I learned about Love Live! through its broadcast on our cable channel in our country, anime news, numerous Pixiv fanarts and last but not the least, the fact that it is animated by Sunrise, the same animated studio that give us the Gundam franchise, which is I am a fan of since I was a kid. On to the other side, I love professional wrestling, and I am a viewer of WWE for more than 10 years now (Although I watched some Attitude Era WWF, WCW and ECW before that).

When I watched Love Live!, I noticed some similarities of the characters with some of the current WWE superstars. I divided the Muse members into groups of 3, each are composed of individuals who have a deeper connection or similarities (For example, the first group is composed of 2nd year members, then the next are composed of 1st year members, and the last are 3rd year members, then I will compare each group to a WWE faction and its members.

Here I go (Sorry for some possible grammar errors):

Muse Trio 1 and The Shield

1. Honoka Kousaka and Dean Ambrose

a) The impulsive/aggressive/hyperactive/foolish/energetic/unpredictable/cloudcuckoolander short haired member of their trio.

b) Jack of all trades type:

- Ambrose has balanced speed and power. Thus, he isn't an aerialist nor a powerhouse unlike his teammates. (Although judging from his fighting style, he is a brawler. As Jon Moxley, however, he can mix technical stuffs in his brawler/hardcore/deathmatch styles.)

- Unlike some members of Muse who has some sort of specialization (Maki's musical talent, Eli's dancing skills, Nico's cute appeals, Kotori's artistic talent, Umi's songwriting skills), it seems that Honoka doesn't specialize in anything (aside from being a charismatic mouthpiece).

c) Very charismatic mouthpiece/leader figure (The Shield's members consider themselves as equals though. And thus, they have no leader)

d) Very Determined and are Risk-takers

e) Sleepyheads (Not so much on Ambrose, but he is seen napping during The Shield's interview after Payback 2014)

f) Both of them didn't take their "designer" close friend's departure really well. Their next actions are one of the factors that jeopardizes the bond of their group:

- Ambrose beginning a personal feud with Rollins and Reigns focusing on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship marked the end of the Shield.

- Honoka's reaction to Kotori's decision to leave and study abroad, along with her blaming herself for Muse being dropped out of the Love Live! tournament and the fact that their school is saved led to her decision to quit being an idol. Her actions forces Muse to go to an indefinite hiatus (although they got better later on).

- The difference is that Dean is the anti-heroic face in his feud with Seth while Honoka is the heel (a sympathetic one though) due to her selfish actions which jeopardizes her close friendship with Umi and Muse's future (Note that Nico got pissed off too).

g) Having rebellious traits/attitude:

- Ambrose's feuds which involves any member of the Authority (Shield vs Evolution, Ambrose vs Rollins...)

- Honoka's frequent clashing with then-Student Council President Eli Ayase before the latter became a member of Muse.

- Thus, they can be categorized as Chaotic Good characters (Although Ambrose can be categorized as a Chaotic Neutral instead due to his antiheroic/tweener methods)

h) Both have arguments (which is usually started by them) with their quiet and serious, dark-haired close friend which fortunately, always ends well for both of them.

i) Both have orange/brown/ginger hair and blue eyes.

j) Shares same birth month, birth year and Zodiac Sign (Western and Chinese) in real life:

- Honoka's seiyuu, Emi Nitta, is born on December 10, 1985.

- Dean Ambrose, who is Jonathan David Good in real life, is born on December 7, 1985. Jon is only 3 days older than Emitsun.

- Since they are both born in December 1985, their Western Zodiac Sign is Sagittarius and their Chinese Zodiac Sign is Ox.

k) Main Protagonist of their stories

- Honoka is the main protagonist of Love Live! School Idol Project.

- Despite Roman Reigns being portrayed by WWE (especially by Vince!) as the new main face of the company, Dean Ambrose himself is the true Main Protagonist of the 2-year "Implosion of the Shield/Seth Rollins' betrayal" storyline, with Seth Rollins as the Main Antagonist/Big Bad. Dean is the one who is personally devastated more by Seth's betrayal and vows revenge by destroying the Architect, thus starting the highly-acclaimed Ambrose-Rollins feud. Meanwhile, while said feud is going on, Roman focused on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship instead.

2. Kotori Minami and Seth Rollins

a) Both have a bird motif:

- Rollins is the aerialist of the trio. Plus, he has the Phoenix Splash in his arsenal (he never used it as a Shield member though).

- The name Kotori means "little bird" in Japanese. Thus, several fanarts depict Kotori as a bird.

- Kotori is also partnered with Rowlet, an Owl-based Pokemon.

b) Long haired "designers" of the trio:

- Being the Architect of The Shield, Rollins is the one who strategizes the group's game plan.

- Kotori is the designer of Muse's costumes.

c) Both left the group which resulted in the wrath of their short haired close friend. (For Kotori's case, she almost left)

d) Son/Daughter of an authority figure:

- Rollins being the Authority's "Future", a SYMBOLIC son.

- Kotori being the daughter of the headmaster of her school.﻿

e) Both have some sort of cloudcuckoolander mentality, but on lower levels unlike their short haired close friend:

- Rollins is described as an "outspoken hot-head who will do crazy things" for the Shield's cause.

- Kotori is known for having her head in the clouds, which helps in her creative mind as a costume designer.

f) Their flexible bodies:

- See Rollins' aerial attacks (especially his follow-up should his Phoenix Splash misses), selling (especially if he's trapped in a submission hold) and/or reversals of his opponents' moves (such as the German Suplex).

- Kotori's legs can reach her shoulders.

g) Their voices are said by the fans to be horrible:

- Rollins' voice is said to be nasally obnoxious, which helps in his heel persona.

- Kotori's voice, in the ears of most Western fans, is said to be annoying (while Japanese fans find her voice to be cute).

- Kotori's voice actress, Aya Uchida, is capable of voicing other types of characters very well. It's just her performance as Kotori that she received mixed reactions from the fans.

h) Kamen Rider jokes.

- Seth's black and gold gear resembles Kamen Rider Kuuga Ultimate Form, while his white and gold one resembles Kuuga's archenemy, N-Daguva-Zeba Perfect Form. Kamen Rider fans joke that the Architect is secretly a Kamen Rider fan himself.

- Kamen Rider BLACK/BLACK RX's real name is Kotaro Minami. Due to the similarity of their names, fans joke that Kotori is BLACK/BLACK RX' daughter.

i) Suffered leg problems:

- On November 4, during a match against Kane at a WWE live event in Dublin, Ireland, Seth tore the ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus in his right knee while attempting to execute a sunset flip powerbomb. The injury required surgery and it was estimated it would take him out of action for approximately six to nine months. As a result, he was forced to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the next day, ending his reign at 220 days. He also missed both Royal Rumble 2016 and WrestleMania 32. Rollins then returned at Extreme Rules 2016.

- The day after Royal Rumble 2017, Seth was attacked by the debuting Samoa Joe as he is going to confront Triple H, who betrayed him in mid-2016. His right knee got re-injured when both men dropped on the ground for Joe's Coquina Clutch. Luckily, Rollins was able to get clearance from the doctors weeks before WrestleMania 33, where he finally fought and defeated Hunter. He then resumes his feud with Joe afterwards.

- Kotori was born with poor leg health which made her unable to run when she was younger. A surgery at Nishikino fixes this (which would explain how her mother and Maki's mother know each other). However, unfortunately it leaves her with a scar that becomes her complex. She did get better though, as the wound becomes less noticeable as she grew up.

3. Umi Sonoda and Roman Reigns

a) The quiet, very serious, dark haired and long haired member of the trio.

b) Member of a sports team/club:

- Umi is a member of the archery club.

- Reigns was a member of football teams during his High School and College years.

c) Due to their sports, they have some associations with ranged weapons which totally fits in their respective motifs:

- Bow and Arrow for Umi (which fits in her archery motif)

- Throwing Spear for Reigns (which fits in his Roman soldier secondary motif)

d) Both came from a family who are involved in a sports/tradition/profession/etc. Thus, both are expected to become the successors/heirs:

- Reigns is a member of Anoa'i wrestling family

- Umi has a martial artist father and a traditional Japanese dancer mother

e) Both have performance issues which is later ironed-out:

- Reigns' lack of experience (Unfortunately, this came back again after the Shield's demise. He's lacking experience as a singles competitor this time.)

- Umi's performance anxiety.

f) Both have arguments with their short haired close friend which fortunately, always ends well for both of them.

g) Both have some kind of leadership qualities:

- Reigns' "quiet strength" (Not so much in terms of leadership since again, Shield's members consider themselves as equals)

- Umi's duties as a songwriter, physical trainer and choreographer before Eli joined and took over for the latter two.

h) Both have "killing spree" records:

- Reigns' Survivor Series 2013 and Royal Rumble 2014 elimination records.

- Umi's supersonic pillow shot victims in Love Live! Season 1 Episode 10.

i) Packs a powerful right hand:

- Reigns' Superman Punch!

- Umi gave Honoka a big slap when the latter said that she quits being an idol.

j) Has a single, much older sibling.

- Roman's big brother is Rosey, sidekick and tag team partner of The Hurricane. As said above, Rosey is very much older, with an age gap of 15 years. Sadly, Rosey passed away in April 2017. RIP, Super Hero In Training.

- Umi has a much older sister who has already moved out.

k) Contrasting Reception:

- Umi enjoys good following in-series (though she's still shy in admitting it!) and in real life. Her voice actress, Suzuko Mimori, also enjoys this too, as her role as Umi arguably made way for her to be cast in more anime character roles during and after her time in Love Live!

- And because she voiced Haruna in Tiger Mask W, she also made appearances in New Japan Pro Wrestling, usually accompanying the real life Tiger Mask W (who is Kota Ibushi under the mask).

- Mimori got herself deeper in the puroresu world when it is revealed that she is currently in a relationship with 4-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.

- Meanwhile, Roman has a negative reception. He is always heavily booed despite being a face. See this Wikipedia article for more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_and_reception_of_Roman_Reigns

- Thankfully subverted, though with a unfortunate reason: On Oct. 22, 2018 episode of RAW, Roman announced that he has a relapse with leukemia (he also initially reveals on his announcement that he was diagnosed with said illness 11 years before but was able to put that into remission quickly) and as a result, he'll relinquish his Universal Championship so that he'll be able to focus on his treatment. Roman initially received mixed reaction during his entrance, but after the announcement, he received genuine cheers from the crowd & overwhelming support from his family, friends, co-workers, rival companies such as NJPW and ROH, fellow wrestlers from said rival companies such as Kenny Omega, and fans watching around the world, wishing him to win his battle again against cancer. So, Roman, go, fight and win against leukemia!

- On February 25, 2019, Roman returns to RAW with the crowd cheering him. The cheers became louder when he announced that he is now in remission. Roman is now 2-0 against leukemia!!

- Though Joe Anoa'i is very much beloved by everyone, his Roman Reigns character is still considered to be a polarizing character (with Charlotte Flair being labeled by the fans as a female Roman Reigns in the present time for example). Though Joe's battle against leukemia and his 2nd triumph against said illness may also helped to improve his wrestling character's reception, time will tell when the cheering would last. Hopefully, the booking of his character will be very much better.

Muse Trio 2 and The Nexus

1. Maki Nishikino and Daniel Bryan

a) Both are very talented in their passion:

- Bryan's great wrestling skills, making him one of the best wrestlers ever.

- Maki's overflowing musical talent.

b) Both face obstacles related to their passion.

- Bryan is being held back by The Authority on-screen due to the latter considering him as a B+ Player and off-screen, by some (or most) of the WWE leaders (especially Vince "Out of Touch" McMahon) due to him not being a WWE-made wrestler, not having the typical WWE main eventer size and arguably, they still consider him as a B+ Player too despite his skills and achievements.

- Maki's status as the daughter of famous doctors has left her isolated from her peers. She also has to contend with parents who have abnormally high expectations of her (all the while being practically forced into becoming a doctor like them) and worst of all, her love for music isn't at all respected by said parents (who only see it as a temporary entertainment at best)

c) They were able to overcome those obstacles but only temporarily, with a sad ending.

- Daniel finally reached the summit by winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX. Sadly, his reign is short-lived as he was stripped off the title due to a major injury. He later returned and became the Intercontinental Champion but due to another injury, he is forced to surrender the title. Due to these injuries, he then decided to retire in 2016.

- And in mid-March of 2018, WWE announced that Daniel is finally cleared to return as an active wrestler, with his in-ring return to be held at WrestleMania 34, in a tag team match with Shane McMahon as his partner against the team of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Daniel & Shane won the match after Sami tapped out to his YES! Lock. He is now also back as a full time wrestler, with the recently retired Paige replacing him as Smack Down!'s GM.

- Being a member of Muse, Maki is part of the idol group which is the winner of the 2nd Love Live! tournament and in the events of the movie, were sent to USA to perform and became bigger stars in Japan upon their return. Plus, both of Maki's parents finally approved of her love for music and her being a school idol. Sadly, Muse still decided to disband at the end of the movie due to the 3rd Year members' graduation.

d) Both have the affinity for the color red.

e) In real life, both are VERY POPULAR!

f) Both have a rocky relationship ("frenemies" might be a good word, I think...) with a prima donna co-worker who is not a member of this trio.

2. Hanayo Koizumi and Ryback

a) Notorious Big Eaters

b) Ascended/Promoted Fans:

- Ryan Reeves is a wrestling fan since childhood. He even responded on a radio show to the Goldberg chants he draws: he says the difference is that Goldberg was in it for the money, but he's in wrestling because he loves it.

- Hanayo is very knowledgeable regarding Idols and dreams to become one, which is fulfilled when she joined Muse.

c) Both have a good physique:

- Ryback having a powerhouse (though roided) body.

- Hanayo being gifted with a sizeable rack.

3. Rin Hoshizora and Bad News Barrett

a) Manlier/more boyish/masculine:

- Rin is the tomboy of the group, which is composed of totally girly girls. She is the most athletic in the group.

- Barrett, unlike other wrestlers (who are more analogous to actors due to the sport's nature), is among of the few ones who has legitimate fighting skills and experience. Stu Bennett was a champion bare-knuckle boxer who had fought in various locations throughout Europe. He even seriously beaten up a mugger who stabbed him in an attempt to steal his prize cash in a boxing match he just won.

Muse Trio 3 and The Evolution (2014 reunion)

1. Eli Ayase and Triple H

a) Blonde haired & long haired leader/high ranking officer of an organization:

- Triple H is the Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative for WWE. He is also in charge of the now-critically acclaimed WWE NXT. (Although by the time Hunter got promoted to these corporate positions, he already cut/shaved his long blonde hair for obvious reasons.)

- Eli was the Student Council President.

b) Antagonist authority leader:

- Triple H as the leader of The Authority.

- Before joining Muse, Eli is against to Honoka's plans to form a club. Her utilization of school rules or loopholes, such as saying there was already an idol group at their school, or that they would need at least 5 members to form a group is parallel to Hunter's actions to secure his golden boy (ex. Orton and/or Rollins) and his WWE World Heavyweight Championship and screw those who are against The Authority. The difference is that Eli is still a benevolent leader despite her actions while Hunter, being a heel, is obviously the opposite.

c) Both have a dark past which made them to be antagonistic in the first place:

- Off-screen in Triple H's case. Throughout his WWE career, he has been accused of burying talents in order to stay relevant and elevate himself and married Stephanie McMahon in order to gain power within the company. Arguably, Hunter based these accusations for his onscreen character as the leader of The Authority just like his father-in-law Vince based his own actions during the Montreal Screwjob to create his Mr. McMahon character.

- And before all of that, he is punished for participating in the infamous, kayfabe-breaking "MSG Incident". His punishment is the loss of his push. Examples are him being booked to win the King of the Ring tournament is given to Stone Cold Steve Austin instead, and him jobbing to the Ultimate Warrior in a squash match at WrestleMania 12!! And to add insult to injury, Warrior no-sold his Pedigree during said match!!!

- Arguably, said jobbing on that WrestleMania match with Warrior became a catalyst for him to do those accusations (particularly, his burial of other talents) which are listed above.

- Eli used to be on the path to becoming a professional ballerina when she was younger, but kept failing audition after audition until she finally gave up. This is the source of her resentment towards Muse in the beginning (from her perspective, she sees their dancing as sloppy and amateurish).

2. Nozomi Toujou and Batista

a) Oldest and physically, the largest member of their trio/group. (Both Eli and Maki are taller than Nozomi though)

b) Both have a good physical traits:

- Batista having a powerhouse (though also roided) body.

- Nozomi being gifted with a sizeable rack.

c) Both have a friendless background:

- Arguable on Dave's part. He lived a hard life in poverty. He was a former delinquent and was stealing automobiles when he was young. He was later estranged, became a bouncer, got arrested and sentenced to one year of probation. Wonder if he really did made very good friends during that time of his life.

- Nozomi and her family had moved around for most of her childhood. Thus, she never had any chances to make friends until she met Eli.

d) Perverted:

- Batista is repeatedly accused of hitting on the younger Divas, even if they were already seeing someone (and when he was married).

- Nozomi's way of punishing her misbehaving teammates by grabbing their breasts.

e) Smarter than what you think of them/Chessmasters:

- During his Road to Wrestlemania in 2005, Batista became aware of World Heavyweight Champion Triple H's plot to run him over in a limousine resembling JBL's (JBL was the WWE Champion during that time) so he will challenge the latter for the title instead of Hunter. Dave confirmed the scheme by sneakily eavesdropping during Hunter's conversation with Ric Flair and then pretended that he never heard them. He later turned on them when he signed the contract for the World Heavyweight Championship Match at Wrestlemania 21.

- Dave even prefers to be a heel in his 2014 return. Also, he said in non-kayfabe interviews after his 2nd departure that when WWE told him their plans for him, he told them that these would grossly backfire because of fans' anxiousness to see Daniel Bryan on top and also because of his own flaws as a babyface. Thus, he saw all of those coming. Despite that, he said that he didn't regret his 2014 return as he helped in putting over Daniel Bryan and The Shield.

- In Episode 8 of Season 1 , it is revealed that Nozomi had been prodding her future teammates along with fortune-telling, from as early as when they were asking for name suggestions, so they would reach nine members. She played a significant role in getting Nico, Maki and Eli to join, and getting Maki to want to join also indirectly helped prod Hanayo, which also resulted in Rin joining. After this, she joined as the ninth member. This means that she is directly or indirectly responsible for every member aside from the initial trio joining.

f) Collection

- Batista is also known for his collection of lunchboxes.

- Maybe not a collection (or she's just not as hardcore as other collectors) but she owns a deck of tarot cards, which she uses for fortune-telling. Her tarot deck is a hybrid of Rider-Waite and Thoth decks. So it can be assumed that she owns at least 2 tarot decks, with different types.

3. Nico Yazawa and Randy Orton

a) Prima Donna attitude/Attention Whore

b) Their troubled past led to their current attitude:

- Orton's history of being betrayed in the past led to his transition from The Legend Killer to the sadistic & stoic Viper.

- During her first year in high school, Nico started an idol group. However, one by one the members gave up because Nico's goal to become an idol was too much for them and they couldn't keep up. This led to her becoming self-absorbed, bitter, resentful and antagonistic towards Honoka's attempts to form an idol group at first.

c) Aggressive and Determined

d) Youngest of the trio:

- Orton is the youngest member of Evolution

- Nico LOOKS LIKE the youngest of the 3rd year members of Muse. (But actually, it is Eli who is the youngest of the 3rd Year members)

e) Butt Monkey of the group/trio:

- Orton has been betrayed by a faction led by Triple H TWICE.

- Nico is often ignored by the group, Nozomi loves to take cracks at her expense and Maki never hesitates to take potshots at her.

f) Both have hair-trigger temper and anger management issues.

g) Owns a signature hand pose and/or catchphrase:

- Orton has three:

- His iconic "Release the Doves" pose, originating from his "Legend Killer" days.

- His "slithering like a snake" taunt, where he repeatedly pounds the ground with his fists while stalking his prey for his RKO.

- Not as popular as the two above but still infamous due to his backstage reputation, he's also prone to call the wrestler/s he wrestles with as "STUPID!" if he/they botches in taking a move given by him.

- Nico's "Nico Nico Nii!" pose.

h) Eldest child of their respective families

- Randy is the eldest child of WWE Hall of Famer "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He has two younger siblings: an MMA fighter named Nathan and a sister named Rebecca. He also has an adopted brother named Roderick.

- Nico has two younger sisters named Cocoro and Cocoa, and a younger brother named Cotaro.

A-RISE and the Wyatt Family (2012-2014 version)

1. Tsubasa Kira and Bray Wyatt

a) Leader of their trio

b) Wears a hat which became their trademark

c) Shortest of the trio

d) Very charismatic

e) Calculative

2. Erena Toudou and Luke Harper

a) Oldest of the trio (Though in Erena's case, she is the most mature looking in A-RISE)

b) Has a mark/spot on their head:

- Harper's bald spot (which he received from a brutal chairshot during his indie days)

- Erena's beauty mark under her left eye.

c) Dark haired and long haired member of their trio

3) Anju Yuuki and Erick Rowan