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In modern-day WWE, every aspect of a Superstar’s character needs to be as strong as possible in order for them to make it to the very top.
Seth Rollins, for example, is more than just an accomplished in-ring performer. He has improved massively on the mic throughout his time in WWE, while his personality traits, nicknames, mannerisms and move set have all evolved along with his “Beastslayer” character over the last few years.
Charlotte Flair is another Superstar who has emerged in recent years, growing from a rookie in NXT to a WrestleMania main-eventer. Her family name alone was never going to be enough for her to succeed, so she added several unique layers to her character to make her stand out from the rest of the roster.
As the decades have progressed and move sets and personas have become more varied, it is only natural that WWE Superstars are going to start using popular moves and ideas that have previously been made famous by other performers.
However, did you know that several current-day Superstars, including the likes of Rollins and Flair, have been called out by other people for supposedly stealing their ideas?
Let’s take a look at five occasions when this has happened.
#5 Sami Zayn/H.C. Dyer
The 2017 United Kingdom Championship tournament began with Trent Seven defeating H.C. Dyer, and it ended with an unusual Twitter spat between Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd.
Dyer hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb on Seven during the match, leading WWE’s social media team to mention how the Englishman was channeling Zayn by using the move.
Zayn replied:
“Why imitate when you can create?”
Wrestler-turned-producer Tyson Kidd then got involved, questioning why the former NXT champion was seemingly claiming to have created the Blue Thunder Bomb – a move that was made famous by Jun Akiyama.
“You created the blue thunder bomb?? Does Jun Akiyama know this??”
Kidd and Zayn faced each other on multiple occasions in NXT, notably in a Fatal 4-Way match with Neville and Tyler Breeze in 2014, so this may have been nothing more than a friendly dig between two former rivals. Or perhaps not, as Zayn didn’t even respond!
#4 Seth Rollins
From 2015-2018, Vince McMahon banned Seth Rollins from using the Curb Stomp due to the negative connotations that are associated with the name of the move.
As Rollins was aligned with Triple H and The Authority at the time, he used the Pedigree as his main finisher from 2015-2017 before switching to the Ripcord Knee shortly after he defeated HHH at WrestleMania 33.
The move was instantly compared to Kenny Omega’s Rain Trigger, prompting this response from Omega on Twitter:
"Well, at least I still have my entrance music...
"To clarify,I'm not upset.The thievery of late is blatant/funny but anyone is free to put their own spin on stuff.I'll be out doing the same"
Despite the “thievery”, the two men appear to be on good terms, as Rollins mentioned in 2018 that his dream opponent outside of WWE would be Omega. The likelihood of that match happening is slim, especially now that Omega has become an executive vice-president with AEW, but who knows what the future might hold!
#3 Liv Morgan
In January 2018, Liv Morgan altered her look by dying her pigtails pink. Her change in appearance prompted the following Twitter response from Alexa Bliss, who also had pink pigtails at the time:
“Pink pigtails ... where have I seen that before?”
Nia Jax backed up Bliss in a since-deleted tweet, writing that Morgan can “have the scraps” from the image that her best friend built:
“Don’t trip bestie, you’re the top of the mountain, imitation is bound to happen. You are untouchable with what you have done, let her have the scraps ?”
As ever with WWE Superstars and their social media accounts, it is sometimes difficult to tell when Twitter remarks like this are genuine or if performers are staying in character to build to an eventual storyline.
In this case, Bliss and Morgan were on separate brands and there was no chance of them being involved in a rivalry, so it appears as though these comments were genuine.
#2 CM Punk
CM Punk claimed during his infamous appearance on Colt Cabana’s ‘Art of Wrestling’ podcast that Ryback “took 20 years off my career” following their matches against each other in 2012-13.
Speaking on his own podcast, ‘Conversation With The Big Guy’, Ryback explained that the real-life tension between the two men began when Punk started using an arm taunt to encourage fans to chant “CM Punk” or “G.T.S.” during his matches.
At the time, Ryback had been told by Vince McMahon that he could no longer use a three-syllable arm taunt of his own, “Feed Me More”, because he had recently turned heel.
“The Big Guy” felt that Punk had copied him by using the arm taunt, so he confronted him after a match one day (quotes via Wrestling Inc.):
“I was in the locker room. I saw it on the monitor. I had my boots off. I was getting changed and I said, 'f*** this' and went into 'Gorilla' [Position] and when he came back there just said, 'I don't appreciate you doing this. That was taken away from me. That was my thing. I got it over' and he was caught off guard with the whole thing, like, 'I was f****** doing that before!' And I go, 'you didn't get it over. I did.' And he wasn't happy. That's when he really started to hate me.”
#1 Charlotte Flair
Former Impact Wrestling Knockouts champion Sienna has had a very distinctive look throughout her career. She has worn feathers as part of her attire, along with dark make-up, while she uses a “Pinkies Up” hand gesture.
In 2017, Charlotte Flair also began using a “Pinkies Up” sign when she began teaming with Becky Lynch on SmackDown Live. The two Superstars would often raise their fingers to each other when they said something controversial (or, in their words, “spilled some tea”).
Needless to say, as you can see from this since-deleted tweet, Sienna was not happy:
“I ignored the feathers & the makeup, but the pinky? Really? If you need anything else from me, let me know. @MsCharlotteWWE #PinkiesUp ?”
Flair responded with a ‘tea’ emoji, along with a picture of the feathers that have inspired her signature look:
Still not satisfied, Sienna replied:
“If this is a response you need to @ me, sis. Or is that not part of your script? @MsCharlotteWWE”
