One of my favorite things about Blizzard is their willingness as a company to acknowledge the fact that their games exist in a larger world of media and entertainment. Where some companies shy away from reference or homage to other forms of pop culture, Blizzard has always embraced the opportunity to point toward their influences and other popular cultural phenomenon.
Some of my favorite references in World of Warcraft are those that take me back to my childhood. Now, I grew up in the 80’s, so for many of today’s WoW players, these references may seem like ancient history. Most will probably go right over the heads of many younger players, so I feel it’s my duty to point out some of the better (mostly) 80’s pop culture references in World of Warcraft.
I’ll try to confine my list to NPCs, most of which are fairly easy to reach (with one notable harder-to-reach exception too cool to be left off the list).
We start our journey down memory lane in the city of Dalaran. There are a multitude of references within the city. First, a certain flower vendor situated outside the entrance to the Violet Hold. Her name is “Aerith Primrose,” but her dress and vocation suggest a certain more famous Aerith many gamers will recognize from a little-known RPG called Final Fantasy VII. Those who found themselves disheartened by her death midway through FFVII will be happy to know she appears to be alive and well in Dalaran.
Next, our detour into the late 90’s now over with, we journey deep into the city’s sewers. Just outside the
entrance to the Circle of Wills is a female gnome NPC curiously named “Natalie Tootieblare.” This is one of the more obscure references on the list, and refers to the 80’s sitcom “The Facts of Life.” Natalie, Tootie, and Blair were three of the main female characters on the show. Few people remember it, but one of George Clooney’s earliest roles was as George Burnett on the show.
On the other side of the Circle of Wills is a curious group of animals. Four “Dalaran Sewer Turtles” stand facing a “Dalaran Sewer Rat” who appears to be gesticulating fervently. Around the rats and turtles lie various containers filled with a curious glowing green liquid. Anyone who watched afternoon cartoons in the late 80’s will recognize this scene as an homage to the origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their sensei Splinter.
At the end of a long tunnel opposite the turtles, observant WoW players will find a “Sewer Shark” curiously named “Segacedi” swimming about. This is an obvious reference to the 1992 Sega CD game “Sewer 
Shark.”
Check out page 2 for more pop culture references in Grizzly Hills, Shattrath City, and Uldaman.