5 Wrestling gimmicks that were inspired by somebody else

# 4 "The Genius" Lanny Poffo / Damien Sandow

Sandow's genius gimmick was inspired by Lanny Poffo

Lanny Poffo will perhaps be better known for the fact that he is the brother of the Macho Man Randy Savage, as opposed to the fact that he was also a wrestler. Poffo originally debuted in the WWF as a babyface, wrestling under the moniker Leaping Larry Poffo. However, 5 years into his tenure, Lanny turned heel at a live show by insulting the local sports team. After that, Poffo was re-introduced as "The Genius" Lanny Poffo, a cowardly heel that dresses in a Cap and Gown to the ring as a part of his attire and recites poetry.

Damien Sandow originally debuted on WWE TV under the name of Idol Stevens, but the gimmick didn't last long and Sandow was eventually released. Sandow would later come back to the company, this time as Damien Sandow. Shortly after rejoining, Sandow would evolve into the "Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses", a condescending heel wrestler that would routinely insult the audience by referring to them as low class.

Sandow found success with the gimmick and formed a tag team with Cody Rhodes known as the Rhodes Scholars. While the team never won any belts, they became very popular with the audience. Sandow went on to win the money in the bank, but that was when his time at the WWE started to go downhill. He would lose the cash-in to John Cena, making him the second wrestler to do so. Sandow would later drop the gimmick for a series of impersonations, before finding some success with his impersonations of the Miz as Mizdow.