on the main roster, Ryan was sent back to NXT. In April 2014, he was released by WWE.
Ryan's career was impacted by comparisons to former Superstar Batista, and it did nothing but harm him, as the pressure of being compared to a former multi-time world champion wasn't something a Superstar wanted to be subjected to. Ryan once spoke about people always telling him that he resembled The Animal.
Yeah man, I get it all the time, I have long hair now, and I didn’t think I looked like him but people would come up to me and say, “Hey! You know who you look like?” I say, “let me take a guess.” I see the resemblance facially. It’s quite strange.
Ryan was majorly an enforcer for CM Punk's now defunct Nexus unit and certainly had the goods to make it big in the WWE. Vince McMahon has always looked at pushing big band bulky superstars who fit the mold and it is a surprise that Mason Ryan was unable to ride the wave.