The Internet Is Convinced WrestleMania Is Just Anime IRL

If you head to Twitter, there is a good chance you will see lots of posts about people you may not [...]

By Megan Peters

If you head to Twitter, there is a good chance you will see lots of posts about people you may not be familiar with. Words like Asuka and The Miz are being tossed around easily, and the anime fandom seems to have turned its eye to the world of professional wrestling as such. After all, WrestleMania 34 is going down, and most of the Internet is convinced the event is just anime LARPing in disguise.

No, really. Just check out the tweets below. You'll see.

Right now, WrestleMania is getting underway, and the huge event is known as one of the most successful WWE stages in history. The event has brought dozens of the WWE's top stars to duke it out for their various titles, but if you look closely at the arena, you will see something strange.

You know, because there is anime everywhere.

By looking at WrestleMania this year, you would think that the venn diagram between anime and wrestling fans is a full-on circle. Earlier tonight, The Miz strutted into WrestleMania wearing an actual Naruto headband to show his Leaf Village pride. His coat looked like it was taken straight from The Seven Deadly Sins, and The Miz is far from the only WWE superstar who loves anime. A fair share of wrestlers have brought anime cosplay into the ring over the last year as every show from Dragon Ball to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has been spotlighted — and this is not even accounting for the signs.

Photos from WrestleMania this year prove anime is alive and well at the event. Countless fans have brought posters to the event which use anime memes to rep their favorite wrestlers, and Twitter is taking full advantage of how tight-knit otakus are with wrestling.

When it comes to specifics, it is hard to say what it is about WWE that endears anime fans. For years, conversations within the anime fandom have praised the WWE Universe for its anime-friendly stories, shonen action, and all-out entrances. ComicBook's Nick Valdez went to far as to say watching WWE is like watching a long-form anime series such as Hunter x Hunter.

"I'd say watching WWE is like watching a long form anime," Valdez wrote. "It will always continue as long as the characters, writers, and creators are willing to continue it. A rich vibrant world of colorful characters and personalities."

As you can see above, Valdex isn't alone in his observations as fans from around the world are finding connections between the WWE and diehard anime tropes. So, if you see a wrestler run out to WrestleMania tonight and shout out a Kamehameha, don't be too surprised.

Do you see the tie-ins between the anime and WWE fandoms? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!?

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