Megamania/RockmaniaAfter watching the fanmade animation, "Rockman Rumble", it planted the idea in me for the creation of something equivalent to a Wrestlemania, with the kayfabe personas of actual past pro-wrestlers from the old WWF's Golden and New Generation Eras transposed onto the robot masters from the "Mega Man" franchise of video games. The 80s and early 90s were the time when every wrestler had their own colourful signature gimmick or billed occupation. It is surprisingly easy to find good analogs for these characters from a writing angle. Sadly, roughly about half of all the people who were wrestling at that time are now dead, the rest are very old now.It feels natural that the project should begin with mock outtakes, promo interview segments, and character vignettes to establish the feuds between the different robot masters and to set the tone.The convention of established rules I would favor for this project include: no fatalities, banning the use of any weapons or super powers belonging to each respective robot master unless used in conjunction with wrestling moves ( e.g. piledrivers, suplexes, hurricanranas, etc. ) - of course, the second rule doesn't apply to the heels who by virtue of them being the designated bad guys will always cheat to get the advantage over the babyfaces in the matches.😉, Now for the character roster... ( more may be added later )Cut Man & Guts Man -The reason these two always seem joined at the hip is because the Ruby-Spears cartoon from the 90s portrayed them as always working together in a pair as Wily's go-to goons for some reason. Guts Man's red and yellow colour scheme as well as his large brawny frame would probably make him an ideal fit for the part of the iconic Hulkster character portrayed by Terry Bollea, whose signature finisher was the "atomic leg drop." Hogan's critics often cite him as being a subpar in-ring worker. Fans were famously referred to as the "Hulkamaniacs." In Cut Man's official Capcom personality profile, it states that he enjoys cutting hair. This makes Cut Man a perfect fit for the part of Brutus the Barber Beefcake - my all-time personal favorite wrestling personality, so named because he would always bring out his clippers and cut his opponent's hair after a match! Brutus was also known for bringing a pair of giant garden shears to the ring to use as a prop - awesome! Imagining Cut Man wearing a bow tie choker and a brightly coloured tiger stripe jacket is just too precious for words! lol This actually gets even better...Brutus ( real name Ed Leslie ) was actually Hogan's childhood friend growing up in real life. In the early 90s, before the Hulkster left the WWF amid the steroid scandal, he and Brutus actually formed a tag team together named....wait for it....the "Mega Maniacs!" After Brutus recovered from his facial reconstructive surgery following a near life threatening accident he had out on the water, the storyline was written that the heels of Money Incorporated, made up of the Million Dollar Man & Irwin Schyster, would claim responsibility for the incident as their handiwork in the lead up to the big pay-per-view match which would pit them against the Mega Maniacs. Priceless stuff. While everyone knows who Hulk Hogan was, very few remember Brutus the Barber. Here's a video displaying his hilarious antics to his entrance music. In-ring ability notwithstanding, you can see why he's my favorite...the guy was a great showman in the promos and interviews. Most of the hardcore fans still insist that Macho, Warrior, and Hart were better talents. Personally, I just really love Brutus for the character. ,Mean Gene interviews Brutus & Hogan...,Punk - One of the "Mega Man Slayers" from the Game Boy versions of the games. I actually see him as a good fit for Sid Vicious ( aka "Sycho Sid" ), not just because he's scary looking, but also because the wrestler shares his moniker with the notorious former bassist from the punk rock band called the "Sex Pistols." Here's the skit where Sid wrecked the set of Brutus' talk show segment called the "Barber's Corner.",Snake Man - For anyone who watched wrestling during the 80s and early 90s, it should be obvious whom Snake Man would make a perfect analog for. Jake "the Snake" Roberts was one of the greatest heels in the entire history of the business. In kayfabe, he was known in the WWF for bringing live snakes to the ring and throwing them on top of his opponents and letting them bite them! Most other people put him ahead of Brutus but, they're both pretty close to one another as colourful characters.,Napalm Man -Although he lacks hands in the game, I think it was either the "Megamix" or "Gigamix" comics which stipulated that robot masters could actually swap out their weapons/cannons with working hands just like Rock could. This actually makes sense. So with Napalm Man given hands with which he can grapple with or throw his opponents around the ring, which famous WWF star does he evoke to mind? Honestly, there is only one guy that perfectly aligns with all of Napalm Man's qualities. This guy is so Bam Bam Bigelow...Bam Bam's famous for making his way to the ring wearing all-over prints of flames on his wrestling gear. "Wrestlemania: the Arcade Game" played up this motif by making it where the flames on Bam Bam's gear were animated to look like real flames; in addition, Bam Bam would also teleport and rematerialize from flames, standing in upright position after performing a flying headbutt or body press - it's a pretty trippy retro game that I would recommend playing. If all this isn't enough, just have a listen at Bam Bam's theme song from 1992. Napalm Man has Bam Bam written all over him... ( RIP Bam Bam ),Star Man - After reading about the way this robot master was portrayed in manga, I think he's a perfect fit for the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Although greatly beloved by wrestling fans, HBK was famously hated by his peers in the locker room. He is generally regarded as the ringleader of the "Kliq.",Hard Man -In his official Capcom personality profile, it states that this robot master enjoys Sumo Wrestling as a hobby. I'm thinking that he needs to be transposed into the role of Yokozuna. Although the wrestler's persona was billed as Japanese, it turns out that the man was really a Samoan. His manager Mr. Fuji was an American Citizen of Japanese and Native Hawaiian Descent. Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji are both deceased now ( RIP ).,Magnet Man -I would really like to see Magnet Man with one or both of the Two Ricks' personalities transposed onto his character. The Two Ricks I am referring to of course, are Ravishing Rick Rude and "the Model" Rick Martel. I think it would fit the magnetism motif really well...,Elec Man -Having been officially established by Capcom as having a conceited and snooty disposition, it feels like he would be a natural fit for the role of Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. Hennig and his childhood friend, Rick Rude, are both deceased now, sorry to say.,Fire Man -Although his visage doesn't really remind me of any wrestler in particular, I think he would actually make a great Macho Man Randy Savage. The Macho Man character was a hothead and he was NUTS! It would be much more entertaining than the "Southern Baptist" personality he was given in Powered Up. I'm also thinking that it would be even better if the voice actor chosen to play him also did commentary with the announcers like Randy did in the early 90s in real life before going to WCW later. Randy has also passed on to the great blue yonder ( RIP ).Motivation: Fire Man holds a deep seated grudge against Guts Man because he blames him for breaking up his marriage. This now begs the question...who is going to correspond to Miss Elizabeth? Splash Woman maybe?,Crash Man -In his official personality profile, Crash is stated to not only possess very thick armor but, is also said to be very strong even by the standards of most of the other robot masters. It is also said that he is very unrestrained with his honesty, and though usually well-behaved, he tends to go berserk when angered. Crash is hinted to be a bit petulant on occasion - possibly even bipolar. Based on this info, I think Crash Man would make a good analog for Brian "Crush" Adams. Adams was billed at around 6'7" and over 300lbs. - he was a big guy. It would also make sense to inflate Crash Man's height a little bit to emphasize his strong man attributes, and since his weapon is called the "crash bomber", then this should probably also be the name of his finisher bodyslam move - I'm thinking an aerial somersaulting powerbomb for dramatic effect. Adams' signature hold, the cranium crush didn't really look that believable. Adams is now also deceased - RIP.,Clown Man -Any robot wrestling association worth its salt would definitely be wanting if it didn't have an evil clown heel to make kids cry. Matt Osborne ( also dead now - RIP ) as evil Doink would be a perfect fit to be transposed onto this character. "Clown Man, hey! Ya makin' kids cry, bra!",Gemini Man -This robot master ( one of my favorites ) is canonically described as a narcissist in his official Capcom personality profile, which would make him less likable. Who else but Lex Luger as his heel persona, the Narcissist? Beautiful theme music...,Terra - When I see this robot master ( or Star Droid ), there is only one wrestler I ever think of. Sadly, Ultimate Warrior is also now gone ( RIP ). It would be great to see a vignette similar to the one he did with Jake the Snake before he was fired from the company. He even disdainfully referred to Jake as "Snake Man!",,,They just don't make vignettes like this anymore...for shame.Skull Man -The morbid motif would make him an obvious choice to transpose the persona of the very alive "Dead Man" from Texas onto. I still remember when the Undertaker was billed as a Death Valley native. lol In-ring, the Undertaker was known to often manhandle his opponents with little trouble ( as the script dictated ). He was also huge, like 6'10". No introduction needed...I don't think.Crystal Man -Out of all of the robot masters from the original series 1-7, this guy I think would be the best fit to be given the persona of the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase. I think it was even said that he was actually built by Dr. Wily to draw income to fund his operations. Of course, he would be a designated heel. ,Wave Man -I see Wave Man as a good analog for the Tugboat character before he joined Earthquake under the moniker "Typhoon" to form the tag team known as the Natural Disasters.,Proto Man ( aka Blues ) -Am I the only guy who grew up thinking that Proto Man looks like Judge Dredd?? I am on the fence as to whether Proto should be given the personalities of Big Boss Man or Bret "the Hitman" Hart. I realize that neither would really go with his free-spirited lancer role in the games though.,Shadow Man - Maybe the most popular robot master in the entire classic Mega Man series of games, and it's not hard to see why. It took me years to figure out that he was supposed to be a ninja themed droid. All other things pertaining to his colourful backstory aside, which classic pro-wrestling gimmick would be best suited to being transposed onto him? Considering how over like rover that he is with the fans, maybe he would make a good Bret Hart analog? Ninjas and assassins are often considered synonymous anyway. I think it goes with the motif.,Sigma & Vile -From the Mega Man X spinoff series, and thus they would be outsiders. I never really cared for the animal themed designs of the Mavericks; however, Sigma and his lieutenant Vile always had a good look to them. I originally wanted Metal Man for the role of Razor Ramon ( aka Scott Hall ) but, that just wouldn't work for the toothpick taunts. I was thinking Sigma for Hall but, he's clearly taller than Vile is. Making things even more complicated, is that Vile wears a full-face T-visor helmet. Oh well, I guess if "Super Sentai Jetman" could have an absurd scene where the droid warrior Grey has a cigar in his non-existent mouth, I suppose Vile could probably do the same thing with a toothpick? In a way, I can actually see the Razor's Edge ( also called the "crucifix powerbomb" ) being a suitable finisher for Vile since there is nothing on his helmet that can catch on the bodies of the other masters while lifting them. Razor's catch phrase was, "take a look at the bad guy!" - this would actually fit rather well with the name Vile. I guess this would leave Sigma as his partner, "Big Daddy Cool/Big Sexy." Scott Hall recently just passed away this year ( RIP ). To be honest, I always preferred Hall as the Razor character while he was with the WWF. The characters Hall portrayed were jerks but, he was immensely popular because he had a good look to him and he destroyed his opponents in the ring with style. Hall was disliked in real life by Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Jericho, and even despised by Bryan Clark ( aka "Wrath/Adam Bomb" ) who described him & X-Pac both as "horrible people." I never even met Scott Hall personally but, it was reported that he was generally good to his fans, though it is common knowledge that he had troubled marriages and problems staying sober. Being a noted member of the Kliq, was he a heel in real life? I don't know. I think probably most of the people in that profession are pricks going on how much they try to bury each other in interviews and attack the reputations of one another. Bret Hart is one of the few individuals that very few people have had any bad things to say about as a person backstage. Despite his kayfabe persona, Sid Vicious doesn't come off as being all that vicious either in his interviews.Whatever the case is with "the Bad Guy," I don't think there can be any doubt that his characters brought something unique to the table. I would argue that he was the single most culturally significant member of the entire Kliq - more important than HHH, more important than X-Pac ( aka Sean Waltman ), more important than Shawn Michaels, and yes...even more important than his BFF, Kevin Nash. Scott Hall not only had a unique and sleek appearance, but he was also a very technical wrestler with a large repertoire of original moves. It is not often that we see a big man of around 6'5" who wrestles like the Bret Harts and Rick Martels. He even had the humility to give credit to Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig for mentoring him. Scott Hall is a genuine icon. I would actually be surprised if people living 600 years in the future don't still remember this guy.,I know that there's more, but these are just some of the most salient examples that I can think of right now.
