History Expy / ProWrestling

* [[Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham "Superstar" Billy Graham]] is the direct influence of Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/ScottSteiner, and Wrestling/JesseVentura in image and mannerisms, which all three have alluded to in the past (Hogan in shoot interviews, Steiner by briefly using the name "Superstar", and Ventura by claiming Graham copied him!)
* Wrestling/TheRockNRollExpress (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) perfected the underdog heartthrob pretty boy baby{{face}} team role in the 1980s and spawned several expies, most notably the Rockers[[note]]The Rockers were even originally called the Midnight Rockers, a combination of names of the Rock N Roll Express and their longstanding rivals, Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress.[[/note]] (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty) and, later, the Hardy Boyz ([[Wrestling/MattHardy Matt]] and [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Jeff]].)

* Wrestling/ChrisBenoit was an expy of Wrestling/DynamiteKid. Which is why the otherwise renowned technical wrestler did so many risky high flying moves, and why Benoit was so obsessed with his size, or lack there of.
* Wrestling/BryanDanielson began his career as an expy of The Dynamite Kid, Chris Benoit, or possibly both before some DivergentCharacterEvolution. Although Danielson's problem was less size ([[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter you're big, I'm not, you suck]]) and more on [[ButNotTooWhite pastyness]] and facial hair. Otherwise he was the same on the mat pit bull who also liked to jump around a lot.

* Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} was seen by many people as an expy of [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stone Cold" Steve Austin]] due to his bald head and similar outfit (basic black [[UnderwearOfPower trunks]] and boots), and how Wrestling/EricBischoff had famously told Austin that [[HilariousInHindsight a guy wearing such an outfit wasn't marketable.]] Goldberg's streak of [[SquashMatch squashes]] and the fact that he usually said very little, as opposed to Austin's usual involvement in 20-minute interviews, served to get him over and give him his own identity. Despite the appearance, Goldberg was much closer to 1980s ForeignWrestlingHeel [[Wrestling/NikitaKoloff "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff]], though what he was going for was a CaptainErsatz of Wrestling/DanSevern[[note]]Wrestling/EricBischoff thought he could book a fake MMA fighter better than the WWF could book [[Wrestling/KenShamrock a real one]]. As it turns out, he was right. In a pretty funny coincidence the real Dan Severn was Wrestling/{{NWA}} world champion right around this time[[/note]], which isn't so obvious because Goldberg looks ''nothing'' like him, no matter how closely he tries to copy his mannerisms.

** The Renegade went beyond being an [=Expy=] to an outright CaptainErsatz for UW, as videos were shown of him acting very much like UW, and he had similar facepaint, screamed, no-sold and was billed from PartsUnknown. He defeated Wrestling/ArnAnderson for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-tv.html WCW World Television Title]] at the ''Great American Bash'' in June 1995 and lost it to Diamond Dallas Page that September. He never got another push, being reduced to {{Jobber}} status. The man who Hulk Hogan had said would take "Hulkamania into the 21st Century" never got to see it. WCW released him in late 1998 and he committed suicide on February 23, 1999 at the age of 33.
* Dave [=McLane=] will use similar character types repeatedly in his various promotions [=GLOW=], [=POWW=], and [=WOW=], which will in turn be used by whatever promotions that imitate them (ex:Wrestling/{{Wrestlicious}})
* Wrestling/{{Kane}} spawned [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]]'s Wrestling/{{Abyss}}, who was vaguely Kane like in NWA Wildside but a combination of Kane and [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] in TNA.

* [[Wrestling/JamesStorm Beer]] [[Wrestling/BobbyRoode Money Inc.]] was an expy of [[Wrestling/RonSimmons the]] [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield APA]], they even had [[Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} the same manager.]]

* Wrestling/JackSwagger was basically a whinier, lamer Wrestling/KurtAngle - both are former amateur wrestlers that use the Ankle Lock as a finishing move, dress in the traditional singlet and are very very proud of their amateur accomplishments. Both use of American patriotism in their gimmicks.

* Zeb Colter and Wrestling/JackSwagger essentially replayed Wrestling/SgtSlaughter's early 90's gimmick (used for a few months before he became an "Iraqi sympathizer" during the Gulf War). Slaughter targeted Wrestling/TitoSantana, Zeb and Swagger went after Alberto Del Rio, each basically claiming their opponent were in the United States illegally. And then Swagger even had a foreigner, [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Antonio Cesaro]], as a partner, much as Slaughter eventually teamed with Col. Mustafa ([[Wrestling/TheIronSheik Iron Sheik]] repackaged as an Iraqi instead of an Iranian).

** Nowadays, it seems every new team that debuts just attacks random people for no real reason like the nWo. In the New Tens, we have had the aforementioned Nexus, the Corre, the Wrestling/{{Aces And Eights|Wrestlers}} in TNA, Wrestling/TheShield, and the Wyatt Family.

* For a period during 2010 and 2011, WWE tried turning Wrestling/MichaelCole into a new version of [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]]'s "Mr. [=McMahon=]" character. Unfortunately, it failed spectacularly, mostly because [=McMahon=] actually was [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the boss of WW(F/E)]], while Wrestling/MichaelCole was simply an announcer. Thankfully, WWE ended the experiment at Over The Limit 2011, with Cole returning to his neutral [[TheChewToy Chew Toy]] announcer role on Raw the night after -- though he does still show a tendency to root for the {{heel}}s.