Recasting NBC's 'Community' with WWE Superstars

One of my all-time favorite shows, Community, is on the verge of not being renewed by NBC. After a few seasons of waning ratings and virtually no support from the Peacock, the show about a lovable/hatable group of students at Greendale Community College could be gone before they even graduate.

For those unfamiliar with Community, it stars Joel McHale as a former shady lawyer whose license was revoked by the bar when they found out his degree from Columbia was from the country, not the university.

The show also stars Chevy Chase as the CEO of Hawthorne Wipes and a man who is so desperate for human affection that he has been going to classes at a community college for 11 years.

The main cast is rounded out by Danny Pudi, Donald Glover (No relation to Danny), Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ken Jeong and Jim Rash.

Despite the show's poor ratings, they have also had guest stars like Jack Black, Owen Wilson, John Goodman, Josh Holloway and, in a brilliant turn as the one-liner machine "Magnitude," Luke Youngblood.

I am a hardcore Community fan, so I figured what better way to show my support than to make a slideshow combining Community with something else I enjoy, WWE?

Here I will recast the roles of major and minor characters with WWE superstars, and try my best to give good reasons as to why. I will admit that some of these comparisons will be a bit of a stretch, but there is no perfect match for very many of these. 

I made this for people who are fans of both Community and WWE, but hopefully you can still enjoy it if you are only a fan of one or the other. I hope you enjoy.

CM Punk Is Jeff Winger

Both men are smart-asses, and both men are the de facto leaders. Punk is the Champion on Raw and the top name, and Jeff Winger is the man who put the study group together.

This fit seemed very natural due to some similar personality traits. Jeff Winger is portrayed as someone who does not answer well to authority, often skirts the rules and makes wise cracks to lighten the mood.

Remind you of anyone? Punk shares all of these characteristics as well as the fact that both men appear to not have a regular shaving regimen.

Punk drops pipe bombs and Winger drops classes.

Dean Pelton Is Michael Cole

Dean Pelton is one of my favorite side characters on Community, but his character is designed to be annoying, asexual and bothersome.

Kind of sounds like a certain announcer I know. While Michael Cole has not quite as many stupid outfits as the Dean of Greendale, he has plenty of annoying traits.

Dean Pelton is a nice guy, but overall he bothers the study group to no end, much in the way Michael Cole bothers us to no end.

One major thing that makes me think Pelton and Cole are similar was Cole's scarf dance, seemed like something the dean would put in slow motion and dance to.

I wonder if Cole shares Pelton's Dalmation fetish?

John Laurinaitis Is Vice Dean Laybourne

Vice Dean Laybourne, played to perfection by John Goodman, is the man who runs the air conditioning repair school that was annexed by Greendale, but really he has all the power.

He is evil, manipulative and likes to put other people in tough situations. John Laurinaitis was the only choice for this character.

Even though Goodman is a laugh riot while Laurinaitis just makes people riot, these two are very similar in their devious ways. They also both have very recognizable voices which can make them slightly more intimidating.

I hope Community comes back because this character had so much growing to do, much like the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw.

AJ Is Annie Edison

Perky, brunette, naive and overly energetic (Possibly due to a pill addiction) AJ is the Annie of WWE.

This may be a looser connection that some of those on the list, but no one else really matches up to Annie's young enthusiasm like AJ.

They are both cute, spunky and have tons of potential to make something of themselves in the future, although AJ will probably be cancelled before Community at the rate things are going for her.

Annie is the youngest member of the group, much like AJ, but she also shows the most intelligence and maturity at times, which is a major contrast from AJ.

Daniel Bryan seemed to have a short thing going with her on SmackDown, but that all ended pretty quick, kind of like How Annie's crush on Troy was over pretty quick.

Jillian Hall Is Britta Perry

I know Jillian is not with WWE anymore, but no one matches the dorkiness of Britta Perry like Jillian Hall does.

Her singing gimmick made people laugh, cringe and feel sorry for her, much like how Britta's attempts at looking cool often leave her looking like a dufus.

I had respect for Hall because she did not take the typical Divas route to WWE. she put in time on the indys before being brought up to the majors.

Her experience made her a perfect teacher for the Divas in FCW, but now she is out on her own. Britta's life experience makes her the go to advice giver for the younger members of the study group.

Both women being attractive and blond does not hurt the comparison either.

Watch this clip and tell me who sings worse, Jillian or Britta?

Had to Add This in

See, she even uses wrestling lingo.

Troy Barnes Is Santino Marella

Both of these guys never really seem to understand what is going on at any given moment due to their immature nature, but they both make people laugh with their insane lines and physical comedy.

Santino is WWE's resident funny man, and Troy is quite possibly the funniest character on Community. Their similarities are more in their personality traits than their appearance.

Santino is a former IC champions who is now the laughing stock of WWE, Troy was a standout quarterback and is now a laughing stock of Greendale.

The Brooklyn Brawler Is Ben Chang

Ben Change and The Brooklyn Brawler may not have a ton of similarities on the outside, but they are more alike than you may think.

Both are perpetual losers, both wear ragedy clothes and both have never been center stage. All this combined with the fact that Brawler went from wrestler to agent and Change went from student to security makes them a natural match.

While Brawler may not have the creepy factor of Chang, he has the popularity factor for sure. Steve Lombardi is the most well known and respected jobber in the history of the business.

Kharma Is Shirley

Two cumbersome African American women whose most notable accomplishment during the year included having a child makes them a perfect fit.

Every Diva is scared of Kharma, much like how the study group is scared of Shirley when she gets nasty. "Sometimes girls heads get pushed through Jukeboxes!"

Much like Kharma, I feel like I have not had the time to grow top appreciate all she has to offer. Kharma had to take leave to have a child and Shirley never gets as much screen time as she deserves.

This comparison is more off of looks and one particular event over the last year, but hey, how else would I have connected Shirley to anyone in WWE? Alicia Fox certainly does not match up.

Vince McMahon Is Pierce Hawthorne

Two men who are CEO's of highly successful companies, overly eccentric and have little problem offending anyone they see are Vince McMahon and Pierce Hawthorne.

While Pierce and Vince both have their redeeming moments they both have a dark, evil side that comes out when they feel they are being screwed over in some way.

Other than the fact that Chevy Chase is a comedic genius the likes of which will never bee seen again, this comparison is pretty dead on.

John Cena Is Rich

I only have one thing to say about this comparison because it is so obvious. These guys are alike because people actually hate them for being too good of a person.

No more elaboration needed.

I had to use this photo for two reasons, I could not find a decent video of Rich to use, and this picture is funnier than I remember it being.

Do Your Part

Thanks for reading and make sure to check out Community on Hulu, Youtube, Netflix or wherever else you can find it. It is by far the funniest show on television.

Please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below.

It's been awhile since I did one of these, but please feel free to check out my last "Recasting" slideshow, it is from a while ago so not quite as relevant.

Recasting "Lost" with WWE superstars