Mortal Kombat owes its origin to Jean-Claude Van Damme!
The controversial fighting series was originally conceived as an American response to the smash hit Street Fighter. However, the original idea from creators Ed Boon and John Tobias was completely different than the blood and gore version we got in the end.
They originally wanted to make a fighting game based on Jean-Claude Van Damme. They almost had a deal, but the plan fell through because Van Damme signed a deal with Sega to make a game for the Genesis.
Boon and Tobias went on to create Johnny Cage, who was based on Van Damme, and made him a main character in the Mortal Kombat series. Ironically, Van Damme later starred in the awful movie adaptation of Street Fighter.