Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

Pro wrestling has had its fair share of déjà vu.

From WrestleMania main events to in-ring retirements to even Diesel and Razor Ramon doppelgangers, it feels like fans are time travelers, witnessing similar moments time and time again. Hell, just watch an episode of Raw from the Attitude Era and you’ll see multiple run-ins ending a match on the same show. Jim Cornette once said that storylines should only be recycled after seven years – it’s been almost 20 since Austin vs. McMahon, so I guess we should give WWE a pass for Becky Lynch’s current run.

Speaking of which, here are eight other incidents in wrestling history that repeated themselves.

Bullet Club Firings

When it came time for AJ Styles and Adam Cole to head to WWE, they were in the same predicament. They were both not only in the Bullet Club but also fired by Kenny Omega. Styles was relieved of his duties the night after Wrestle Kingdom 10 thanks to a One Winged Angel. During War of the Worlds 2017, Adam Cole was replaced by Marty Scurll, and then superkicked by The Young Bucks.

Monday Night Collapses

WWE is 2-0 when it comes to the Monday Night War. Raw outlasted Nitro in the 1990s and early 2000s, and then almost a decade later, Raw sneezed and blew away Impact. It just so happened that Vince Russo played a large role in Raw’s dominance, and then an even larger role in Nitro and Impact’s downfalls.

Indie Rejection

“It was me Austin! It was me along.” It’s one of the most iconic lines in wrestling history, but what if it was said by a Fallen Angel instead of Vince McMahon? Bruce Prichard revealed on Something To Wrestle With that Russo vouched for Christopher Daniels to assume the role of the Higher Power, but Vinnie Mac vetoed it. According to CM Punk, McMahon vetoed another suggestion during his historic WWE Championship reign. Punk was asked to handpick three individuals to comprise The Shield, his personal bodyguards. Well, he got two out of the three in Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, but his choice of Kassius Ohno (aka Chris Hero) was denied. A true soothsayer, Punk tried to spare us from the reign of the Big Dog.

Ringbusting

After breaking the ring on three separate instances, you would think Big Show would have been banned from competing a long time ago. The first instance occurred in 2002 when Brock Lesnar superplexed him on SmackDown. It happened again at Vengeance 2011 when Mark Henry superplexed Big Show. Third time was a charm on Raw in 2017 when Braun Strowman superplexed the World’s Largest Athlete.

Best Friends, Unfortunate Ends

Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero are forever linked after the fairytale ending of WrestleMania 20 with both atop of the mountain as world champions. Three years later, they’d both be dead. On November 13, 2005, just days before he was rumored to be WWE Champion once again, Guerrero sadly passed away from acute heart failure. In June of 2007, Benoit was marching toward the ECW Championship, scheduled to compete for the title at Vengeance. He never showed up, having allegedly murdered his wife and child before killing himself that same weekend.

Screwjobs

When it came time for business, McMahon did what was best for his company and that’s simply the bottom line. We all know about the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, when Shawn Michaels trapped Bret Hart in the Sharpshooter and McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to ring the bell, despite Hart never submitting. Instead of giving Hart the chance to flee to WCW as WWE Champion, McMahon sacrificed the illusion of pro wrestling and a 14-year friendship in the process. What many fans might now know is McMahon committed an equally desperate act in 1985, ordering the Fabulous Moolah to don a mask as The Spider Lady and beat Wendi Richter for the Women’s Championship by any means necessary.

Last Dance?

First of all, nobody actually retires in pro wrestling. It’s an unwritten rule – you come back when the money is too enticing. At least that’s the only way to justify Shawn Michaels stepping back into the ring last year at WWE Crown Jewel after vowing to have hung up the tights for eight years. Now the man that he retired in WWE, Ric Flair, well, the rule can’t really be applied to him. Sure, the Nature Boy returned to action in Impact for money, but he never wanted to retire in the first place.

WrestleMania Underdogs

The matches were identical, the road similar, a familiar face stood in each other’s way and their victories were equally magical. Benoit entered the 2004 Royal Rumble at No. 1 and became only the second man to last the entire match. As a result, he was inserted into a feud that had begun to grow stale between Triple H and Shawn Michaels, culminating at WrestleMania XX.

A decade later, a very similar story played out as fans had rejected babyface Batista and grown tired of the neverending Authority storyline. WWE officials were forced to change plans, adding the uber-popular Daniel Bryan to the mix, a position he was never supposed to be in as evidenced by his exclusion from the 2014 Royal Rumble. Triple H stuck his nose in the underdog’s business once again, trying to prevent Bryan from winning the gold.

In the end, Bryan celebrated with Connor the Crusher just as Benoit celebrated with his son Daniel.