In the german version they translated it to "Die toten Hosenträger" ("The dead Suspenders"), which is a reference to the punkrock band "Die Toten Hosen" ("The Dead Trousers"). The flavour text reads "Steh auf... wenn du am Boden bist." ("Get up when you are down"), which is the name of one of their most famous songs. Funnily enough, the german version seems to be the only localised version to do so. All other versions, like french, italian or portugese, are direct translation of "Tenacious Defender".
I remember playing BC when it was new and this belt dropping for my paladin in ramparts or blood furnace(I think ramparts) I forget which. It was a hellfire dungeon, 3 red gem slots I filled with strength gems. When I read the inscription I might as well been that Leonardo Dicaprio meme 😮👉
There is like 10 references to metal music just in Maldraxxus. Tapani Nightwish - Marco Tapani Hietala from Nightwish Osbourne Black - Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath Odious Gwor - Oderus Urungus from GWAR Slayer Araya - Tom Araya from Slayer Taiya Tacere - Taija Riihimäki from Tacere Mortis Elfsen - Håvard Ellefsen from Mortiis Valuator Simmons, Sharpeye Stanley, Erak Steelsinger and Trainee Thayer - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer from KISS (these guys are standing together near training dummies) Mellisa Fate - Melissa, an album by Mercyful Fate Arkadia Moa & Su Zettai - Moametal & Sumetal from Babymetal, Lyra Hailstorm - A bit so so, but Lzzy Hale from Halestorm Edrich Adebo - Eric Adams from Manowar Chiara Coil - Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil (Bear in mind Chiara is a real-life italian name, and Lacuna Coil was an italian band) The statue of the Primus that dominants the landscape is like the giant statue of lord zargothrax on the cover of the album Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex by the band Gloryhammer. Both statues are of powerful sorcerers.
@@publicguy1664 All of the buffs the paragons give you are. Black Sabbath - Iron Man(tid) and Children of the Grave (enchantment) Slayer - Angel of Death and Raining Blood (enchantment) Queensrÿche - Silent Lucidity (enchantment) Deep Purple - Speed King (augmentation) Metallica - Seek and Destroy and Master of Puppets (augmentation) Manowar - Battle Hymn (augmentation) Judas Priest - Painkiller (augmentation)
i was waiting for uldum's indiana jones references, westfall being a CSI/cop show reference and redridge being rambo, but maybe this list is more for references that people didn't get sick of lol.
Fun fact: The singing sunflower pet was voiced by Laura Shigihara who made the music for PvZ and has played D&D with Sam, Dodger, Gmart, Bree, Arex and Benji etc
My favourite is the cabbage merchant during the quest when you chase lady ashvane after we figure out she's a baddie. The quest has you chase her on a horse, and at some point you approach a cabbage cart and its merchant, and gives you the choice to jump over the cart or not. If you run through the cart, the cabbage merchant will say "My cabbages!" This is a reference to the cabbage merchant from avatar the last airbender
There was a cabbage merchant? This makes that cabbage-vendor bit in the Rolling With Difficulty two-shot set in Ba Sing Se hit very differently. Damn, I need to watch TLA.
"An entire questline with its own dedicated area is about as big a reference as you're gonna get" Bro forgot how at least 50% of Uldum was Indiana Jones
Same as to why pretty much entire Redridge Mountains was the player character bringing the A-team together Or that you had Navy CIS-references all over Westfall
my favorite is Uncle Mako, who’s present on the dragon isles in that floating area of the spa in valdrakken. he’s a reference to Mako Iwamatsu, the original voice actor of Uncle Iroh from Avatar: the Last Airbender, hence the name. he pours tea and talks about dreams with a green dragon that sits near him. Mako died in 2006 during the running of the show. i loved AtLA and when i saw him for the first time I’ll admit i teared up a bit.
I gotta add a couple that weren't included, just 'cuz I like them so much. During BC, in Shattrath, the cooking trainer was named Rokk, and when you would click on him, he would say, "Can you smell that?" He was standing next to a large, boiling pot at the time. The reference was to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose catch phrase was "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?" The other takes an explanation. The standard musical scale is sung using the words DO-RE-MI-FA-SO-LA-TI-DO. ("Do, a deer, female deer," etc.) The innkeeper in Area 52 is named Remi Dodoso. If you sing the syllables of her name, RE-MI-DO-DO-SO, going down an octave on the second DO, then up for the SO, you sing the five notes from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Bit of Friends trivia. Chandler permanently reserved that couch in the coffee shop, it doesn't show up much but on the table in front of the couch there is a little gold plaque that says 'RESERVED' on it. Friends is full of weird little background and set design trivia and Easter eggs.
I wasn’t exactly a Friends fan, but my mom and sister loved it. There’s an episode where they find some random people had taken their spot, so they had to sit somewhere else. It was minor but I found it funny for being relatable.
@wowcrendor the robin Williams tribute has a story behind it. I was playing WOD the day he died and I can confirm the story. Within an hour of the announcement of his passing, there were demands for an in game memorial; hours later there was a petition with over 40,000 signatures demanding the same. R.I.P. Robin Williams.
Robin Williams was an avid WoW player (not as avid as Henry Cavill or Corpsegrinder, but avid), and yes, there was a massive demand for a tribute to Robin Williams and this dropped REALLY fast.
@@crendorStormsong also has characters dressed as Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Whatever dev put them there probably also put Winnie's group in, since they are also in Kingdom Hearts. The Broken Isles Dalaran also has Aerith and Cloud from Final Fantasy (also Kingdom Hearts). Im almost wondering how many references in wow could be specifically because of KH.
People always talk abbout the Zelda/Link references in UnGoro, but I almost never hear anyone talk about all the Land of the Lost references. From MArshall's Refuge to the pylons and coloured crystals and dinosaurs, it's all from Land of the Lost. I loved that show when I was a kid :D. Cheers and thanks for another fun video.
Elton Black is the chef in Ashran on the Alliance Side, he's a reference to Alton Brown, a celebrity chef. When asking about him with a Guard to find the cooking trainer, the guard references that Elton uses 'strange gadgets' to cook, as Alton Brown on the show "Good Eats" would use gadgets.
May I suggest: Pointless top 10 corpses? (something to make for Halloween in a couple months) I see many random skeletons or dead npcs out in the world or hidden on mountain tops
One of the Horde Jade Forest quests has you defeat a hozen named Dook Ookem. Who flings barrels like Donkey Kong for some reason, so two pop culture references for the price of one =)
It's nothing TOO fancy, but I love that there is (or was?) an actual quest called "Red Snapper - Very Tasty!" which is a reference to a line in th Wheel of Fish sketch in the Weird Al movie, UHF. I specifically remember that one because the way Gedde Watanabe says "Red snapper, very tasty!" is burned into my brain and I pretty much quote it anytime I see red snapper.
6:32 Linken reappeared as one of the possible companion NPCs for The Protectors of Hyjal (whith such classic quotes as "Excuuuuse me, princess!" and "Oh, boy! I'm so hungry, I could eat a fire elemental!" ) and during the Great Gnomeregan Run micro holiday, he shows up outside the rebel camp to cheer on the participants. Because he's a gnome. Also the Warcraft Zelda is a gnome apparently as she appeared in a faded photograph Linken used to have you find though she apparently never appeared in person so she went unnamed.
There are so many references in WOW that really makes it fun to just see. I love the crashed rocket car in Tanaris from Buckaroo Banzai, and the tire streaks that run up to the mountain on the opposite side of the mountain in Thousand Needles.
Can you confirm that's actually a reference to Buckaroo Banzai? It always made me think of that, but my memories of the movie are too hazy for me to be sure.
@@Vinemaple There's nothing else it could be. it matches up so well with the movie that when I first saw it I was just amazed. I had to run back to thousand needles to make sure I'd seen the tracks go right up to the wall, because I'd just taken it as some more raceway "flavor" until I got to the other side and saw smoking wreckage. I saw the movie opening night in the theater, and have probably watched it fifty times or more over the years.
great list!!! Haris Pilton is a definite honorable mention on this list. i assume u probably didnt do her since she and Perry Gatner were on another list and they're rly well known as opposed to these other picks
Not sure if someone ever mentioned the NPC "Hadoken Swiftstrider" in Feralas. He gives the quest "Alpha Strike" which is probably a reference to Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter Third Strike, since "hadoken" is also the shout they perform in the game. Swiftstrider could be a reference for the game Strider, also published by capcom.
My favorite is still the Ridgerunner and Wiley in Vol'dun...did not expect a Roadrunner bit to just go running by... Pointless Top 10 Cartoon references?
Larion and Muigin are not the oldest pop culture references in the game. There's Scooty, the Goblin engineer in Stranglethorn Vale is a reference to Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott from Star Trek: The Original Series. There's a Gnome named Jhordy Lapforge in Gadgetzan in reference to LeVar Burton's Geordi LaForge from Star Trek the Next Generation. Then there's also Williden and Hol'yanee Marshal in Un'Goro Crater who are references to the kids in Land of the Lost, which is fitting because the characters in that 1970s TV series ended up in a place with dinosaurs. Plants Vs Zombies was created by a World of Warcraft player. She's the voice for the singing Sunflower. Ginnifer Goodwin has two characters named after her. One is the Alliance flightmaster in Andorhal and Margene, the flight master at the Meander's Stead is named after her Sister Wives character. Robby Flay & Bario Matali are references to chefs who have had shows on Food Network. And Chef Bioardi in the Abyssal Depths in Vash'jir should be obvious. I've noticed references in a lot of quests too, but that works for a different list.
There's also Natalietootiblare and The Chooch in Dalaran sewers in Wrath. Natalietootiblare is a reference to the characters of Natalie Green, Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey, and Blare Warner from The Facts of Life and The Chooch is a reference to the Gooch, was either a friend or a bully of Arnold Jackson on Different Strokes. I haven't watched the show since it went off the air.
In Stormwind, a city guard gives you a tip about Steven Ryback aka Steven Seagal, a cooking trainer. The guard also warns you that this Casey, er, Steven Ryback, is good with a knife. ^^ In TBC, in Zangamarsh, there is a place that looks like the Dreamcast symbol.
The newest reference I found is located in Valdrakken in one of the blue area buildings. 2 witches and a black cat can be seen doing magical stuff which is the reference to Sabrina the teenage witch!
One that is fairly obscure for a lot of players comes from a ring that dropped off The Lurker Below in Serpentshrine Cavern: the ring is called The Seal of Danzalar and has the flavor text “From Beneath You It Devours,” a phrase oft-repeated early on in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7. The ring is named after the Seal of Danzalthar, a major part of the plot throughout that season.
There's a guy in Westfal named Horatio Laine, investigating a murder. Clear reference to CSI Miami. Also, on Wandering isle, near the end of Pandaren starting experience, there's a goblin named Makael Bay, who wants to create explosives to blast away a ship. Reference to Michael Bay and his "love" for explosions in his movies.
@@Retnoob From my POV (old school 80's DnD nerd who was playing DnD Dragonlance was been released), it would surprise me that someone Crendor's age would know of it. Some of the the Game designers or artists at Blizz back in the day are my age so they might heard of it if they played DnD.
The leather chest piece you can get during the Cipher of Damnation quest-chain in TBC springs to mind. Grom'tor's Friend's Cousin's Tunic - "it's not mine... - Grom'Tor"
One of my favorite references is also in the Legerdemain Lounge! The blood elf that used to sit at the table/mage tower boss named Karam Magespear is a reference to the Dragonlance series character Caramon Majere, same with the twin brother NPC Raest Magespear as Raistlin Majere from the books
Sidenote: Traveler Pepe shows up behind the bar occasionally in the Legerdemain sitting on one of the barrels. Clicky on him and he will sit on your head for an hour. Plus, if you have the Pepe toy, it will add that costume into the rotation of Pepe costumes (pirate, santa, deep-sea diver, viking, knight, ninja, demon hunter, voodoo mask, robot are most of them. see wowhead for The Ultimate Pepe Guide for finding them all.)
when blizz cared about their product and audience and cared about releasing a quality product with a bunch of small things that made a difference. Also theres a hatch in Scholazar Basin thats a reference to that show Lost from the early 2000s, it was huge back in the time.
4:05 it's a bit funnier than that. A wolverine is a furry animal that looks like that. So they basically turned the comics wolverine into a literal wolverine.
7:58 The d in Djinn is silent. Probably why an alternate romanization of the original word drops the d outright. See also: Ifirit and Efreet. "Genie" is actually an anglicization of djnn BTW.
There's a toy you can get called the Ethereal Warpweaver, its essentially a portable transmog. When you summon him, one of it's possible text quotes is "Please state the nature of the Stylistic Emergency" Which is a reference to the Holographic Doctor from Star Trek Voyager, who would say "Please state the nature of the Medical Emergency" whenever he was activated.
4:12 Something most people don't know is that his real name is actually James Howlett. Logan was originally just the civilian name he went by after escaping the Weapon X program (his biological father is Thomas Logan though he was raised as John Howlett''s son), it stuck as a nickname later on I guess.
One that always stuck out to me was Moi Bff'Jill in Outland Nagrand. It was a reference to a cellular commercial from that era. My Best Friend Forever Jill or My BFF Jill. Lol!
Ive also seen Winnie the Pooh and gang in the game and Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner. Theres an Ace Ventura reference in a dungeon (dont ask which one, I cant remember lol) where an npc is named Einhorn Finklestein or something to that affect
The intrepid Gnomish inventor, Pip Quickwit was called "Finkle Einhorn" (Blackrock Spire (in Beast's belly), in Blackrock Cavern (with Raz, as the primary quest giver), and Blackwing Descent (once again in a giant beast's belly, Chimaeron), up until the 2nd major patch of Shadowlands in August of 2021 - when the woke mob decided that the Ace Ventura character he referenced was now, all of a sudden, a transphobic thing - so anything previously associated with that had to be changed, lest it incur the wrath of... them. EDIT - the same patch that changed this (9.1.5) was also the patch that gutted all the /flirt and /funny emotes following Blizzard's massive internal sexual harassment scandals going public.
I am very happy you put the Robin Williams tribute on this list! From anothet resource I think he actually did play WoW, which was part of why a tribute was made to him after his passing.
For germans there are the "Toten Hosenträger" in Burning crusade which is a reference to the german band "Die toten Hosen" They also have as description: "Steh auf... wenn du am Boden bist." (Stand up when you are down), which is the title of one of their songs
I also like the Joust reference in Mt Hyjal, the Winnie the Pooh references in Boralus, and the fountain of references that are the Johnny Awesome questlines.
The Cooking Trainer in Stormwind is named Steven Ryback - complete with ponytail and everything. Clearly a reference to Steven Seagals character, Casey Ryback, from the Under Siege movies who was also a chef in addition to a former militia black ops soldier. There are so many funny, subtle (and not so subtle) references in WoW that you could easily do a Pointless Top 100 and still only cover a few of them.
I am dying to know which 10 of the 10,000 pop culture references in WoW are going to make Crendor's list. My money's on the Robin Williams memorial island in Draenor.
As Horde (don't know which one for alliance) when you are in the valley of strength, go right from the hall of the warchief and before the way leads you up into the hut on the right hand side of the road. EXCELSIOR!
Alliance side is a named SW guard who patrols SW castle who occasionally shouts EXCELSIOR!....of course, it's Stan Lee (character model even looks like him). Also while running to SW castle to double check to make sure Stanley was still patrolling(right before I posted this), ran across another pop culture reference....Farrah Facet (Farrah Fawcett - supermodel/actress) is a jewelcrafting trainer/merchant by the canals. EDIT: checked Org and yup same Stanley model, just wearing different liveries.
Another chef reference from way back, in the Dwarven District in Stormwind, if he's still there, Stephen Ryback, Steven Segull's character in the Under Siege movies was Casey Ryback, and always undercover as the cook.
Wesley, the stable master in Southshore(before Cata), has a thin mustache and wields a rapier. The only thing left for them to do is have him say "as you wish."
4:31 That would be Deadpool's clone Evil Deadpool. Right up until a universe collided into 616 in events leading up to the 2015 version of Secret Wars and he stayed dead.
5:38 The 2000s were a weird time for animation in general. So much was getting thrown at the wall to see what would stick in the industry and web animation had just become a thing and the internet being the internet before the social medias became more sanitized to appease advertisers and we were still using message boards at the time, most of it was crass and crude (and Newgrounds, a product of this time, still hosts new animations like that to this day if that's your thing, sure as heck isn't mine though). Ever heard of Legendz? It's a very bizarre mon anime that seems very anachronistic, like it belonged a few decades before it aired in 2004. Haven't looked at the manga yet though.
Something that I always found fun, is that "Plants vs. Zombies" was published by EA Games; one of (if not, the largest of) Activision's competitors in the western video game publishing space. So it's interesting to see such a blatant, dedicated, and wholesome homage to their competition, in the "Peacebloom vs Ghouls" quest. Edit: For reference: EA released "Plants vs. Zombies" in 2009 and Activision bought Blizzard in 2008 (Cata was release in 2010)
honestly, kinda dissapointed you didnt mention the undead dragon in exiles reach, which CLEARLY is a refference to globally beloved youtube personality "wowcrendor" who in his machinima videos often talks about "zombie dragons"
1:16 I wonder if these two and and their other friend, probably named Chandelier ever had to bring one of those couches upstairs with Chandelier insisting they piviot?
tie in with your top 10 WoW sharks: the "Left Shark" Pet you can get from WoD ship table missions, referencing the Left Shark from the Katy Perry Superbowl halftime show (2015)
I cant remember where this was, but there is a reference the movie "road to el dorado" where a troll witch priest pushes a grunt into a cauldron after saying the mix needed more body!
Back in TBC there used to be 2 battlemasters in Shattrath City called Adam Eternum(A) and Keldor the Lost(H). Those where a reference to He-Man and Skeletor. :)
Ah, the memories. This video is great fun. I used to torment a friend of mine with pop culture references from WoW because he hates pop culture references in RPGs because they "take him out of the fantasy." Gotta say, though, you certainly butchered the pronunciation of the word "Legerdemain" in #9. :)
There's also the Bambi reference in Grizzly Hills! The mom deer, fawn, rabbit, and skunk patrolling around that Alliance town (I forget the name of it lol)
Oh wait, one of those has gameplay and awards a pet? Oh Crendor, I think we may have crossed a line here, this is not pointless anymore. (In fact, this quest got me into playing Plants vs Zombies way back then)
My favorite is the An Amazing Journey quest which is a reference to Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, and of course GNAWS the shark who is supposed to be Bruce from JAWS
First names of the tellers in SW bank are Olivia, Newton and John. Flight master in Auberdene's name is an anagram of 'Leggy Blonde. 2 Guars in Wrath (I can't remember the zone discussing whether a Gryphon could carry an arbalest (MP ref) A baby deer called Bambino with a skunk and another furry animal wandering around (Wrath, can't remember the zone).
my favorite is from BFA with the reference to the movie The Road to El Dorado i think it’s called “needs more body” and you push people into cauldrons like in the movie
Apply it to the forehead is a diablo reference because in the ending of diablo 1, the main character slams the soul stone with a demon diablo inside it, directly into the main character's forehead
Another nintendo reference in Panderia is a flying turtle in the Kun lai summit. Also I love all the Conan the Barbarian references like Croman and the tomb in the badlands which is a direct reference to the movie.
a small one I like is an npc saying " Thank you. Pray return to the Waking Shores." which is a reference to FFFXIV of an NPC saying "Praythe return to the Waking Sands" If I remember correctly.
Another good one in Legion Dalaran is Aerith Primrose, the flower seller, and her bodyguard Koraud. They are references to Aerith and Cloud from Final Fantasy 7.
Crend the pointless is the only pop culture reference i need
The "Tenacious Defender" belt in BC was always my favorite "It has the power... to move you"
That's telekinesis, Kyle!
In the german version they translated it to "Die toten Hosenträger" ("The dead Suspenders"), which is a reference to the punkrock band "Die Toten Hosen" ("The Dead Trousers"). The flavour text reads "Steh auf... wenn du am Boden bist." ("Get up when you are down"), which is the name of one of their most famous songs.
Funnily enough, the german version seems to be the only localised version to do so. All other versions, like french, italian or portugese, are direct translation of "Tenacious Defender".
Omg I never picked up that was a tenacious D reference 😅🤦🏼♀️
Literally just say the D last night hahaha
I remember playing BC when it was new and this belt dropping for my paladin in ramparts or blood furnace(I think ramparts) I forget which. It was a hellfire dungeon, 3 red gem slots I filled with strength gems.
When I read the inscription I might as well been that Leonardo Dicaprio meme 😮👉
There is like 10 references to metal music just in Maldraxxus.
Tapani Nightwish - Marco Tapani Hietala from Nightwish
Osbourne Black - Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath
Odious Gwor - Oderus Urungus from GWAR
Slayer Araya - Tom Araya from Slayer
Taiya Tacere - Taija Riihimäki from Tacere
Mortis Elfsen - Håvard Ellefsen from Mortiis
Valuator Simmons, Sharpeye Stanley, Erak Steelsinger and Trainee Thayer - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer from KISS (these guys are standing together near training dummies)
Mellisa Fate - Melissa, an album by Mercyful Fate
Arkadia Moa & Su Zettai - Moametal & Sumetal from Babymetal,
Lyra Hailstorm - A bit so so, but Lzzy Hale from Halestorm
Edrich Adebo - Eric Adams from Manowar
Chiara Coil - Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil (Bear in mind Chiara is a real-life italian name, and Lacuna Coil was an italian band)
The statue of the Primus that dominants the landscape is like the giant statue of lord zargothrax on the cover of the album Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex by the band Gloryhammer. Both statues are of powerful sorcerers.
Also a ton of the Klaxxi quests/dailies are metal song references.
@@publicguy1664 All of the buffs the paragons give you are.
Black Sabbath - Iron Man(tid) and Children of the Grave (enchantment)
Slayer - Angel of Death and Raining Blood (enchantment)
Queensrÿche - Silent Lucidity (enchantment)
Deep Purple - Speed King (augmentation)
Metallica - Seek and Destroy and Master of Puppets (augmentation)
Manowar - Battle Hymn (augmentation)
Judas Priest - Painkiller (augmentation)
I knew Maldraxxus was metal, but I missed this.
This could definitely have a part 2. There are so many pop culture references in this game it's nuts.
Could be its own mini series, honestly. You could fill a small book with all of WoW’s pop culture references
Trade Chat used to have a Pop Culture series. It would be awesome if Crendor picked it back up.
i was waiting for uldum's indiana jones references, westfall being a CSI/cop show reference and redridge being rambo, but maybe this list is more for references that people didn't get sick of lol.
One of my favorites is the junk Shrine of the Silver Monkey pieces you can find in Zuldazar that reference Legends of the Hidden Temple
Fun fact: The singing sunflower pet was voiced by Laura Shigihara who made the music for PvZ and has played D&D with Sam, Dodger, Gmart, Bree, Arex and Benji etc
also fun fact: the melody the sunflower is humming is from the pvz endcredit song "there's a zombie on your lawn"
My favourite is the cabbage merchant during the quest when you chase lady ashvane after we figure out she's a baddie. The quest has you chase her on a horse, and at some point you approach a cabbage cart and its merchant, and gives you the choice to jump over the cart or not. If you run through the cart, the cabbage merchant will say "My cabbages!"
This is a reference to the cabbage merchant from avatar the last airbender
There was a cabbage merchant? This makes that cabbage-vendor bit in the Rolling With Difficulty two-shot set in Ba Sing Se hit very differently. Damn, I need to watch TLA.
"An entire questline with its own dedicated area is about as big a reference as you're gonna get"
Bro forgot how at least 50% of Uldum was Indiana Jones
50%? More like 90%.
Same as to why pretty much entire Redridge Mountains was the player character bringing the A-team together
Or that you had Navy CIS-references all over Westfall
Un'goro also have the gorillas that drop barrels (reference to Donkey Kong)
And the Chasing Amy reference in the title for that annoying escort quest in that gorilla cave!
@@matvarela And both Amy the Talking "gorilla" and the quest to find and save her from other gorillas is a reference to the movie Congo from 1995.
Also the entire Linken (Zelda) quest series. And Land of the Lost. Un'goro was basically an entire pop culture zone ☺
my favorite is Uncle Mako, who’s present on the dragon isles in that floating area of the spa in valdrakken. he’s a reference to Mako Iwamatsu, the original voice actor of Uncle Iroh from Avatar: the Last Airbender, hence the name. he pours tea and talks about dreams with a green dragon that sits near him. Mako died in 2006 during the running of the show. i loved AtLA and when i saw him for the first time I’ll admit i teared up a bit.
I gotta add a couple that weren't included, just 'cuz I like them so much.
During BC, in Shattrath, the cooking trainer was named Rokk, and when you would click on him, he would say, "Can you smell that?" He was standing next to a large, boiling pot at the time. The reference was to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose catch phrase was "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?"
The other takes an explanation. The standard musical scale is sung using the words DO-RE-MI-FA-SO-LA-TI-DO. ("Do, a deer, female deer," etc.) The innkeeper in Area 52 is named Remi Dodoso. If you sing the syllables of her name, RE-MI-DO-DO-SO, going down an octave on the second DO, then up for the SO, you sing the five notes from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Remi Dosodo: That feeling when you can just feel that an NPC name is some kind of bit, but you're too ignorant or preoccupied to figure it out...
Bit of Friends trivia. Chandler permanently reserved that couch in the coffee shop, it doesn't show up much but on the table in front of the couch there is a little gold plaque that says 'RESERVED' on it. Friends is full of weird little background and set design trivia and Easter eggs.
The magnadoodle in the guy's apartment was always different every episode it was shown in is another good one :)
I wasn’t exactly a Friends fan, but my mom and sister loved it. There’s an episode where they find some random people had taken their spot, so they had to sit somewhere else. It was minor but I found it funny for being relatable.
@wowcrendor the robin Williams tribute has a story behind it.
I was playing WOD the day he died and I can confirm the story.
Within an hour of the announcement of his passing, there were demands for an in game memorial; hours later there was a petition with over 40,000 signatures demanding the same.
R.I.P. Robin Williams.
Robin Williams was an avid WoW player (not as avid as Henry Cavill or Corpsegrinder, but avid), and yes, there was a massive demand for a tribute to Robin Williams and this dropped REALLY fast.
I'm pretty sure he died before WOD came out and his tribute was discovered in the beta.
Winnie the pooh and his gang in BFA( Stormsong Valley ) if anyone else spotted this.
This is the one I was hoping to see on this list.
I MEANT TO ADD THAT ONE now it'll have to go on things I forgot in other top 10s
That reminds me there were a bunch of critter characters in Northrend in Grizzly Hills who just walk around and are references to Bambi.
@@crendorStormsong also has characters dressed as Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Whatever dev put them there probably also put Winnie's group in, since they are also in Kingdom Hearts. The Broken Isles Dalaran also has Aerith and Cloud from Final Fantasy (also Kingdom Hearts). Im almost wondering how many references in wow could be specifically because of KH.
Please do a top 10 pop culture references part 2 video with stuff people mention in the comments!!!@@crendor
The Hatch code from LOST in Sholazaar Basin!
People always talk abbout the Zelda/Link references in UnGoro, but I almost never hear anyone talk about all the Land of the Lost references. From MArshall's Refuge to the pylons and coloured crystals and dinosaurs, it's all from Land of the Lost. I loved that show when I was a kid :D. Cheers and thanks for another fun video.
un'goro also has the maximilian of northshire questline which is all a reference to don quixote
UA-camrs are too young. Even I only have vague memories of that show.
Elton Black is the chef in Ashran on the Alliance Side, he's a reference to Alton Brown, a celebrity chef. When asking about him with a Guard to find the cooking trainer, the guard references that Elton uses 'strange gadgets' to cook, as Alton Brown on the show "Good Eats" would use gadgets.
Thanks for mentioning this! Alton taught me how to make an omelette on Good Eats back in the day
There's also Awilo Longomba in the back of the Filthy Animal. He's a reference to some British TV chef. According to Wowhead.
May I suggest: Pointless top 10 corpses? (something to make for Halloween in a couple months) I see many random skeletons or dead npcs out in the world or hidden on mountain tops
This is dangerously close to actual content
Oh man, there are so many others. Harrison Jones, Captain Swayze and his orc first mate Keanu and many others.
One of the Horde Jade Forest quests has you defeat a hozen named Dook Ookem. Who flings barrels like Donkey Kong for some reason, so two pop culture references for the price of one =)
Dooker OOKED.
Wasn't ready to hear Crendor say Skibidi Toilet
It's nothing TOO fancy, but I love that there is (or was?) an actual quest called "Red Snapper - Very Tasty!" which is a reference to a line in th Wheel of Fish sketch in the Weird Al movie, UHF. I specifically remember that one because the way Gedde Watanabe says "Red snapper, very tasty!" is burned into my brain and I pretty much quote it anytime I see red snapper.
6:32 Linken reappeared as one of the possible companion NPCs for The Protectors of Hyjal (whith such classic quotes as "Excuuuuse me, princess!" and "Oh, boy! I'm so hungry, I could eat a fire elemental!" ) and during the Great Gnomeregan Run micro holiday, he shows up outside the rebel camp to cheer on the participants. Because he's a gnome. Also the Warcraft Zelda is a gnome apparently as she appeared in a faded photograph Linken used to have you find though she apparently never appeared in person so she went unnamed.
this was fun! thank you 😄 some of the references are unfamiliar to me as I'm not an American, but most of them are universal
How silly that Charlie the Unicorn didn't have a banana in his ear.
There are so many references in WOW that really makes it fun to just see. I love the crashed rocket car in Tanaris from Buckaroo Banzai, and the tire streaks that run up to the mountain on the opposite side of the mountain in Thousand Needles.
Can you confirm that's actually a reference to Buckaroo Banzai? It always made me think of that, but my memories of the movie are too hazy for me to be sure.
@@Vinemaple There's nothing else it could be. it matches up so well with the movie that when I first saw it I was just amazed. I had to run back to thousand needles to make sure I'd seen the tracks go right up to the wall, because I'd just taken it as some more raceway "flavor" until I got to the other side and saw smoking wreckage.
I saw the movie opening night in the theater, and have probably watched it fifty times or more over the years.
I love the various NPC's spread around in TBC like Floyd Pinkus, Haris Pilton, "Slim" and many more
Since you loved the rat stallion so much back in the day, you gotta check out the new mole rats in War within!
Other UA-camrs: Get sponsorship and do plugs for coffee brands.
Crendor: Plugs coffee shop in Dalaran
Absolute legend...
great list!!!
Haris Pilton is a definite honorable mention on this list. i assume u probably didnt do her since she and Perry Gatner were on another list and they're rly well known as opposed to these other picks
Not sure if someone ever mentioned the NPC "Hadoken Swiftstrider" in Feralas. He gives the quest "Alpha Strike" which is probably a reference to Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter Third Strike, since "hadoken" is also the shout they perform in the game. Swiftstrider could be a reference for the game Strider, also published by capcom.
There’s so many pop culture references in WoW that even a top 100 would barely scratch the surface.
My favorite is still the Ridgerunner and Wiley in Vol'dun...did not expect a Roadrunner bit to just go running by... Pointless Top 10 Cartoon references?
All the time I spent in Vol'dun, how did I miss this? I'm amazed at all the references he found that I missed... there are so freaking many
There’s the three hyenas + Scar in Ohn'ahran Plains.
I love the Calvin and a Hobbes reference in BFA. Brought me back.
Where is that one? Kul Tiras somewhere?
During the Operation: Gnomeregan event, one of the quest givers was Toby Zeigear, patterned after Toby Zeigler from the West Wing series.
Larion and Muigin are not the oldest pop culture references in the game.
There's Scooty, the Goblin engineer in Stranglethorn Vale is a reference to Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott from Star Trek: The Original Series. There's a Gnome named Jhordy Lapforge in Gadgetzan in reference to LeVar Burton's Geordi LaForge from Star Trek the Next Generation.
Then there's also Williden and Hol'yanee Marshal in Un'Goro Crater who are references to the kids in Land of the Lost, which is fitting because the characters in that 1970s TV series ended up in a place with dinosaurs.
Plants Vs Zombies was created by a World of Warcraft player. She's the voice for the singing Sunflower.
Ginnifer Goodwin has two characters named after her. One is the Alliance flightmaster in Andorhal and Margene, the flight master at the Meander's Stead is named after her Sister Wives character.
Robby Flay & Bario Matali are references to chefs who have had shows on Food Network. And Chef Bioardi in the Abyssal Depths in Vash'jir should be obvious.
I've noticed references in a lot of quests too, but that works for a different list.
I think he meant oldest Nintendo references
There's also Natalietootiblare and The Chooch in Dalaran sewers in Wrath. Natalietootiblare is a reference to the characters of Natalie Green, Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey, and Blare Warner from The Facts of Life and The Chooch is a reference to the Gooch, was either a friend or a bully of Arnold Jackson on Different Strokes. I haven't watched the show since it went off the air.
In Stormwind, a city guard gives you a tip about Steven Ryback aka Steven Seagal, a cooking trainer. The guard also warns you that this Casey, er, Steven Ryback, is good with a knife. ^^
In TBC, in Zangamarsh, there is a place that looks like the Dreamcast symbol.
The newest reference I found is located in Valdrakken in one of the blue area buildings. 2 witches and a black cat can be seen doing magical stuff which is the reference to Sabrina the teenage witch!
One that is fairly obscure for a lot of players comes from a ring that dropped off The Lurker Below in Serpentshrine Cavern: the ring is called The Seal of Danzalar and has the flavor text “From Beneath You It Devours,” a phrase oft-repeated early on in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7. The ring is named after the Seal of Danzalthar, a major part of the plot throughout that season.
There's a guy in Westfal named Horatio Laine, investigating a murder. Clear reference to CSI Miami. Also, on Wandering isle, near the end of Pandaren starting experience, there's a goblin named Makael Bay, who wants to create explosives to blast away a ship. Reference to Michael Bay and his "love" for explosions in his movies.
Oh, no love for Raistlin and Caramon over in the Legerdemain Lounge!
I bit more obscure than the others tho. Still my favorite setting, DL
Dragonlance was out 10-15 years before Crendor was even born
@@brianmiller1077 And? I've read Gone with the Wind and it was published 50 years before I was born.
@@brianmiller1077 If anything, it confirms what I said about it being more obscure than the other pop references
@@Retnoob From my POV (old school 80's DnD nerd who was playing DnD Dragonlance was been released), it would surprise me that someone Crendor's age would know of it.
Some of the the Game designers or artists at Blizz back in the day are my age so they might heard of it if they played DnD.
Some have pointed out pop culture references in item descriptions, but i think an entire Top 10 Item Descriptions would be good!
The leather chest piece you can get during the Cipher of Damnation quest-chain in TBC springs to mind.
Grom'tor's Friend's Cousin's Tunic - "it's not mine... - Grom'Tor"
One of my favorite references is also in the Legerdemain Lounge! The blood elf that used to sit at the table/mage tower boss named Karam Magespear is a reference to the Dragonlance series character Caramon Majere, same with the twin brother NPC Raest Magespear as Raistlin Majere from the books
Sidenote: Traveler Pepe shows up behind the bar occasionally in the Legerdemain sitting on one of the barrels. Clicky on him and he will sit on your head for an hour. Plus, if you have the Pepe toy, it will add that costume into the rotation of Pepe costumes (pirate, santa, deep-sea diver, viking, knight, ninja, demon hunter, voodoo mask, robot are most of them. see wowhead for The Ultimate Pepe Guide for finding them all.)
when blizz cared about their product and audience and cared about releasing a quality product with a bunch of small things that made a difference. Also theres a hatch in Scholazar Basin thats a reference to that show Lost from the early 2000s, it was huge back in the time.
4:05 it's a bit funnier than that. A wolverine is a furry animal that looks like that. So they basically turned the comics wolverine into a literal wolverine.
One day there will be a "Pointless Top 10 Ducks!" Mark my words!
This def needs a part 2!
7:58 The d in Djinn is silent. Probably why an alternate romanization of the original word drops the d outright. See also: Ifirit and Efreet.
"Genie" is actually an anglicization of djnn BTW.
Infuriatingly, the plural of _djinni_ is _djinn._ That's Arabic for you.
There's a toy you can get called the Ethereal Warpweaver, its essentially a portable transmog. When you summon him, one of it's possible text quotes is "Please state the nature of the Stylistic Emergency" Which is a reference to the Holographic Doctor from Star Trek Voyager, who would say "Please state the nature of the Medical Emergency" whenever he was activated.
I have never played WoW and I probably never will, but I love this series. I will never miss a new top 10 pointless things video from you!
4:12 Something most people don't know is that his real name is actually James Howlett. Logan was originally just the civilian name he went by after escaping the Weapon X program (his biological father is Thomas Logan though he was raised as John Howlett''s son), it stuck as a nickname later on I guess.
One that always stuck out to me was Moi Bff'Jill in Outland Nagrand. It was a reference to a cellular commercial from that era. My Best Friend Forever Jill or My BFF Jill. Lol!
they pack so many pop culture references in this game you could theoretically do a top ten per expansion
Ive also seen Winnie the Pooh and gang in the game and Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner. Theres an Ace Ventura reference in a dungeon (dont ask which one, I cant remember lol) where an npc is named Einhorn Finklestein or something to that affect
The intrepid Gnomish inventor, Pip Quickwit was called "Finkle Einhorn" (Blackrock Spire (in Beast's belly), in Blackrock Cavern (with Raz, as the primary quest giver), and Blackwing Descent (once again in a giant beast's belly, Chimaeron), up until the 2nd major patch of Shadowlands in August of 2021 - when the woke mob decided that the Ace Ventura character he referenced was now, all of a sudden, a transphobic thing - so anything previously associated with that had to be changed, lest it incur the wrath of... them.
EDIT - the same patch that changed this (9.1.5) was also the patch that gutted all the /flirt and /funny emotes following Blizzard's massive internal sexual harassment scandals going public.
I am very happy you put the Robin Williams tribute on this list! From anothet resource I think he actually did play WoW, which was part of why a tribute was made to him after his passing.
4:24 Wolvars are humanoid wolverines.
Dude. These were great. You could do so many of these on so many topics. Sci-fi references. Cartoons. Music. Mythology. Endless possibilities.
For germans there are the "Toten Hosenträger" in Burning crusade which is a reference to the german band "Die toten Hosen"
They also have as description: "Steh auf... wenn du am Boden bist." (Stand up when you are down), which is the title of one of their songs
I also like the Joust reference in Mt Hyjal, the Winnie the Pooh references in Boralus, and the fountain of references that are the Johnny Awesome questlines.
The Cooking Trainer in Stormwind is named Steven Ryback - complete with ponytail and everything. Clearly a reference to Steven Seagals character, Casey Ryback, from the Under Siege movies who was also a chef in addition to a former militia black ops soldier.
There are so many funny, subtle (and not so subtle) references in WoW that you could easily do a Pointless Top 100 and still only cover a few of them.
Robin Williams did play World of Warcraft, and was known to troll in trade chat a lot. He played it as much as Zelda. He named his daughter Zelda too.
Another reference to Head-On can be found in the flavor text for Ponzo’s Cream, sold be Ponzo in Loamm. It also says “Apply directly to the forehead”
I am dying to know which 10 of the 10,000 pop culture references in WoW are going to make Crendor's list. My money's on the Robin Williams memorial island in Draenor.
I've recently rediscovered pointless top 10. So happy that Crendor is still making is pointless lists, this is the type of wow trivia my body craves
As Horde (don't know which one for alliance) when you are in the valley of strength, go right from the hall of the warchief and before the way leads you up into the hut on the right hand side of the road. EXCELSIOR!
Alliance side is a named SW guard who patrols SW castle who occasionally shouts EXCELSIOR!....of course, it's Stan Lee (character model even looks like him). Also while running to SW castle to double check to make sure Stanley was still patrolling(right before I posted this), ran across another pop culture reference....Farrah Facet (Farrah Fawcett - supermodel/actress) is a jewelcrafting trainer/merchant by the canals.
EDIT: checked Org and yup same Stanley model, just wearing different liveries.
Another chef reference from way back, in the Dwarven District in Stormwind, if he's still there, Stephen Ryback, Steven Segull's character in the Under Siege movies was Casey Ryback, and always undercover as the cook.
Wesley, the stable master in Southshore(before Cata), has a thin mustache and wields a rapier. The only thing left for them to do is have him say "as you wish."
Love this list. It also makes me curious about all of the other references there is in the game. New video idea perhaps? 😁
Aww I love the Robin Williams and Charlie the Unicorn references.
4:31 That would be Deadpool's clone Evil Deadpool. Right up until a universe collided into 616 in events leading up to the 2015 version of Secret Wars and he stayed dead.
5:38 The 2000s were a weird time for animation in general. So much was getting thrown at the wall to see what would stick in the industry and web animation had just become a thing and the internet being the internet before the social medias became more sanitized to appease advertisers and we were still using message boards at the time, most of it was crass and crude (and Newgrounds, a product of this time, still hosts new animations like that to this day if that's your thing, sure as heck isn't mine though). Ever heard of Legendz? It's a very bizarre mon anime that seems very anachronistic, like it belonged a few decades before it aired in 2004. Haven't looked at the manga yet though.
Something that I always found fun, is that "Plants vs. Zombies" was published by EA Games; one of (if not, the largest of) Activision's competitors in the western video game publishing space. So it's interesting to see such a blatant, dedicated, and wholesome homage to their competition, in the "Peacebloom vs Ghouls" quest.
Edit: For reference: EA released "Plants vs. Zombies" in 2009 and Activision bought Blizzard in 2008 (Cata was release in 2010)
I like the Big Lebowski reference in Howling Fjord. Always got a kick out of it.
honestly, kinda dissapointed you didnt mention the undead dragon in exiles reach, which CLEARLY is a refference to globally beloved youtube personality "wowcrendor" who in his machinima videos often talks about "zombie dragons"
1:16 I wonder if these two and and their other friend, probably named Chandelier ever had to bring one of those couches upstairs with Chandelier insisting they piviot?
tie in with your top 10 WoW sharks:
the "Left Shark" Pet you can get from WoD ship table missions, referencing the Left Shark from the Katy Perry Superbowl halftime show (2015)
I cant remember where this was, but there is a reference the movie "road to el dorado" where a troll witch priest pushes a grunt into a cauldron after saying the mix needed more body!
Back in TBC there used to be 2 battlemasters in Shattrath City called Adam Eternum(A) and Keldor the Lost(H). Those where a reference to He-Man and Skeletor. :)
Ah, the memories. This video is great fun. I used to torment a friend of mine with pop culture references from WoW because he hates pop culture references in RPGs because they "take him out of the fantasy."
Gotta say, though, you certainly butchered the pronunciation of the word "Legerdemain" in #9. :)
whoever came up with the Rolling in the deep reference is a pure genius. the gordon ramsay on the other hand...
There's also the Bambi reference in Grizzly Hills! The mom deer, fawn, rabbit, and skunk patrolling around that Alliance town (I forget the name of it lol)
Oh wait, one of those has gameplay and awards a pet? Oh Crendor, I think we may have crossed a line here, this is not pointless anymore.
(In fact, this quest got me into playing Plants vs Zombies way back then)
Thaldraszus has a pretty cool Yu-Gi-Oh reference that includes a quest line with characters that are similiarily portrayed from the show
8:58 Honestly I think it's bigger how they managed to work WoW mechanics into making a minigame that properly replicated PvZ gameplay.
was one of my early vids, the plant quest. Never played the real deal just found this super fun.
My favorite is the An Amazing Journey quest which is a reference to Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, and of course GNAWS the shark who is supposed to be Bruce from JAWS
A bouquet of Scarlet Begonias was the first one I noticed. Grateful Dead song :)
First names of the tellers in SW bank are Olivia, Newton and John.
Flight master in Auberdene's name is an anagram of 'Leggy Blonde.
2 Guars in Wrath (I can't remember the zone discussing whether a Gryphon could carry an arbalest (MP ref)
A baby deer called Bambino with a skunk and another furry animal wandering around (Wrath, can't remember the zone).
my favorite is from BFA with the reference to the movie The Road to El Dorado i think it’s called “needs more body” and you push people into cauldrons like in the movie
Does anybody else remember the "Head On: Apply directly to the forehead" reference moreso from Myndflame machinima instead of the advert??
Another fun reference is the Reference to Sabrina the Teenange witch in the Blue disctrict in Valdrakken. But Im certain everyone has seen that
Apply it to the forehead is a diablo reference because in the ending of diablo 1, the main character slams the soul stone with a demon diablo inside it, directly into the main character's forehead
Floyd Pinkus in Thrallmar,Tigers Wood and quest in Pandaria where you kill tiger names Keer (or Kir?) Shan are first ones that come to my mind
Another nintendo reference in Panderia is a flying turtle in the Kun lai summit. Also I love all the Conan the Barbarian references like Croman and the tomb in the badlands which is a direct reference to the movie.
a small one I like is an npc saying " Thank you. Pray return to the Waking Shores." which is a reference to FFFXIV of an NPC saying "Praythe return to the Waking Sands" If I remember correctly.
7:20 the burglar vest was my favorite roleplay gear for my main a long time ago.
Another good one in Legion Dalaran is Aerith Primrose, the flower seller, and her bodyguard Koraud. They are references to Aerith and Cloud from Final Fantasy 7.
There is also a Vikings reference on stormheim where you have to kill floki, rollo, raghnar
I loved the liutenant horatio laine reference in westfall, it lines up with the quest of who he is in the series