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5 WWE Gimmicks Based On Real Killers (& The 1 Who Wanted To Meet His Copycat)
Over the years, wrestlers have taken inspiration from any number of media and genres and applied it to everything from their characters and catchphrases to their gear and entrance themes. We’ve seen elements pulled from movies, games, music, comics, sports, pop culture, and even the supernatural. Occasionally, that also includes elements pulled from real-life people, including real killers. We’ve collected the 5 WWE gimmicks based on real killers below, as well as the most surprising revelation that one of those killers wanted to meet his copycat, and why it never happened.
5. Barry Windham
In 1996, Barry Windham would debut a new character in the then WWF called The Stalker, and like the others on this list, the new persona would take inspiration from real life. Windham’s new character was outfitted in camouflaged gear and sporting commando facepaint, and the origins of the persona can be traced to a killer named Richard Ramirez.
Ramirez was known as The Night Stalker, a name he earned after invading people’s homes and murdering several during a reign of terror in 1984. While Windham’s character was less intense and more over the top, the vignettes implied he would hunt his opponents and could track them anywhere, so the connections were pretty apparent. Windham wouldn’t have this persona long, as it had pretty much faded away after just a few months, and no one was sad to see it go.
4. Joe Applebaumer
In the 2000s, wrestling fans would meet the intense figure known as Pogo, who was really wrestler Joe Applebaumer. Applebaumer would adopt the disturbing persona from one of the most notorious serial killers ever in John Wayne Gacy, as Pogo the Clown was the alter ego of Gacy during his horrendous killing spree throughout the 70s.
Applebaumer would adopt a similar look and facepaint that clearly drew from Gacy’s clown appearance, and coupled with his hardcore style in the ring, it was an intense and at times disturbing combination, even if there were no direct references to Gacy in his promos or gear.
3. Bob Orton Sr.
For a stretch in the 1970s, Bob Orton Sr. would not only take elements from one of the most notorious serial killers, but he would actually get the persona over with crowds. Between 1968 and 1969, The Zodiac Killer murdered victims all over California, and then a few years later, Orton Sr. would use the name The Zodiac as his new persona.
Perhaps what’s most surprising is that despite the clear connections in the name and how little time had passed since those tragic real-life events had occurred, crowds ended up taking to the persona (even as a clear heel), and Orton Sr. would go on to have big Championship runs during this timeframe.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
One of the most popular stars ever in WWE is unquestionably Stone Cold Steve Austin, and when he made the switch to the Stone Cold persona, there was some real-life inspiration for the character. That came in the form of an HBO documentary on murderer Richard Kuklinski, who was revealed to have killed over 100 people during his time as a Mafia hitman.
After watching that documentary, Austin took several elements of Kuklinski and worked them into the new persona, including the intense stare, lone wolf mentality, and his don’t trust anyone approach. These elements would mostly be present early in his run as Stone Cold, as the character would end up more as a middle finger-waving renegade who was more interested in wins and a good beer than being an ice-cold hitman, which is the version most people remember and love today.
1. Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt was one of the most original characters in the world of wrestling, partly due to the ever-shifting nature of his persona. Over the years, we saw him evolve his persona in any number of ways, pushing the envelope with each iteration. The original Wyatt character was more of a cult leader compared to those later evolutions, and there were clearly some elements pulled from real-life cult leader and murderer Charles Manson.
Former WWE writer Nick Manfredini recently appeared on Wrestling with Freddie and revealed that they took little pieces from Manson quotes and videos and worked them into Wyatt’s promos in various ways, but then Manfredini revealed that Manson saw these promos and wanted to meet Wyatt at one point, with it even being brought up to WWE (via Fightful).
Manfredini said, “So, he was very Charles Manson-inspired, right? My YouTube search history back then was just Charles Manson and cult leader for anybody who looked it up. So I’ve probably seen every Charles Manson quote, every video, every promo that he ever cut. We were trying to take little pieces from each one, and that was the style we wanted to go for.”
Then Manfredini revealed what led to Manson seeing Wyatt’s work in WWE, saying, “To get off topic, Charles Manson — I don’t know if this story has ever been told — Windham’s teammate, former teammate in college football, became a prison guard at Charles Manson’s prison. Allegedly, this guy showed Manson the Bray Wyatt promos, and he wanted to meet him, and this was a whole thing. I swear. It is 100 percent true, and so, Mike Rotunda knew about it, and I think he brought it up to somebody. I don’t know if it was Hunter or Vince (McMahon) or someone and they immediately squashed it.”
“Obviously, that’s terrible… Because they were like, ‘Can we shoot a Network special with Charles Manson?’ It was immediately squashed, and then afterwards, I was like, ‘Let’s just go. Next time we’re in Northern California, me and you, let’s just put on a hat or something. Nobody will know it’s you. Let’s just go meet him.’ I thought more about it and obviously it was a terrible, terrible idea. Would have been a good story but, a bad idea… It was like, wait a minute, this would be so fun — weird to do. But, obviously, Bray Wyatt probably would have never seen TV again if we did that,” Manfredini said.
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