NOTE: This article contains minor spoilers for the most recent episode of Marvel’s Secret Invasion series, currently airing weekly on Disney+.
There are certain individuals within the world of professional wrestling that have a lasting impact on pop culture, and one WWE Hall of Famer is particularly iconic…to the point of being name-dropped in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
On the most recent episode of the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, the character James Rhodes (aka War Machine) makes a passing reference to the Deadman when explaining his firing of Nick Fury:
“I fired Fury, okay? No, I’m sorry, correction, I DDT’d that dude from the top rope. Yeah, it was like Undertaker level. It was really impressive.”
The world of Marvel is familiar with pro wrestling, notably in the origin story of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and the character El Muerto, but it is rare to have a more “real-world” example such as this.