A pair of silver medalists paid tribute to Mortal Kombat with an incredible performance at the Olympics, drawing inspiration from the games and the films' classic music. While the performance may have bewildered some in attendance who are unfamiliar with the games, fans of Mortal Kombat will immediately recognize the cues taken from the game to make this performance a reality.
Though the Olympics are typically a competition between the world's best athletes in various traditional sports, video games have had somewhat of an influence on them. In addition to the Olympic Esports Series, which was held in 2023, the International Olympic Committee has also indicated plans to hold a multi-esport competition called the Olympic Esports Games, which is slated to be held in 2027.
Mortal Kombat Recreated in Red Dead Redemption 2 is as Awesome as It Sounds
A content creator recreates Mortal Kombat within Red Dead Redemption 2, with Arthur even getting a custom cinematic Fatality.
Olympic Silver Medalists Pay Tribute to Mortal Kombat
During the Olympics, Georgia-based pair figure skaters Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava took home the silver medal for their performances, marking the first time their country had ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics. All high-ranking figure skaters are invited to perform at the Gala following the competition, which lets the skaters take to the ice and do routines that are often more casual and freeform, as they're not scored. Metelkina and Berulava chose to make their way onto the ice as none other than Kitana and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, complete with versions of their iconic costumes.
After a little introduction teasing that Berulava wanted to stay home and play video games and offering to teach Metelkina how to play, the two unveiled their costumes and took to the ice as Techno Syndrome blared in the background. The performance is impressive, not only for their physical prowess, but because it's laden with references to the games. After some play-sparring, Metelkina briefly hops around on the ice like she's testing out her character controls, before the two move into more traditional ice skating moves. Players probably never thought they'd see Sub-Zero tossing Kitana across the ice in an incredible throw jump, nor Sub-Zero spinning in place while holding Kitana over his head in an upside-down spin. An incredible headbanger technique shows how honed their skills are, with Metelkina/Kitana's head barely clearing the ice as Berulava rapidly spins in a circle while swinging her by her legs.
The closure of the Mortal Kombat part of the performance will likely be fun for Mortal Kombat fans to see. After the headbanger, Metelkina stands on the ice in a staggered stun, just as the fighters looked in the original games when a finisher could be delivered. However, instead of breaking into an equivalent of one of Mortal Kombat's violent Fatalities, Berulava instead triggers a Friendship move, and the two segued into the second half of their performance with a different song. By the end, though, they return to Mortal Kombat, and Metelkina uses a Kiss of Death on her partner, "winning" the match between them.
Figure skating and gaming fans were certainly surprised to see the routine, and are celebrating its creativity and the skill shown during the performance. However, this isn't the first time that video game references have been made at the Olympics. Likely the most notable instance of the Olympics paying homage to video games was during the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in Rio and Tokyo, respectively. At the closing ceremonies in Rio, then-Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, made an appearance. In a pre-recorded skit, Abe found himself stuck in traffic and unable to make it to the show in time, before transforming into Mario. Mario-Abe then hops into a green pipe in Japan, leading to the real Abe emerging from a green pipe live at the show in Rio, hyping up the Olympics' future 2020 show being held in Japan. The 2020 show, fittingly, also featured a number of video game references, utilizing themes from classic Japanese video games during the Olympics opening ceremony.
Mortal Kombat 1
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- September 19, 2023
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- NetherRealm Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Brothers Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
