TheMortal Kombatseries has never been shy about taking inspiration from outside video games, and this continues inMortal Kombat 1with Sonya Blade making use of one of modern pro wrestling’s most famous finishers. Outside inspirations to the series can be seen all the way back in the original 1992Mortal Kombat, specifically in cult-classic filmsBloodsportandBig Trouble in Little China. The latest game looks to have this in spades between the actors set to appear in the game and the movesets of even theKameo fighters, as Sonya’s moveset highlights.
Mortal Kombat 1is the latest entry in the popular fighting game franchise from NetherRealm Studios and will serve as the second reboot of the universe following 2011’sMortal Kombat. FollowingMortal Kombat 11, the universe has been reset under the guidance of Fire God Liu Kang, with familiar characters walking new paths as a result of Kronika’s defeat in the previous game. Old rivals Sub-Zero and Scorpion are now close allies, serving as two of Liu Kang’s Earthrealm champions while the former thunder god Raiden appears to be a mortal warrior, though he still retains his lightning powers.
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Despite the narrative changes to the game’s main roster of fighters, the Kameo fighters look to be tributes to the series' early entries between their appearances and move sets. It doesn’t mean these characters won’t have some new tricks up their sleeves to bring into fights, with Sonya Blade specifically taking inspiration from WWE’sRandy Ortonby hitting opponents with RKO’s out of nowhere. Reddit user Lolitsrock points this out, though not without having some fun by dubbing the gameplay clips with WWE commentary of Orton hitting his now iconic finisher.
Orton began using the RKO in 2003, during his time with the group Evolution, as a quick and effective finisher which could be hit with ease from almost anywhere. The finisher is an altered version of the cutter, first used by Johnny Ace, and became more widely known thanks toDiamond Dallas Page’s Diamond Cutter. Over time, the RKO took on a life of its own with copious amounts of memes, GIFs, and videos where the wrestler hits the move “from outta nowhere” in and out of the wrestling ring.
Sonya’s use of the RKO is just one of the outside inspirations to find its way intoMortal Kombat 1, with the biggest being the inclusion ofJean-Claude Van Dammeas Johnny Cage. Van Damme’s inclusion was announced by Ed Boon during the 2023 Summer Game Fest, confirming he will be the face and voice of the Hollywood action star-turned Earthrealm champion.
Mortal Kombat 1is scheduled to release June 10, 2025, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
