History ActorAllusion / ProfessionalWrestling

* The February 2009 issue of ''WWE Magazine'' featured an interview with [=Jesse=] and [=Festus=], (well, [=Jesse=]), where [=Jesse=] compared themselves to the Fabulous Freebirds. [=Jesse=]'s real name is Terry Ray Gordy Jr., and his father, the late Terry "Bamm Bamm" Gordy, was one of the original Freebirds with Michael Hayes.

* Jim Ross sometimes referred to [[Wrestling/DGenerationX "Road Dogg" Jesse Jammes]] as "'Bullet' Bob Armstrong's little boy." Road Dogg, real name Brian Gerard James, is indeed the son of southern wrestling legend "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, though he never acknowledged it in character in WWE.
* During the ''Survivor Series 1995'' match between the Bodydonnas (Skip [Wrestling/ChrisCandido][=/=]Rad Radford [Louie Spicolli][=/=]Dr. Tom Prichard[=/=][[Wrestling/XPac The 1-2-3 Kid]]) and the Underdogs (Marty Jannetty[=/=]Wrestling/BarryHorowitz[=/=]Wrestling/BobHolly[=/=]Hakushi), Marty hit the Rocker Dropper on Skip, prompting commentator Mr. Perfect to say, "That'll break a neck." On December 11, 1990, the Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated the team of [[Wrestling/LannyPoffo The Genius (Lanny Poffo)]] and Charles Austin in a match in Tampa, Florida where Austin suffered a broken neck due to setting up for the Rocker Dropper incorrectly, trying to do a forward roll instead of the correct face-first bump. Jannetty quickly rolled Austin over and Shawn came off the top with a fistdrop for the pin. The match was taped, but never televised. Doctors at the time thought Austin might be paralyzed from the neck down for life. By 1994, he had regained some feeling in his arms and legs and was able to move around on crutches. He later sued WWE, Michaels and Jannetty for $3.8 million. On April 29, 1994, a Hillsborough County, FL jury awarded Austin $26.7 million, ruling that Titan Sports (WWE's official parent company) was 90% responsible, Jannetty was 5% responsible and that Austin himself was 5% responsible.

* At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} Tag World Grand Prix Night II'', February 19, 2005, Team Wrestling/{{CZW}} member Jon Dahmer mentioned Mano Metalico, who had unsuccessfully teamed with Crossbones on ''Night I''[[note]]At the time, they were both members of Wrestling/LarrySweeney's [[PowerStable Sweet N Sour International]][[/note]], and his teammate DJ Hyde dismissed the reference. The "DJ" in DJ Hyde's name comes from his real name David John Markland, and he also played Mano Metalico.

* At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} King of Trios 2009'', Night 1, March 27, 2009, the [=UnStable=] (Vin Gerard[=/=][[Wrestling/ShaneStorm STIGMA]]/Colin Delaney) were scheduled to face the Cold Front (Wrestling/AlSnow[=/=]Wrestling/{{Glacier}}[=/=]Iceberg), but Iceberg wasn't there, so they brought out a hat to draw the name of a replacement. The names Shinobi, Avatar and Leif Cassidy were all mentioned, which were all alter egos of Al Snow.[[note]]For the record, Wrestling/DLoBrown turned out to be the third man, and the [=UnStable=] won.[[/note]]

* At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} King of Trios 2009'', Night 1, March 27, 2009, the [=UnStable=] (Vin Gerard/STIGMA/Colin Delaney) were scheduled to face the Cold Front (Wrestling/AlSnow[=/=]Wrestling/{{Glacier}}[=/=]Iceberg), but Iceberg wasn't there, so they brought out a hat to draw the name of a replacement. The names Shinobi, Avatar and Leif Cassidy were all mentioned, which were all alter egos of Al Snow.

* During the [[Characters/NewWorldOrder Horace Boulder]]-[[Characters/WCWInvasion Juventud Guerrera]] match on the May 21, 1998 episode of ''WCW Thunder'', [[Characters/WCWInvasion Lodi]] could be seen holding a sign that read "Horace- The Real Man of the Family." This is a combined Actor Allusion and TakeThat, since Horace is Hulk Hogan's nephew, although this was not acknowledged until he joined the [=NWO=] and renamed himself "Horace Hogan" on the October 26th ''WCW Monday Nitro'', as it suggested that Hulk Hogan was not a "real man."

* Wrestling/TorrieWilson was once in an angle where she got in trouble for laughing at Wrestling/TheBigShow backstage while he was in a bad mood. This was likely a reference to the famous Wrestling/{{WCW}} segment where [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] was on a rampage backstage and found Torrie {{Corpsing}} and slapped her in the face as a result.

* During the ''Survivor Series 1995'' match between the Bodydonnas (Skip [Wrestling/ChrisCandido][=/=]Rad Radford [Louie Spicolli][=/=]Dr. Tom Prichard[=/=][[Wrestling/XPac The 1-2-3 Kid]]) and the Underdogs (Marty Jannetty[=/=]Wrestling/BarryHorowitz[=/=]Wrestling/BobHolly[=/=]Hakushi), Marty hit the Rocker Dropper on Skip, prompting commentator Mr. Perfect to say, "That'll break a neck." On December 11, 1990, the Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated the team of the Genius (Lanny Poffo) and Charles Austin in a match in Tampa, Florida where Austin suffered a broken neck due to setting up for the Rocker Dropper incorrectly, trying to do a forward roll instead of the correct face-first bump. Jannetty quickly rolled Austin over and Shawn came off the top with a fistdrop for the pin. The match was taped, but never televised. Doctors at the time thought Austin might be paralyzed from the neck down for life. By 1994, he had regained some feeling in his arms and legs and was able to move around on crutches. He later sued WWE, Michaels and Jannetty for $3.8 million. On April 29, 1994, a Hillsborough County, FL jury awarded Austin $26.7 million, ruling that Titan Sports (WWE's official parent company) was 90% responsible, Jannetty was 5% responsible and that Austin himself was 5% responsible.

* On the April 27, 1998, ''Raw'', Triple H said in his promo that he wasn't going to let anyone kill his buzz, with X-Pac (Sean Waltman) standing behind him. When Waltman was Syxx of the NWO in WCW in 1996-1997, his FinishingMove was a ground Crossface Chickenwing called the Buzzkiller.

* When Christian made his return to WWE on ECW in 2009, Matt Striker said "This moment has just become instantly classic!" After leaving WWE in 2005, Wrestling/{{Christian}} had moved to TNA where he was known as The Instant Classic Christian Cage.

** On the December 14, 1998 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', Wrestling/{{Kanyon}} said that [=Raven=] had grown up as a spoiled rich trust fund baby in Palm Beach, FL. Scott Levy was known in the Global Wrestling Federation for a time as "The Palm Beach Heartthrob" Scott Anthony.

** During his very brief stint on ''[[Wrestling/WWESmackdown WWE [=SmackDown!=]]]'', on the July 4, 2008 episode, [=HHH=] guested on MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter)'s [[TalkShowWithFists VIP Lounge]] where he praised Wrestling/{{Edge}} for getting with Wrestling/VickieGuerrero. [[RealitySubtext "Marrying the boss to get ahead in the business? That's brilliant!"]].

* This happens more often than the average person might think in the world of pro wrestling. Because a wrestler's career - provided that he or she is successful or famous enough - can easily span a decade or more, and given the often limited talent pool within a single promotion, it's inevitable that many of these characters are going to cross paths more than once, and sometimes under dramatically different circumstances that can make viewers forget what happened before. So it's not too unusual for them to bring up their past encounters, whether just as a joke or as part of the current angle's serious subtext; in the latter case, past footage from those earlier feuds will be played in montage fashion during breaks in the action.

* Wrestlers occasionally make references to previous gimmicks in this way, most famously Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin using the Million Dollar Dream, his finisher as The Ringmaster, out of desperation at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} X-7''.
* In Wrestling/{{TNA}}, Wrestling/KevinNash was giving Jay Lethal suggestions for new nicknames. All of them were previously used by Nash.

** In the same promo, Michelle ribbed Maria Kanellis for her appearance on ''[[Series/TheApprentice Celebrity Apprentice]]''.

* While she was in WWE the second time around Wrestling/GailKim was referred to by the announcers as a 2-time Women's Champion. She held the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-wm.html WWE Women's Championship]] only once and the other title was the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-wm.html TNA Knockouts Title]]. It's especially notable not only because it's one of the closest times WWE has ever come to acknowledging TNA on screen, but also because the WWE has failed to acknowledge the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-h.html TNA World Heavyweight Title]] on a few occasions (such as whenever tallying up world championship reigns).
* Wrestling/TorrieWilson was once in an angle where she got in trouble for laughing at Wrestling/TheBigShow backstage while he was in a bad mood. This was likely a reference to the famous WCW segment where [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] was on a rampage backstage and found Torrie {{Corpsing}} and slapped her in the face as a result.

* On the December 10, 2007 episode of ''[=Raw=]'', billed as Raw's 15th Anniversary Show, there was a battle royal featuring wrestlers from the past 15 years. During the match, JR and Lawler referred to Skinner (Steve Keirn) as a "fabulous one." Steve Keirn and Stan Lane were known in Memphis, Florida, the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation, and other territories as Wrestling/TheFabulousOnes from 1982 until 1987, when Jim Crockett Promotions closed down Florida, and manager Wrestling/JimCornette took Lane as Bobby Eaton's partner in Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress after Dennis Condrey left without any kind of warning.

* The main event of the ''[=WCW=] Fall Brawl 1997'' [=PPV=], September 14, 1997, was the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder NWO]] (Kevin Nash[=/=]Syxx [Sean Waltman]/Buff Bagwell[=/=]Wrestling/{{Konnan}}) defeating the Four [=Horsemen=] (Wrestling/RicFlair[=/=]Wrestling/ChrisBenoit[=/=]Steve "Mongo" [=McMichael=][=/=]Wrestling/CurtHennig) in [[GimmickMatches War Games]] after Hennig had [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]] on the Horsemen. The following night on ''WCW Monday Nitro'', Hennig presented "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan with Flair's robe. Hogan accepted the robe, saying, "This day has been perfect," alluding to Hennig's [=WWE=] name Mr. Perfect.

* At ''WWE Night of Champions 2012'', during the match between [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Heavyweight Champion]] [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli)]] and Wrestling/ZackRyder, the camera found a fan holding a sign that read "Kassius Ohno is my Hero," referring to Wrestling/ChrisHero, Castagnoli's Kings of Wrestling tag team partner in Wrestling/RingOfHonor, [=CHIKARA=], Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, and other promotions, who, at the time, was in ''Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}'' as Kassius Ohno.

* During the ''Survivor Series 1995'' match between the Bodydonnas (Skip [Wrestling/ChrisCandido][=/=]Rad Radford [Louie Spicolli][=/=]Dr. Tom Prichard[=/=]The 1-2-3 Kid [Sean Waltman]) and the Underdogs (Marty Jannetty[=/=]Wrestling/BarryHorowitz[=/=][=Bob Holly=][=/=]Hakushi), Marty hit the Rocker Dropper on Skip, prompting commentator Mr. Perfect to say, "That'll break a neck." On December 11, 1990, the Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated the team of the Genius (Lanny Poffo) and Charles Austin in a match in Tampa, Florida where Austin suffered a broken neck due to setting up for the Rocker Dropper incorrectly, trying to do a forward roll instead of the correct face-first bump. Jannetty quickly rolled Austin over and Shawn came off the top with a fistdrop for the pin. The match was taped, but never televised. Doctors at the time thought Austin might be paralyzed from the neck down for life. By 1994, he had regained some feeling in his arms and legs and was able to move around on crutches. He later sued WWE, Michaels and Jannetty for $3.8 million. On April 29, 1994, a Hillsborough County, FL jury awarded Austin $26.7 million, ruling that Titan Sports (WWE's official parent company) was 90% responsible, Jannetty was 5% responsible and that Austin himself was 5% responsible.

* When Christian made his return to WWE on ECW in 2009, Matt Striker said "This moment has just become instantly classic!" After leaving WWE in 2005, Christian had moved to TNA where he was known as The Instant Classic Christian Cage.

* When [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] goes on a rant about how [[Wrestling/GregoryHelms the Hurricane]] pales in comparison to other superheroes ("Franchise/{{Batman}} could beat the Hurricane" etc.), the Hurricane responds with "there's one person The Hurricane can beat... [[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Scorpion King]]". In ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy Returns]]'', [[Creator/BrendanFraser Richard "Rick" O'Connell]] beat the Scorpion King (played by The Rock.)

* On the May 2, 1999 episode of ''[[{{BShow}} Sunday Night Heat]]'', while Al Snow and [[Wrestling/BobHolly Hardcore Holly]] were feuding over the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-hc.html WWE Hardcore Title]], Al rode out on a toy car, a combined Actor Allusion and TakeThat in reference to Holly's previous [[TheGimmick gimmick]], {{NASCAR}} driver Sparky Thurman Plugg (later renamed "Sparkplug" Bob Holly).

* Commentator Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield will mention Hardcore Holly when Wrestling/CodyRhodes, Holly's former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Championship]] partner back in 2007-2008, uses Holly's Alabama Slam finisher..

* As part of a TakeThat in a promo, Wrestling/MickieJames sarcastically said to [[Wrestling/{{LayCool}} Michelle [=McCool=]]], "you're so clever. Are you smarter than a 5th grader". Michelle made an appearance on the game show ''Series/AreYouSmarterThanAFifthGrader'' and performed abysmally.

* Wrestling/TorrieWilson was once in an angle where she got in trouble for laughing at Wrestling/TheBigShow backstage while he was in a bad mood. This was likely a reference to the famous WCW segment where [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] was on a rampage backstage and found Torrie {{Corpsing}} and slapped her in the face as a result.[[note]][[{[Botchamania}} Corpsing? Send for The Man!]][[/note]]

* Wrestling/TorrieWilson was once in an angle where she got in trouble for laughing at Wrestling/TheBigShow backstage while he was in a bad mood. This was likely a reference to the famous WCW segment where [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] was on a rampage backstage and found Torrie {{Corpsing}} and slapped her in the face as a result.[[note]][[{[Botchamania}} Corpsing? Send for The Man!]]]]

* Wrestling/TorrieWilson was once in an angle where she got in trouble for laughing at Wrestling/TheBigShow backstage while he was in a bad mood. This was likely a reference to the famous WCW segment where [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] was on a rampage backstage and found Torrie {{Corpsing}} and slapped her in the face as a result.

* At ''WWE Night of Champions 2012'', during the match between [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Heavyweight Champion]] [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli)]] and Wrestling/ZackRyder, the camera found a fan holding a sign that read "Kassius Ohno is my Hero," referring to Wrestling/ChrisHero, Castagnoli's Kings of Wrestling tag team partner in Wrestling/RingOfHonor, [=CHIKARA=], Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, and other promotions, who is currently in ''Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}'' as Kassius Ohno.

* On the December 10, 2007 episode of ''[=Raw=]'', billed as Raw's 15th Anniversary Show, there was a battle royal featuring wrestlers from the past 15 years. During the match, JR and Lawler referred to Skinner (Steve Keirn) as a "fabulous one." Steve Keirn and Stan Lane were known in Memphis, Florida, the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation, and other territories as Wrestling/TheFabulousOnes from 1982 until 1987, when Jim Crockett Promotions closed down Florida, and manager Wrestling/JimCornette took Lane as Bobby Eaton's partner in the Midnight Express after Dennis Condrey left without any kind of warning.

* In a promo for his ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} XV'' match with [[Wrestling/SeanWaltman X-Pac (Sean Waltman)]], [[Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon Shane [=McMahon=]]] said "I'm going to pin you 1,2,3, kid," alluding to the name Waltman had used from 1993-1996.

* On the September 6, 2000 episode of ''[=WCW=] Thunder,'' "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviewed [[Wrestling/DevonStorm Crowbar]] prior to his match with Shane Douglas. Crowbar mentioned Douglas' real name of Troy Martin and referred to himself as "Devon." Prior to coming to WCW in late 1999, Crowbar, real name Christopher Ford, had wrestled for various promotions as Devon Storm.

* On an episode of ''Monday Night Raw'' a couple of years back, Chavo Guerrero was chasing Hornswoggle backstage and opened the door to a dressing room, expecting to find the midget inside - only to get smacked in the face by a swinging paint can on a string. Someone then emerged from the dressing room, and it turned out to be...Macaulay Culkin. (If you have to ask why that's funny, you should see [[Film/HomeAlone this movie]].)

* During Wrestling/{{Sabu}}'s final [=WCW=] match, against Disco Inferno on the October 30, 1995 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', commentator [[Wrestling/BobbyHeenan Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]] said, "Sabu's ''[[Wrestling/{{ECW}} extremely]]'' dangerous, don't take him lightly."

* When [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] goes on a rant about how the Hurricane pales in comparison to other superheroes ("Franchise/{{Batman}} could beat the Hurricane" etc.), the Hurricane responds with "there's one person The Hurricane can beat... [[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Scorpion King]]". In ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy Returns]]'', [[Creator/BrendanFraser Richard "Rick" O'Connell]] beat the Scorpion King (played by The Rock.)

* [[WildSamoan Ekmo (better known as Umaga)]], who had last been seen in WWE as Jamal of the tag team Three Minute Warning, showed up in Major League Wrestling in Florida to team with his cousin [[WildSamoan Samu]] as the Samoan Island Tribe in a successful [[GimmickMatches Falls Count Anywhere]] match against Monsta Mack and B-Boy at ''Wrestling/{{MLW}} Summer Apocalypse'', August 22, 2003. On ''MLW Underground TV'', announcer Wrestling/JoeyStyles said that he made an impact and that it took him less than three minutes to do it.

* At ''WWE Night of Champions 2012'', during the match between [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Heavyweight Champion]] Wrestling/AntonioCesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) and Wrestling/ZackRyder, the camera found a fan holding a sign that read "Kassius Ohno is my Hero," referring to Wrestling/ChrisHero, Castagnoli's Kings of Wrestling tag team partner in Wrestling/RingOfHonor, [=CHIKARA=], Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, and other promotions, who is currently in ''Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}'' as Kassius Ohno.

* On the 2007 HalloweenEpisode of WWECW, October 30, 2007, Tommy Dreamer dressed as Paul Heyman for his match against [[Wrestling/LittleGuidoMaritato Nunzio (formerly [=ECW=]'s Little Guido Maritato)]], who was dressed as {{Dracula}}), with announcer Joey Styles and commentator Wrestling/{{Tazz}} saying how they sort of recognized who Dreamer was imitating but they couldn't actually say it, as Heyman had left the company in December 2006. Dreamer even hit Nunzio with a cell phone, much like Paul E. had as a manager in the 1980s and 1990s, though, [[TechnologyMarchesOn while technology has greatly improved]], the fact that Dreamer used the kind of small cellular phone we have today instead of one of the big brick kinds from when they were first introduced qualifies as BadassDecay. Apparently, it was [=WWE=]'s idea for Dreamer to dress up as Heyman here, but he did it with no discernible irony, even leading the crowd in an "[=ECW=]" chant.