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We often see WWE Superstars show respect to wrestling legends by replicating their move sets, mannerisms or catchphrases, but did you know that several of today’s current performers have also paid homage to their favourite TV series, Game of Thrones, by using aspects of the show in their own WWE personas?
Game of Thrones characters Daenerys Targaryen (Khaleesi), Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, The Night King and White Walkers have all been portrayed on WWE television in one shape or form over the last few years, while Gregor Clegane (The Mountain) was even in attendance at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May 2015.
In this article, let’s take a look at which WWE Superstars and storylines were inspired by characters and famous scenes from Game of Thrones.
#5 Seth Rollins’ character (2017 onwards)
You only need to have watched one or two of Seth Rollins’ matches (and be a Game of Thrones fan) to find out that several aspects of his character are taken from the hit TV series.
As often as Michael Cole likes to yell “The Big Dog!” and “It’s Boss Time!” when Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks make their respective entrances, the entire commentary team regularly reminds viewers that Rollins also goes by the name “The Kingslayer” – a moniker given to him after he slayed Triple H, aka “The King of Kings”, at WrestleMania 33.
The nickname is a nod to Game of Thrones character Jaime Lannister, who became known as “Kingslayer” after murdering Aerys Targaryen, aka "The Mad King".
Rollins’ Game of Thrones fandom was also on show at WrestleMania 34, where his attire and entrance was inspired by The Night King, while his Ripcord Knee finisher was briefly referred to as ‘King’s Landing’ in late 2017.
The most obvious GOT reference in a match involving Rollins came in April 2017 when, shortly after returning from a knee injury, he defeated Samoa Joe at the Payback pay-per-view. Commentator Corey Graves said following the victory, "Jaime Lannister figured out how to do it [win] with one hand… Seth Rollins did it with one leg!"
#4 The Lana & Rusev break-up
One of the most intriguing storylines of 2015 saw Lana and Rusev split up and find new love interests, with Lana aligning with Dolph Ziggler and Rusev replacing “The Ravishing Russian” with Summer Rae.
The storyline was cut short after it was revealed that, at the same time that WWE was heavily focusing on the couple’s ‘split’ on Raw and SmackDown, news of their real-life engagement came to light, so the angle abruptly ended and Lana eventually got back together with Rusev on television.
Speaking on AfterBuzz TV’s The Tomorrow Show in 2017, Lana revealed that her WWE persona was a mix between two of the main female characters from Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen (Khaleesi) and Cersei Lannister.
Dusty Rhodes came up with the idea of Lana having the power to control Rusev, much like how Khaleesi controls her dragons, while Vince McMahon wanted her to play a Cersei-esque character during her split from Rusev and alliance with Ziggler.
Lana said:
“[The Ziggler storyline] was so much fun. Vince got that whole idea from [Cersei Lannister]. I remember having that whole conversation with him and saying, ‘What about [Cersei], being conniving?’ He was like, ‘Yes!’ And that whole Dolph Ziggler story came from [Cersei] from Game of Thrones!”
#3 Sheamus becomes a White Walker
Every Christmas, you can bet that a WWE Superstar will dress as Santa Claus and attack somebody when they least expect it. Equally, every Halloween, you can bet that there will be some kind of festive-themed ‘Trick or Street Fight’ involving two or more Superstars, unique weapons and a ring surrounded by pumpkins.
In 2018, the honour of competing in the bizarre match type went to Big E and Cesaro, who were feuding over the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the time with their respective tag teams, The New Day and The Bar.
As the episode of SmackDown Live also had a fancy dress theme, Sheamus (ringside to support Cesaro) went one step further by dying his ginger mohawk white and cosplaying as a White Walker from Game of Thrones.
In the end, the former WWE champion was taken out of the match when he was launched through a table by Big E, who went on to get the 1-2-3 against Cesaro.
Following the match, Sheamus tweeted:
#2 The Ember Moon character
While several Superstars have spoken about their love of the Game of Thrones television series in out-of-character interviews in recent years, Ember Moon proved herself to be WWE’s #1 fanatic during a 2016 interview when she revealed that her character is inspired by somebody from the Game of Thrones books.
She told the Miami Herald:
“I became heavily influenced by Game of Thrones with the book. When the show came along, I was all about that life, too, but there is one character who I loved in the book, and his name was Patchface. He’s a minor character who popped up.
“He’s the jester, fool character, playmate for Stannis’s daughter [Shireen Baratheon] in the book, but the cool thing about him is that he always speaks in tongues, and he’s very witty and been known to prophesy. That’s one thing that I absolutely love, the whole prophesy thing, being destined for something, because I do believe that everyone has a destiny. As long as you’re willing to rise to that challenge, you can make anything happen.”
If that was not proof enough that Moon is a die-hard Game of Thrones fan, her November 2018 wedding to independent wrestler Matthew Palmer had a GOT/Harry Potter theme!
#1 The Festival of Friendship
One of the greatest segments in the history of Monday Night Raw took place between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens in February 2017.
After weeks of disagreements between the best friends, Jericho attempted to put things right by hosting a ‘Festival of Friendship’ for Owens. Y2J pulled out all the stops to show how much his friend meant to him, handing over presents and introducing entertainment acts, and every minute of the over-the-top segment was brilliantly put together.
At the time, Jericho made fun of his rivals and opponents by creating his own personal list of people who had upset him, known as ‘The List of Jericho’. Towards the end of the segment, Owens responded by giving his friend a present of his own: a new list. Jericho excitedly thought the gift was a new ‘List of Jericho’ clipboard, only to find that it was actually ‘The List of KO’ and that the list only contained one name: Chris Jericho. Owens proceeded to attack his friend, setting up their WrestleMania 33 match.
Jericho mentioned in a recent interview with Inside The Ropes that he wanted the segment to go from “a 1980s David Lee Roth video to Game of Thrones’ ‘Red Wedding’ in the space of 10 minutes.
He also said on the Other Guys Podcast in 2017:
"The 'Red Wedding' from Game of Thrones was something that was really resonating, where you have this brilliant, beautiful and fun moment and then it just goes south in such a quick fashion where you can't believe it. That, to me, was the brilliance of it."
