5 gimmicks that were obvious rip-offs of other characters
In the world of wrestling, there are no shortage of incredible characters for fans to get behind.
Perhaps it's the cool and cocky demeanor of The Rock that you admire? Or the bada**, take no prisoners attitude of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin? Or maybe John Cena's unshakable sense of right and wrong.
And whilst these WWE Superstars have been a huge deal for the company, this hasn't stopped other promotions (and in some cases, WWE themselves) from trying to cash in on their success.
Whether it be to get new fans in, appeal to older fans or just to make headlines, it seems there is no shortage of knock-off characters, who have ended with various degrees of success.
Here are five characters that were very clearly rip-offs of more successful stars.
#5 Eric Young (2014) - Daniel Bryan
In 2014, there was no-one in wrestling more popular than Daniel Bryan.
Revolting against the Authority, Bryan's in-ring ability and natural charisma made him a hero of the WWE Universe, with his YES! Chant being a huge deal at other sporting events.
Seeing dollar signs, TNA Wrestling quickly tried to make their own Bryan, though with Eric Young.
A solid hand in the ring, Young was rapidly pushed to the main event around the same time as Bryan, and was similarly given a 'those in control want to hold you down' storyline.
Perhaps the most insulting part of all this, is that Young was requested to grow out of his beard to make him more like Bryan, with then TNA President Dixie Carter (admittedly in character) telling fans that the Beard in wrestling was her idea.