King Of The Iron Ring: Pro Wrestlers & Their Game Of Thrones Counterparts

By Dominic DeAngelo

The following editorial was written by Dominic DeAngelo and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Dominic’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo and listen to his Get The Tray Tables podcast exclusively on WrestleZone Radio.

WARNING: Game Of Thrones spoilers up through Sunday’s “The Long Night” episode are below so make haste if you don’t want your naivety to get White Walker’ed.

Game Of Thrones has only three episodes left before Westeros gets wrapped up for good (not counting prequels and GRRM dragging his feet on those final books) and many watchers of the HBO wall had quite the whirlwind of emotions after last night’s harrowing battle held at Winterfell.

It was the battle of the living vs. the dead that went down last night (Survivor Series indeed). Episode 2 of season 8 featured our favorite babyfaces settling in JAWS “Show Me The Way To Go Home” style as they readied to face their demise. Episode 3 was indeed the culmination of a lot of that and what way to honor the fallen as well as the ones who carry on than to be another genre with several kingdoms in professional wrestling. From WWE to AEW  to ROH to NWA and MLW, many banners are being flown to see who has the rights to the “iron ring.”

I collaborated with Travis Bryant & Rich Fann of Pro Wrestling Torch as we three embarked to go “beyond the wall” of reality and fantasy to see which modern day ring warrior would be who in Georgie Boy’s (it’s cool, we tight) universe of blood, bastards, betrayal and brotherhood. The primary focus for said comparisons were character style not appearance, but that also does play a factor as you’ll see. Let’s get it started with everybody’s favorite family of Winterfell, House Stark.

House Stark

Cody as Jon Snow & Pharaoh as Ghost

Cody as Jon Snow was a lay-up. I interviewed the AEW EVP back in February and we ended the convo with some GoT talk and Cody touched up about how much he related to the now-revealed son of Raegar Targayren. The Rhodes legacy is steeped in wrestling history and the (now not) Bastard Snow has all those historic bases covered in Westeros. Hell, plus the American Nightmare has his own dire wolf in Pharaoh (which by the way, the producers are trolling the F out of us with Ghost. “Bastards,” I do say.)

Read More: Cody Rhodes: Why The Jon Snow (And His Ghost) Of Wrestling Isn’t Focused On The Iron Throne

Daniel Bryan as Bran Stark

Sure, Bran took quite the tumble as a kid and at that young of an age, one of Ned Stark’s youngest boys’ future looked grim, but Bran followed the ways of Jerry Jarrett by making chicken salad out of one soiled sandwich. Same goes for Daniel Bryan who didn’t let his wrestling career supposedly ending end his relationship with the squared circle. Now (new reports of injury notwithstanding) Bryan has a new lease on his wrestling life, with a cornucopia of knowledge and a vehement relationship with sustainability of the planet. Bran and Bryan may have both gotten a little weird as of recent, but they both want their respective worlds to live on.

Erick Rowan as Hodor

Rowan is undoubtedly D-Bry’s Hodor, with the one exception that Hodor tends to speak his mind way more than Erick has.

Ronda Rousey as Arya Stark

Arya has been one of GoT’s biggest stars and focus of the series since it started up back up in 2010. Her spitfire attitude and desire to learn allowed Arya to take to swordsmanship like a natural. Ronda Rousey did the same exact thing with professional wrestling and like Arya, elevated her “universe” to a mainstream level. Arya set a standard for female characters in as a strong female lead and Ronda Rousey has put women’s wrestling on the headline map.

Bayley as Sansa Stark

Yikes, has Sansa had it rough. One moment, things look bright for the young lady of Winterfell, next she’s paired with some psychopath that either likes to behead, flay or castrate. Bayley’s had the same kind of run with WWE’s psychopathic booking. When she was first called up, Bayley was slated by fans to not just to be the women’s division biggest babyface, but WWE’s biggest babyface. Sansa didn’t exactly have the most huggable of personalities growing up, but her expectations of stardom were there. If Sansa can survive the battle of the dead, then things could be promising for the Lady of Winterfell, but that battle is going to be mighty tough. Bayley still has a tough one facing her.

John Cena as Ned Stark

You can’t see John Cena and you definitely can’t see Ned Stark after season one. Hustle, Loyalty & Respect is what got Ned the axe, but he still remains one of the biggest characters the series has had and was a true blue good guy in a world with thieves, undead armies and sellswords. Cena still holds all that top of the card cache in today’s world of modern wrestling.

Nick Aldis as Robb Stark

Aldis along with the hands of Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana are reestablishing the NWA brand back to the big time. Very impressive progress has been made in getting the 10 Pounds Of Gold back to it’s rightful throne of mainstream wrestling. Robb Stark was focused on such matters for his family banner in Winterfell, but that prick Walter Frey put the kibosh on that goal. That being said, the Stark names look to bring balance back to The Seven Kingdoms once more and a brand like the NWA looks to do that for the wrestling business.

Rey Mysterio as Syrio Forel

Many man and woman of the ring has taken Rey Mysterio as a template for their in-ring work and there is no better teacher than the master of the 619. Just like Syrio in season one, his influence will continue to impact generations over time (in thanks to Arya – if she survives).

Kofi Kingston as Benjen Stark

A long-time member of the WWE roster, Kofi has been through it all and has earned the respect of his peers on countless occasions and finally the 11-year found his place at the top of the card. Benjen’s existence hasn’t exactly been “Trouble in Paradise” but more like “Trouble in Purgatory,” but he’s got the name, the cache and the credibility to do what is best for the banner.

Beth Phoenix as Brienne of Tarth

Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Chyna notwithstanding, Beth Phoenix was one of the OG ladies to mix it up with the men. The Glamazon eliminated The Great Khali in the Royal Rumble for lord of light’s sake and now she’s back, looking like she hasn’t lost a step. Hall of Fame? Hell, she should probably get knighted.

NEXT UP: HOUSE LANNISTER

Dominic DeAngelo
Dominic DeAngelo

Dominic started at WrestleZone in April of 2018.

He is a book reviewer for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, loves Penguins hockey, Pirates baseball and the lowly New York Jets.

Dominic also hosts a weekly Pittsburgh comedy podcast with his brother called The Keystone Cast and runs a Pittsburgh-based sports & pop culture blog called The Keystone Statement.

He lived in Philadelphia for five years before setting up shop back in Pittsburgh.

Feel free to rip him on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo.

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