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The reach of WWE has allowed several of its top Superstars to become pop culture icons during their careers. WWE Superstars such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena have become huge Hollywood stars. Superstars like Mickie James and Elias are making it big in the music industry.
Edge, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns and several other Superstars have secured roles in television series or made cameos in the recent psat.
Similarly, pop culture has also inspired WWE Superstars, who have shown their love for certain individuals and characters by wearing ring gear inspired by them.
Shinsuke Nakamura has walked out in a Michael Jackson-esque jacket at WrestleMania 34, while Rey Mysterio has dressed as comic book characters on a few occasions.
In this article, we will look at 10 WWE Superstars who’ve rocked amazing pop culture-inspired ring gear during their matches.
#10 Liv Morgan’s IT/Pennywise ring gear from WWE Evolution
WWE Evolution was a big night for the women in wrestling, and each one of the Superstars tried to make an impact in their own unique way. This included some of them wearing interesting ring gear to pay homage to either those who inspired them or those they follow.
The Riott Squad wore horror villain themed gear, and Liv Morgan was the standout star from the trio. She wore Pennywise inspired ring gear complete with a red balloon in hand.
While Pennywise was the worst nightmare for seven bullied kids, Liv perhaps wanted to be the worst nightmare for The Riott Squad’s competitors on the night.
#9 Sasha Banks became the real Wonder Woman of WWE
History was made at the 31st WWE Royal Rumble in 2018 when 30 women competed in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match for a shot at the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34.
Sasha Banks dressed up as superheroine for the match and came out in a Wonder Woman-inspired ring attire.
The Boss came out as the first entrant of the match, and lasted 54 minutes before being eliminated by Brie and Nikki Bella.
#8 Cedric Alexander’s Black Panther ring gear at WWE WrestleMania 34
At the WrestleMania 34 pre-show, Cedric Alexander competed in the final of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship tournament against Mustafa Ali. WrestleMania has always been the place for WWE Superstars to have grand entrances and wear their best attire, and Alexander decided to bring out one of his best ring attires.
Inspired by the Black Panther character, Alexander wore a fantastic outfit to pay homage to King T'Challa. With his incredible athleticism, Alexander did justice to the Black Panther character and was successful in winning the WWE Cruiserweight Championship during the night.
#7 Mustafa Ali’s Sub-Zero attire at WWE WrestleMania 34
While Mustafa Ali was unsuccessful at defeating Cedric Alexander to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 34, he too debuted an eye-catching ring gear that stuck around with him for some time.
Ali came out in a light-up mask and gloves, and fans immediately noticed the resemblance to the Sub-Zero attire. Sub-Zero is a character from the Mortal Kombat franchise which Ali is seemingly a fan of.
#6 Johnny Gargano’s Captain Marvel ring gear among others in WWE
Johhny Gargano is the heartbeat of WWE NXT, and he has let pop culture bleed into his ring gear on several occasions. Gargano sported Wolverine inspired ring gear at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in his match against Adam Cole.
However, it was his Captain Marvel-inspired ring gear at NXT TakeOver: XXV that stood out. While Gargano was unsuccessful in retaining his NXT Championship against Cole at the event, his ring gear caught the attention of the WWE Universe.
Gargano was asked by ComicBook.com if he and his wife Candice LeRae were to play a power couple in Marvel, which ones they would choose:
"I've been saying our vibe on television, and I brought this up to her, is kind of very Star-Lord and Gomorrah-esque. And we didn't even mean to do that, as we would kind of just, that's what we leaned into and that's kind of just what happened. Her as this kind of, kind of serious, tough, like butt-kicker. And I'm kind of the more goofy, kind of having fun, kind of [guy]."
Apart from that, we’ve also seen Gargano sport an Iron Man-inspired and Star Lord ring gear in NXT.
#5 Seth Rollins’ White Walker gear and entrance at WWE WrestleMania 34
Seth Rollins is a fan of Game of Thrones, and he has taken to social media a few times to discuss the series with his fans. At WrestleMania 34, the WWE Superstar went one step further and made his entrance as a White Walker from the Game of Thrones series.
Wearing blue contact lenses that went well with his White Walker ring gear, Rollins was all pumped up for the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor and The Miz.
Rollins was successful at taking the title off The Miz at the event, ending the night on a high for WWE and Game of Thrones fans.
Rollins spoke to The National and expressed his love for Game of Thrones while also giving his prediction for the show's last two seasons.
“I predict the Night King comes out on top. The Night Walkers are going to destroy everybody. We will see if Dany and Jon Snow can link up and burn them to the ground, but that Night King has a big army. It is going to be a hot next two seasons.”
Rollins has also shown his love for Power Rangers on a few occasions with his ring gear, along with Thanos from The Avengers.
#4 The Velveteen Dream walked out as Hulk Hogan at WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2
The Velveteen Dream has one of the most interesting characters in all of WWE NXT. He is heavily inspired by legendary musician Prince, and we have seen him walk, talk, dance, and dress like his favourite pop culture icon on several occasions.
While Dream has dressed as Prince many times, there are several other pop culture stars whom Dream has mimicked, including Hulk Hogan. At NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2, The Dream came out looking mostly like Hulk Hogan who is a huge pop culture icon in his own right.
His Purple Highness has also channelled Negan from The Walking Dead at NXT TakeOver: In Your House which became a hit among the WWE Universe.
#3 Alexa Bliss as Harley Quinn on different occasions in WWE
WWE has its own version of Harley Quinn in the form of Alexa Bliss. Bliss is currently playing the Harley Quinn character to ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt’s Joker, but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen her show off her Harley inspiration.
At Clash of Champions 2019, Bliss was the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and dressed up as her favourite DC supervillain. Bliss has also been seen in Harley Quinn inspired photoshoots too, in which she has worn similar gear and tied her hair into two ponytails to mimic the legendary comic book character.
Talking to the New York Post, Bliss revealed what has inspired her to become the Harley Quinn of WWE
“I did a lot of cosplay when I was with (Wesley) Blake and (Buddy) Murphy when I was in NXT. We had a Harley Quinn and Joker trio outfit that we never got to do. I remember saying to Murphy, ‘I really want to still do this Harley Quinn one’ and he was like ‘you should’. So we worked on the outfit and got it all together. He actually came up with the pose with the belt (behind my neck and right shoulder), which is funny. That has transitioned into how I hold the title. That was where it came from. It was an idea we had in NXT. Everyone knows I can do the cosplay thing on the main roster. I went for it and it worked out pretty well.”
Bliss' current gimmick in WWE seems to be influenced heavily by the Harley Quinn character.
#2 Triple H as The Terminator at WWE WrestleMania 31
WWE WrestleMania has seen numerous grand entrances in the past, and Triple H has had some of the grandest WrestleMania entrances of all time. At WrestleMania 31, Triple H decided to do something bigger ahead of his match against Sting and came out with an incredible Terminator inspired entrance.
WWE screened a video package before his entrance during the event, and it was clear that it had been influenced by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic character. Schwarzenegger himself declared it Judgement Day before the multi-time WWE Champion walked out to the ring.
Just a night before WrestleMania 31, Schwarzenegger was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and Triple H did well to pay homage to the legend.
#1 Finn Balor becomes the Venom of WWE
Finn Balor let his inner demon out with an incredible face paint inspired by Venom. Balor’s Demon King persona is regarded as one of the best in all of WWE, and the Superstar took it one step further by using body paint to mix his alter ego with the iconic comic book anti-hero.
Balor has been inspired by several mythical creatures along with pop culture characters, and he has used body paint on several occasions to pay homage to some of the characters.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
