5 WWE Superstars who were legitimately called out for copying other wrestlers
In modern-day WWE, every aspect of a Superstar’s character needs to be as strong as possible in order for them to make it to the very top.
Seth Rollins, for example, is more than just an accomplished in-ring performer. He has improved massively on the mic throughout his time in WWE, while his personality traits, nicknames, mannerisms and move set have all evolved along with his “Beastslayer” character over the last few years.
Charlotte Flair is another Superstar who has emerged in recent years, growing from a rookie in NXT to a WrestleMania main-eventer. Her family name alone was never going to be enough for her to succeed, so she added several unique layers to her character to make her stand out from the rest of the roster.
As the decades have progressed and move sets and personas have become more varied, it is only natural that WWE Superstars are going to start using popular moves and ideas that have previously been made famous by other performers.
However, did you know that several current-day Superstars, including the likes of Rollins and Flair, have been called out by other people for supposedly stealing their ideas?
Let’s take a look at five occasions when this has happened.
#5 Sami Zayn/H.C. Dyer
The 2017 United Kingdom Championship tournament began with Trent Seven defeating H.C. Dyer, and it ended with an unusual Twitter spat between Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd.
Dyer hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb on Seven during the match, leading WWE’s social media team to mention how the Englishman was channeling Zayn by using the move.
Zayn replied:
“Why imitate when you can create?”
Wrestler-turned-producer Tyson Kidd then got involved, questioning why the former NXT champion was seemingly claiming to have created the Blue Thunder Bomb – a move that was made famous by Jun Akiyama.
“You created the blue thunder bomb?? Does Jun Akiyama know this??”
Kidd and Zayn faced each other on multiple occasions in NXT, notably in a Fatal 4-Way match with Neville and Tyler Breeze in 2014, so this may have been nothing more than a friendly dig between two former rivals. Or perhaps not, as Zayn didn’t even respond!