5 WWE Superstars and their GFW counterparts

With the history of professional wrestling, it is very difficult to come up with something that is truly original. Gimmicks, storylines, moves, and everything else involved with "sports entertainment" — as one Mr Vincent Kennedy McMahon likes to call it — is derivative.

Which is why you see a lot of gimmicks and superstars these days who are doppelgangers, copies, and rip-offs of others. Sometimes it happens within the same promotion, and at other times, you have one promotion ripping off another one. Look no further than The Monday Night Wars for some of the most blatant examples.

But, we're not here to talk about the past but rather, the present. Global Force Wrestling - previously known as Impact Wrestling and prior to that, most famously, as TNA - is a prime example of copying the WWE to varying degrees with its different wrestlers.

And, today we're going to explore those GFW professional wrestlers who are direct counterparts to WWE Superstars. So, without any further ado, here are 5 WWE Superstars and their GFW counterparts:

#5 Roman Reigns and Ethan Carter III

...While EC3 is the Golden Boy on-screen

This one is more about Ethan Carter III - or EC3 as he's more commonly referred to as - being a direct counterpart of Roman Reigns' real life standing with the company rather than a counterpart of Reigns' gimmick.

EC3's gimmick is that he is the Golden Boy of GFW - the nephew of Dixie Carter, the previous owner of TNA. That is basically what Roman is behind the scenes in WWE. While The Big Dog pushes from backstage authority figures isn't explicitly stated on the air, everyone knows it's true. That's basically why he gets booed out of every building.

With EC3, it's part of his on-air persona and the storylines he engages in. He gets pushed because he is connected to someone important, has the look of a true professional wrestler and the officials want him to be the face of the company.

Seems pretty similar to me.

#4 Nikki Cross and Rosemary

For this entry, we're delving into the world of NXT. Nikki Cross - the only female member of Eric Young's Sanity stable - is very much portrayed as this deranged, gothic, wrestler. She has looked strong, plays a pretty important role in the functioning of her group and could be on her way to becoming the NXT Women's Champion soon.

Rosemary used to be very much the same for her former stable, Decay. Aligning with Abyss and Crazzy Steve, Rosemary and Decay feuded with The Broken Hardyz during their time in TNA; she even became the TNA Knockouts Champion. She held the belt for a whopping 266 days before recently dropping it.

The two women have eerily similar gimmicks and don't be surprised if Nikki Cross ends up going the same way that Rosemary has since her departure from Decay if she ever leaves Sanity behind.

#3 Michael Cole and Josh Matthews

The two were colleagues once upon a time

Michael Cole used to be a cocky ring announcer who grated on everyone's nerves, became a full heel, feuded with his broadcast partner, Jerry The King Lawler and wrestled a match at WWE's biggest pay per view, Wrestlemania.

Josh Matthews is a cocky ring announcer who grated on everyone's nerves, became a full heel, feuded with his broadcast partner, Jeremy Borash, and wrestled a match at GFW's biggest pay per view, Slammiversary.

Seeing some similarities here? Matthews - who is a former WWE interviewer, announcer and commentator - pretty much became the GFW version of Michael Cole and everything was pretty much the same except for a lack of Anonymous General Manager sending e-mails to be read.

It's pretty much a blatant rip-off of the Michael Cole heel character but one that Matthews admittedly did much better with.

#2 Mankind/Kane and Abyss

Abyss is one of the longest-tenured employees in GFW - with his run with the company stretching back to the original TNA days. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop his character from being the amalgamation of two very famous superstars from WWE.

His look and behaviour are very much in line with the Mankind character that Mick Foley played to great effect during the 1990s. He pretty much set the precedented for weird masked deranged men who loved to take things to the hardcore.

But the Abyss character also borrowed from the legendary Kane. His massive build and monstrous look allowed him to channel his inner Big Red Machine to devastating effect. The whole mask thing added to the Kane element as well.

While Abyss is no doubt a talented wrestler, there is no getting away from the fact that he is a Frankenstein monster made up of the parts of Mankind and Kane.

#1 Brock Lesnar and Lashley

Lashley's career trajectory is very similar to Lesnar's

It seems like the only difference between these two men is their skin colour and the amount of work they're willing to put in whenever they enter the squared circle.

While Brock Lesnar is now seen as the part-time guy in the WWE who come in whenever he wants to make some money, Lashley is seen as the real deal by many of the hardcore fans of professional wrestling.

After being released from WWE, Lashley's career trajectory is eerily similar to that of Brock Lesnar. He joined GFW and quickly became the most fearsome competitor on the roster - the same as what Lesnar did in WWE.

He then got into MMA and boasts a highly impressive record of 15 wins and just 2 losses in a variety of promotions but most recently in Bellator. Here, he has bettered The Beast Incarnate although the latter did join up with the UFC.

They are pretty much two peas in a pod, these two men.

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