In-jokes and references/games, TV and movies

Blizzard has included many in-jokes and references to pop-culture in various forms throughout WoW.

300
There is a quest in the Death Knight starting area called 'Tonight We Dine In Havenshire', a reference to King Leonidas's famous quote, "Tonight... we dine... in HELL!". The quest involves the gathering of arrows fired by nearby skeletal archer NPCs called "Sky Darkeners", referencing the rumors of the Persian archers being able to darken the sky with their arrows. Also in the attack against Light's Hope Chapel, there is a reference to 300 where the defenders of the sacred place are just 300 that stand against the Scourge army of 10,000.

AC/DC
The dwarven mortar team in Dun Morogh say "I'm T.N.T.! I'm dynamite!" which comes from the AC/DC song "T.N.T." from the High Voltage album.

The rogue talent "Dirty Deeds' is a reference to the song "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" from the "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" album.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Finkle's Skinner is listed as property of Finkle Einhorn, alluding the revelation in Ace Ventura- "Finkle is Einhorn! Einhorn is Finkle!"

Finkle Einhorn appears after you skin The Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire, and before the Burning Crusade, Finkle's Skinner – which drops from The Beast – was essentially required to skin the hound.

Also, there is a weapon in Molten Core which drops, named Finkle's Lava Dredger.

Army of Darkness
Multiple guns are labeled "Boomstick" of varying degrees, The rough boomstick, precisely calibrated boomstick, and lovingly crafted boomstick, and are all references to the line in Army of Darkness: "Now listen up, you primitive screwheads. See this? This... is my boomstick! The 12-gauge double-barreled Remington."

There are 2 characters named Klaatu and Barada, but no "Nikto", probably due to the fact that the word is never said properly by Ash.

Apocalypse Now
Colonel Kurzen in Stranglethorn Vale is based on the character Colonel Kurtz in the popular Vietnam movie Apocalypse Now.

Austin Powers
There is a cat critter in Naxxramas instance named Mr. Bigglesworth. If you kill it, Kel'Thuzad (himself) will yell "No!!! A curse upon you, interlopers! The armies of the Lich King will hunt you down. You will not escape your fate..." apparently he really liked that cat. This is a reference to Dr. Evil's cat of the same name from the Austin Powers series of movies. The "curse" is more than likely a reference to Dr. Evil's line "And when Mr. Bigglesworth is upset...people DIE!"

Bambi (Disney)
Bambi, his mother, Thumper, and Flower can be seen running around the Grizzly Hills. Though, as the norm, Blizz has renamed them to Bambina, Mother of Bambina, Thudder, and Flora.

Battlestar Galactica
Next to the bank in Area 52, there is a goblin engineer named Xyrol. This is a reference to Galen Tyrol, the chief of the deck on Battlestar Galactica.

Kara Thricestar  at the Fizzcrank Airstrip in Borean Tundra is a reference to Kara Thrace (a.k.a. Starbuck).

Blue Oyster Cult
There is a quest in Netherstorm(Outland) to return a cow bell to a cow named Bessy and then following an escort quest back to its owner. The quest name is (starts from Thadell), which refers to a scene from Saturday Night Live starring Christopher Walken repeatedly asking for "more cowbell."

Captain America
The Paladin Talent Avenger's Shield is a reference to Captain America (who is a member of the superhero group known as The Avengers), and his ability to ricochet his shield off of multiple targets and return to him.

Chasing Amy
In Un'Goro Crater, there is a reference to Kevin Smith's movie Chasing Amy. A quest is given titled "Chasing A-Me 01". This may also be a reference to the cyborg gorilla Amy in the 1995 film Congo because you need a mechanical part, a Mithril Casing to get her moving and finish the quest.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Innkeeper Remi Dodoso's name in Area 52 spells out the notes 'Re' 'Mi' 'Do' 'Do' 'So' in the solfege scale. This is a reference to the musical theme used in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind to communicate with the aliens which have landed on Earth.

Conan the Barbarian
In the Badlands, up the mountain and behind the cave that is the back door to Uldaman, there is a crypt. Inside it can be found the skeleton of a king on a throne, with one hand resting on the hilt of a sword. This is just like the crypt where Conan seeks refuge and finds a sword at the beginning of his adventures in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian. It is also similar to the pose of the older Conan at the end of the film, just before the credits.

The Dark Crystal
The Skettis NPC race located in Outland bear a striking resemblance in name, appearance and sound to the Skeksis from this 1982 Jim Henson film. Furthermore, the first boss in Sethekk Halls will sometimes say "Hmmmmmm...It's time to make my move!", which is a direct quote from the scheming Chamberlain Skeksis from the film.

Dirty Jobs
"Dirty" Michael Crowe is a reference to the host of the TV show "Dirty Jobs", Mike Rowe.

Disney's Aladdin
The Magnificent Flying Carpet's buff description is "Don't you dare close your eyes" which is clearly a reference to the movie's song "A whole new world" where one of the lines is "Don't you dare close your eyes".

The Frosty Flying Carpet's buff description is "A whole new point of view" which is another line from "A Whole New World".

Dragonlance
Found in the Old Town of Stormwind, the Pig and Whistle Tavern is a reference to the inn where the Heroes of the Lance stayed in Port Balifor.

Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Horde quest in Ashenvale "Between a Rock and a Thistlefur" has a reference to Dr. Strangelove where ", we must not allow... an expansion path gap!" is a parody of the line in the movie "We cannot let there be a mineshaft gap!"

Elton John
In Area 52, the Experimental Pilot and an Engineering Crewmember have a discussion which contains several references to Elton John's song 'Rocket Man'. For example, the pilot says, "This isn't the kind of place to raise your kids, it's cold and there'd be no one to raise them."

Excalibur - Sword in the Stone


Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early; in Welsh, the sword was called Caledfwlch.

The sword in the stone can be found in Nagrand on Zangar Ridge beside the road.

Final Fantasy VII
On the northern end of Sunstrider Isle in Eversong Woods, you can find two blood elf children named Jane and Nova. This is a reference to Jenova in Final Fantasy VII, who is also known as Sephiroth's "Mother".

In Dalaran, there is a flower vendor named Aerith Primrose. Her name and appearance are a reference to Aerith Gainsborough, one of the main characters from Final Fantasy VII.

It has also been said that the Hawkstriders that are the racial mount for Blood Elves are directly inspired by Chocobos, which have been in almost every Final Fantasy game.

Finding Forester
In Dire Maul, when you speak to Guard Fengus (after killing King Gordrok), he says "You're Da Man Now, Dog!" This is a quote from the movie Finding Forester, in which Sean Connery says the same line. It could also be a reference to the internet site YTMND

Firefly
In Zangarmarsh the Alliance Master Engineer Trainer is named K. Lee Smallfry: a reference to Kaywinnit Lee "Kaylee" Frye, the ship's mechanic from the TV show Firefly. One of her quotes is: "Have you seen the swamp gas? Isn't it just shiny?" "Shiny" being one of the slang words in the show for "cool". K. Lee is also the turn-in NPC for the Strange Engine Part, which has the flavor text: "It reads 'Capissen 38' on the bottom." In Firefly Kaylee comments "And don't fly in anything with a Capissen 38 engine; they fall RIGHT out of the sky."

Also in Zangarmarsh one of the drops from the Bogflare Needlers is a Captured Firefly. The flavor text: "Still flying..." has been removed from the item, possibly because the items are no longer retained in bags because of the new pet system.

Forrest Gump
In Stormwind, there is a flower shop named Fragrant Flowers just east of the Trade District, on the canal between it and Old Town. The man who runs it is named Bernard Gump. Just beneath his name is the title ; Thus, his full title is "Florist Gump", a pun on the name Forrest Gump.

In Auberdine (in Darkshore), there is a fisherman by the name of Gubber Blump. This is a play on Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Full Metal Jacket

 * The item "Booterang" (from the Netherwing dailies-Honored-) appears to contain a reference to the movie "Full Metal Jacket". The text written in yellow is: "This is your booterang. There are many like it but this one is yours." And in Full Metal Jacket: "This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine."


 * During Hallow's End event there's a npc in Southshore named "Sgt. Hartman" a obvious reference to the drill instructor Sgt. Hartman from the movie.


 * In the Death Knight starting questline, there is a book to be found, stating "This is my runeblade, there are many like it but this one is mine.". This might also be a reference to the US Military's Rifle Creed.

Ghostbusters

 * In the Mage Quarter in Stormwind City, there are three mages sitting in a circle having an extended conversation. Eventually one of them will say “wouldn’t that be bad, like crossing the streams bad?”, a reference to the movie "Ghostbusters".
 * There is also a group of three female humans in robes (the same mages) that walk through the city. At one point one of them says, "But wouldn't that mean crossing the streams? Isn't that really bad?" One of the others replies, "But if we stabilize it with an anchor thread at the appropriate energy crux then it should work." Not exactly direct quotes, but close enough.
 * Egan's Blaster is a ranged-slot item used in the quest The Restless Souls that starts in Eastern Plaguelands. "Use Egan's Blaster on the ghostly and spectral citizens of Stratholme. When the restless spirits break free from their ghostly shells, use the blaster again - freedom will be theirs!" This is also a reference to the character Dr. Egon Spengler from the film.
 * One of the soldiers stationed at Chillwind Point complains that his job "definitely isn't worth another five thou-a year!" In the movie "Ghostbusters", Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) says the same thing when his team votes for almost certain death to save the world (while fighting the undead, as it were.)
 * In the mage-specific quests (Horde) and  (Alliance), the player is asked to search an area for ghosts, fight them, and trap them in "containment coffers". These look and act exactly like the trappers in Ghostbusters.
 * In the Hinterlands, there is the Altar of Zul which is a reference to the first Ghostbusters movie where the Ghostbusters fought Gozer atop the Altar of Zuul.

Gone in 60 Seconds
The quest in the Hellfire Peninsula called "Shizz Work" has you digging through felboar excrement for a lost set of keys, very much like a scene from Gone in 60 Seconds (the remake with Nicholas Cage) where some of the car thieves are taking a large dog for a walk to get him to "release" some previously devoured Mercedes keys!

Grand Theft Auto
is one of the Death Knight quests in the starting area. It refers to Grand Theft Auto, another video game.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
In Shattrath City's Lower City, there is a reference to the old He-Man cartoon. The Alliance Arathi Basin Battlemaster is named Adam Eternum, and stands with his sidekick, Oric Coe — a reference to Orko — and his pet, Battle Cat. Also in Lower City is a reference to He-Man's arch nemesis Skeletor, and is the Horde Arathi Basin Battlemaster who is named Keldor the Lost.

If you were to look at He-Man's pet tiger, Cringer, who becomes Battle Cat, there is a remarkable resemblance to the Corrupted Cat from Felwood in both markings and coloration. This was probably a reference that is vastly overlooked.

Additionally, the ore mined in Outland is ADAMantite which sometimes has rare ETERNIUM ore in it.

Highlander
On Fray Island in the Barrens, there is an NPC named Klannoc Macleod with the title  an obvious play on Connor Mac Leod, the Highlander. He looks very similar to the TV character Duncan MacLeod (a clansman of Connor's), with long black hair, a katana, and the type of clothes Duncan would often wear.

Indiana Jones

 * In Nagrand by Nesingwary's camp, a broken plane holds snakes in the cockpit, might be a reference to the beginning of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, but is more likely pointing to the movie Snakes on a Plane.
 * There is a human, who says he hates snakes, called Harrison Jones. This is a pretty obvious reference to Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford.
 * You first meet him in Zul'aman, but he is found captured in a troll tomb in Grizzly Hills, where he frees a black haired human female, fights a giant snake mob and then leaves. He is wearing a hat similar to the one Indiana Jones is wearing.
 * He also "hangs out" with people very similar to the ones from the movie.

Iron Maiden
The Achievement "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is a reference to the Iron Maiden song "Hallowed Be Thy Name" from the "The Number Of The Beast" album.

Or

It could be a reference to the third line of the Lord's Prayer.

Jeopardy
Dealer Sadaqat  found at Stormspire in Netherstorm. This is from the TV quiz show, Jeopardy. It is a category that has been used for many years on the show and refers to alcohol containing beverages.

Kill Bill
The superior quality sword, is a reference to Hattori Hanzo, legendary ninja and sword maker, who plays an important role in Kill Bill Volume 1, where the Bride gets a sword from him with which to enact revenge against her former associates.

Also, a gnome rogue called Lefty, who can be encountered in Blackrock Depths during the Tier 0.5 arena encounter, has a skill called "Five Fat Finger Exploding Heart Technique", which will deal huge amounts of damage if allowed to stack five times. This is in reference to the technique the Bride learns from her ancient master, Pai Mei.

Krull
In Onyxia's Lair within the first lava pool you come to on the right side, you can find a floating star shaped glaive and next to it a charred skeleton. A reference to the 80's scifi-fantasy movie Krull in which the powerful glaive weapon was found in a flowing river of lava in a dragon's cave.

LOST (TV series)
At the community site's Draenei Race Information Page, if you hover your cursor to the 2 Draenei, the male Draenei mentions something about the Monster, the Others and calls the female Draenei Kate. Also, 'Kate' the Draenei mentions having a flashback.

Lost follows the story of a group of survivors of a plane crash who are stranded on an island filled with mysteries. The Draenei on Azeroth are all survivors of a plane crash (The Exodar in this case). The Exodar crashed on an island as well.

The items Kharmaa's Ring of Fate and Kharmaa's Shroud of Hope are both references to the DHARMA Initiative, a mysterious organization of great importance in the show.

In the Wrath of the Lich King, a hatch in the ground can be found on a small island in Bittertide Lake in Sholazar Basin. Mousing over the hatch causes the numbers 5 9 16 17 24 43 to appear. These numbers are only one off from "The Numbers" found in LOST: 4 8 15 16 23 42. The Hatch and The Numbers play a big part in the lore of LOST, especially during the second season.

MacGyver
A troll Master Engineer, named Mack Diver, is an obvious reference to the 80's and 90's show MacGyver. In the show, MacGyver would make bombs out of anything, making him kind of an engineer.

Also, in Valgarde, there is a gnome named McGoyver, who is trying to fix a Gnomish Bi-plane.

Matrix
Caretaker Alen, an Argent Dawn NPC at Lights Hope Chapel sometimes says: "I should have taken the translucent pill".

One of the boys who are fishing in Stormwind's Canal District sometimes says: "There is no spoon".

Asking any Ironforge Guard directions to an Alchemy Profession trainer has a chance to make them say "Why, oh why, didn't I take the blue potion?" after the directions have been given.

Fishing in Violet Hold may product a key, wich will open a chest underwater. One of the drops is Crude Dining Equipment, wich has a tooltip: "There is no spoon"

Metal Gear
In Shadowmoon Valley there's a quest, called, where you use a Bag o' Tricks, which is a simple wooden box, to disguise yourself in order to hear a conversation between Jovaan and Warbringer Razuun. The reference to the Metal Gear's cardboard box is reinforced by the fact that Jovaan asks Warbringer Razuun what's the box for, in the same way the soldiers of the game do when they find the cardboard box somewhere unfitting. And the Burning Legion outpost is a very unfitting place to a box, or anything actually, made of wood.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
There are two boys fishing in Canals of Stormwind City. One named Justin tells tall tales such as "And then the rabbit just bit his head off... I swear." This refers to the deadly Killer Bunny in Holy Grail.

Gzhun'tt in Sporeggar located on the west side of Zangarmarsh will give you a quest once you have achieved a certain reputation level with the sporelings and are level 63 or higher. The quest is entitled "Bring Me a Shrubbery!", an evident reference to the Knights-Who-Say-Ni in Monty Python's epic movie.

The mysterious Black Knight which King Arthur meets in the forest is referred several times in the game. For once, when Kologarn shows up for the first time in Ulduar he says "None shall pass!" and when losing an arm, he says "Only a flesh wound!". There is also the achievement which you will recieve after completing a quest-chain involving The Black Knight in Argent Tournament.

Mortal Kombat
The dwarven mortar team in Dun Morogh say "MORTAR COMBAT!" after an explosion, which refers to the game's fight intro.

The Nightmare Before Christmas
The NPC is a tribute to Doctor Finklestein. He gives out the quest, which also references the fact that Doctor Finklestein was the Halloween Town's mad scientist.

Nintendo Games

 * In the Draenei starting area, Crash Site, the design on floor of the building is a Pokeball, a reference to the Pokemon craze.
 * Un'Goro crater is filled with references to old Nintendo games:
 * Linken, and the quests he sends players on, are references to the Legend of Zelda series, and its protagonist, Link. Appropriately, the rewards from this quest include Linken's Sword of Mastery and Linken's Boomerang, both signature weapons from the game.
 * The kodo beast, Dadanga, is a reference to the very first Legend of Zelda game. One of the early bosses is a triceratops who is weak against bombs. The old man who gives you hints on how to progress says, "Dodongo dislikes smoke.", a trait shared by Dadanga.
 * Larion and Muigin, one dwarf and one human, are an analogue of the characters Mario and Luigi. They are both dressed in overalls of color similar to how Mario and Luigi are dressed in the Super Mario Brothers games. The use of fighting Bloodpetals in their quests refers to Nintendo's original business (dating back to 1889), printing traditional Japanese playing cards called Hanafuda used for a game sometimes known as War of Flowers.
 * The gorillas will sometimes drop an Empty Barrel, a reference to Donkey Kong.
 * The, the reward from the quest is a reference to the Castlevania game series.

Oingo Boingo
In Tirisfal Glades, in the Forsaken starting area there is a grouping of four mindless undead named: Daniel Ulfman, Karrel Grayves, Samuel Fipps and Stephen Bhartec. They are surrounded by the remnants of what looks to be a celebration with overturned tables, with food and drink. This provides a two-fold reference to the members of Oingo Boingo: Danny Elfman, Carl Graves, Sam Phipps and Steve Bartek and their song "Dead Man's Party".

Old School
During the Horde quest to get 300 First Aid one of the dying soldiers refers to seeing "Blue" which is similar to a Will Ferrell line from the movie.

Oz
During the Jail Break quest in Blackrock Depths you run across several prisoners named after characters from the TV series Oz. Crest Killer is Chris Keller. Jaz is Jaz Hoyt. Ograbisi is Adebisi. Shill Dinger is Schillinger (interestingly, he appears to be a Scarlet Crusade member while Schillinger is a white supremacist). Finally, Tobias Seecher is Tobias Beecher, a protagonist of sorts in Oz and the only one of these characters you don't kill in the process of the quest.

Pink Floyd
During the quest "Triage" dying soldiers will make comments as they pass into critical condition and before death. One of the soldiers says "Goodbye all you people, I'm leaving you today... Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye." which is a line from the song 'Goodbye Cruel World' on Pink Floyd's album, 'The Wall'.

Also, the Innkeeper at Thrallmar, Hellfire Peninsula, is Named 'Floyd Pinkus'. An obvious reference to the name of the band.

Portal
In Wrath of the Lich King, there is an achievement, a reference to the in-game graffiti in Portal which reads 'The cake is a lie'.

Samurai Shodown
The names of the characters Haomarush, Genjuros, Khanzo, and Jubei'Thos, and the realms named for them, are based on the characters Haohmaru, Genjuro, Hanzo, and Jubei from the Samurai Shodown fighting game series. Magazine features and photos from Blizzard HQ has shown that the company has (or at least has had) a Samurai Shodown setup in the office.

Sanford and Son
Dran Droffers and Malton Droffers are orc versions of Fred Sandford and his Son Lamont from the 70's show Sanford and Son. Dran calls his son "You big dummy" and has a love of Ripple just as Fred did.

Sinistar
The Reliquary of Souls in the Black Temple quotes the Sinistar from the video game of the same name; "Beware - I live." (Another possible reference being the use of "cowards"). The Sinistar also resembles the Reliquary of Souls as both are large detached heads.

Scarface
Pusillin in Dire Maul East says "Say hello to my little friends!" when attacked. This is obviously a reference to the line "Say hello to my little friend!" in the movie Scarface.

Sling Blade
"Swamp Eye" Jarl in Dustwallow marsh is looking for a blade, a certain blade... "some folks call it a moonsteel broadsword, I call it a swing blade..." is an almost word for word of Billy Bob Thornton's character Karl in Sling Blade, "Some folks call it a Kaiser blade, I call it a sling blade."

Snakes On a Plane
At Nesingwary's Safari in Nagrand, there is a crashed plane. On that plane, there are snakes.

South Park
Nesingwary's Safari in Nagrand is occasionally stormed by Talbuks, when this happens Hemet Nesingwary will yell "Watch out! They're coming right for us!" before he opens fire on them. This is a reference to the episode "Vulcano" where the boys are taken out hunting by Stan's uncle.

In Stratholme there is a mini boss called Timmy The Cruel and yells "TIMMY!!" A reference to the character Timmy.

Spinal Tap
Part of the Aprils fool's joke about the new hero class 'the Bard' included a reference to the Christopher Guest movie. In particular the guitar axe listed as one of the weapons had the lore added 'This one goes to eleven' referencing the scene where Guest explained that his amp gave him the power of one more when they need that extra juice in a show, the amps volume meter had eleven listed as the max volume attainable, obviously louder than other amps merely attaining a max volume of ten.

Starship Troopers (film)
In Blade's Edge Mountains at Toshley's Station there is an female gnome called Dizzy Dina, which is a reference to one of the female characters in the movie. Also when you speak with Dizzy Dina she'll talk about Razak's Roughriders, which is a reference to "Rasczak's Roughnecks".

Also in Toshley's Station, the male gnome Razak Ironside is a reference to the character Lieutenant Jean Rasczak, who was played in the movie by Michael Ironside.

The attacks by the ravagers on Toshley's Station are a reference to the bug attack of the base on Planet P in the movie.

Star Trek
There are several references to Star Trek. There is a goblin in Gnomeregan named Sprok (Spock), who stands next to the teleporter from Booty Bay, which is operated by Scooty (Scotty). The idea behind transporters also comes from Star Trek.

Deep Space Nine
In The Exodar, There is a small group of Draenei that congregate together. Their names - Curzon, Tobin, Emony and Audrid - are references to the past lives of the character Dax.

In Toshley's Station in Blade's Edge Mountains there is a Gnome called Smiles O'Byron. This is a reference to Chief Miles O'Brien, whose mirror universe counterpart was called "Smiley".

Enterprise
In Area 52 there is a character named Chief Engineer Trep. He wears a blue shirt similar to his TV counterpart, Chief Engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker.

The Next Generation
In Gadgetzan, the chief engineer is named Jhordy Lapforge, honoring the ST:TNG chief engineer Geordi LaForge.

Star Wars
There are also a variety of Star Wars references, not the least of which are weapons such as the Argent Avenger, the Blade of Wizardry and Teebu's Blazing Longsword, which resemble lightsabers.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace
If one inspects the racers in the Shimmering Flats, there is a distinct resemblance to the podracers piloted by Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba. Follow the racers around the track to find skidmarks leading away, towards a cliff face. The racer similar to Sebulba's can be found about halfway up, crashed and swinging on the side of the cliff.

The race announcer, a 2-headed ogre named Fobeed, is also a reference to the race announcer in TPM, a 2-headed creature named FodesinBeed (aka Fode & Beed).

Episode IV: A New Hope
Upon death, a Priest becomes the Spirit of Redemption, a spell in which the priest can heal in a 15 second time span before actually dying. The spell's description reads "You have become more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine", a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi when he tells Darth Vader "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine" moments before Vader kills him.

On the first crossing to Bloodmyst Isle from Azuremyst Isle, you will find a small camp by the name "Kessel's Crossing." Kessel himself will give you a quest called The Kessel Run, which he requires you complete in under fifteen minutes in reference to Han Solo's completion of the Kessel Run as mentioned in A New Hope "in under twelve parsecs." After completing this quest, a character later will make reference to "having completed the Kessel Run in under fifteen minutes.

The elite quest mob Banthar in Nagrand may be a reference to the Banthas from Tatooine from the first star wars movie, based on the similarities of the name and appearance.

Toshley's station is a reference to Luke Skywalker's line "But I was going to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!" Conveniently there is a quest there called:

The Halaa Blade Merchants in Halaa in Nagrand are Coreiel when Halaa is Horde controlled and Aldraan when Alliance controlled. These are references to Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan and Han Solo's homeworld of Corellia.

The Blade's Edge Mountains NPC R-3DO is obviously a reference to the two droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. When spoken to, it also states that it knows "MORE THAN 2 LANGUAGES", a reference to C-3PO's repeated phrase of "I am fluent in over six million forms of communication".

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
At Blood Watch on Bloodmyst Isle the Flight master's name is Laando. This might be a reference to Lando Calrissian, the character from which Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
In the Priest specific quest text for, Ogtinc or Greta Mosshoof (depending on your faction) will inform you that, "The green drake Morphaz is known to be immune to all forms of poison and disease -- many druids died to bring us this information." This is a reference to the quote made by Mon Mothma in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: "Many Bothans died to bring us this information."

Also, the quest giver named Princess Moira, who has been enslaved by Thaurissan in Blackrock Depths, wears slave clothes and hair similar to that of Princess Leia when she has been enslaved by Jabba the Hutt.

Stargate SG-1
In the Champion's Hall, there are several characters named after members of SG-1. Guard Hammon (General Hammond), Captain O'Neal (Captain O'Neill), and Lieutanent Karter (Samantha Carter).

Stargate Atlantis
There are various murloc tribes around Azeroth, some which include mobs with the name Puddlejumper, e.g. Bluegill Puddlejumper or Mirefin Puddlejumper. This may be a reference to the fictional Atlantian spacecraft in the Stargate: Atlantis series known as the "puddlejumper".

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

 * The hut to the left of the dock coming inland to Ratchet has a small table in it. The table has a very primitive and clunky looking robotic hand in a glass case.  This is an obvious reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day when the hand from the original The Terminator is displayed throughout the movie. There's a similar hand-in-a-glass-case in Ironforge, which looks more like the movie version. When you're at the Mystic ward and start going in the direction of the Great Forge, it's the first house on the left in the corridor, top floor. A similar hand is also on the left side of the treasure pits at the entrance to Utgarde Pinnacle.
 * In addition, Ossirian the Unscarred yells "You are terminated!" every time he kills a player who has aggro.
 * There is a skeletal hand lying near a river of lava in Lower Blackrock Spire, which is a reference to one of the final scenes of the movie.
 * Also, the Felguard Warlock pet performs Terminator quotes when summoned, or dismissed.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
In The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984), scientists develop a way for a rocket car to pass through solid matter (a mountain). In Thousand Needles not far from the raceway, near the path to Tanaris, you can see skid marks that lead into the side of the mountain. In Tanaris, on the opposite side of the mountain just west of Gadgetzan, the skid marks continue and lead to the crashed wreckage of a rocket car. In the movie, this scene took place on salt flats exactly like Shimmering Flats.

The Five Deadly Venoms

 * In Stormwind City, there is a location called The Five Deadly Venoms, which references the English release name of a Chinese action movie, "Wu Du". It can be found in Old Town.

The Goonies (film)
In the movie, a group of kids enter an abandoned house, run through a cave full of traps, and reach a lagoon with a pirate ship. This is very similar to the Deadmines instance.

The Lost Vikings
The three lost dwarves in Uldaman have the names of that of the Lost Vikings, another game developed by Blizzard when that company used the name Silicon & Synapse. They also drop various items that resembles their characters in the game such as Olaf's All Purpose Shield. The fact that the opening of Ironaya's chamber requires the Shaft of Tsol and Amulet of Gni'kiv, that have the name of "Lost Viking" spelled backwards. Also, there is a quest obtained which has you go into Uldaman to find the three, which is an obvious offshoot of The Lost Vikings title.

The Princess Bride (film)
Upon touching the globe that completes the attunement quest for Blackwing Lair, adventurers are greeted with quest completion text that reads "Have fun storming the castle!". This a quote of Billy Crystal's character Miracle Max.

In UBRS, during the Rend event, adventurers successfully defeating waves of enemies are treated to Nefarian crying "Inconceivable!" This is a repeated quote of Wallace Shawn's character, Vizzini, the Sicilian mastermind.

One of the flirt voice emotes for the orc male is "This is true love, it doesn't happen every day". This is a quote from the Princess Bride, Westley says it to Buttercup at the start of the movie.

In Southshore, the stable boy is called Wesley, referencing both the book and movie. Appropriately, he also has blond hair and carries a rapier.

In the Eastern Plaguelands, the priest NPC for T3 gear is Father Inigo Montoy.

The Simpsons
Houndmaster Loksey utters the line "Release the Hounds!" when aggro'd. This is a quote from the long running Simpsons series, where Mr.Burns says this to get unwanted intruders off his lavish property.

Seymour  (changed from ) is a reference to Seymour Skinner the principal of Springfield Elementary School.

Groundskeeper Wyllithen is an obvious reference to The Simpsons Groundskeeper Willie.

Three's Company
In the Lower City area of Shattrath City, there is an NPC chef named Jack Trapper. John Ritter's character in the 70's sitcom Three's Company was Jack Tripper, a chef living with 2 women.

Top Chef
Thomas Kolichio at Vengeance Landing (Horde) references one of the Top Chef judges, Tom Colicchio. He is also part of the Dalaran Daily Quests with Kathrine Lee.

Total Recall
When entering Shattrath City one of the vagrant beggers will say "C'mon spare some change, I've got five kids to feed". This is a quote from the movie Total Recall.

Trading Places
In Stormwind City near the Auction House, there is a beggar named Topper McNabb that at some point says: "Spare some change for a poor blind man?... What do you mean I'm not blind?... I'M NOT BLIND! I CAN SEE! IT'S A MIRACLE!!" an almost direct quote from Eddie Murpheys character impersonating a blind Vietnam vet in a small wheeled box, who is caught by the police for a fraud.

Wonder Woman
Inside Shadow Hold (northern Jaedenar, in Felwood) there is a captured Night Elf, Arko'narin, who gives an escort quest. You escort her to her equipment. When she opens the chest with her armor, she spins quickly and reappears in armor. She then says "All I need now is a golden lasso". Both the spinning and the lasso are references to the Wonder Woman TV series.

Worms
There is an engineering item engineers can make that is titled Explosive Sheep, an item that has occurred in the worms franchise. In World of Warcraft, it follows you around for a few minutes, until it either finds an enemy, or the few minutes are up. In Worms, you get to control the sheep and crash it into an enemy. See also Exploding sheep on Wikipedia.

Bio-Dome
In Eco-Dome Mid-realm, in Netherstorm, there is a goblin named Shauley Pore. An obvious reference to Pauley Shore and his 1996 movie Bio-Dome.

6 Million Dollar Man
In the Badlands, Servo says "We can make it better, stronger, faster. We have the technology. We have the magic." — a close quote from the TV show, Six Million Dollar Man. (Servo also says things like "I am versed in over four languages.")

The titles of two successive quests — and  — together form another reference.

Diablo II
The set of swords that Rend Blackhand drops called Dal'Rend's Arms is a reference to the Diablo II set which was called Bul'Kathos' Children in which the two swords were called Bul'Kathos' Tribal Guardian and Bul'Kathos' Sacred Charge, similar to Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian and Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge. At least 3 other items, Wirt's Third Leg, Cow King's Hide and Staff of Jordan, reference Diablo II as well. Wirt is a recurring character from both Diablo and Diablo II, his Leg being one of the items needed to access the hidden Cow Level, where the main boss, the Cow King, ruled. The Staff of Jordan is a reference to the Stone of Jordan, a highly regarded ring from Diablo II. There is a phrase in the loading tip screen that says "There is no cow level", another obvious reference.

Action Jackson
In the Stormspire of Netherstorm, there is a NPC known as Action Jaxon. Action Jackson is a 1988 action film, starring Carl Weathers, Vanity, Craig T. Nelson, and Sharon Stone, directed by Craig R. Baxley. Action Jackson was Mego's attempt to tap into the GI-Joe toy market in the early 70's. MadTV parody of Michael Jackson in Action Jackson.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In the Underbelly below Dalaran, you can find four turtles and a rat near a pile of bottles filled with mysterious green goo.

Pinocchio
In Dalaran, there is a gnome toy maker named Jepetto Joybuzz.

Xena: Warrior Princess
There is a kitten at the Amphitheater of Anguish in Zul'Drak called Zena .

Yuen Woo-Ping
Woo Ping, the weapons master in Stormwind, is an obvious direct reference to Yuen Woo-ping, who directed many Hong Kong martial arts films, and was martial arts choreographer for several Western movies including the Matrix trilogy and the Kill Bill films.

It could also be a play on the term "whooping", meaning you were thoroughly beaten with no chance to retaliate.

Paris Hilton
Haris Pilton and Tinkerbell, bar denizens in Lower City area of Shattrath City, are a Blood Elf version of Paris Hilton and her pampered pup.

Oprah Winfrey
The name of Caregiver Ophera Windfury at the Temple of Telhamat, when spoken quickly, closely resembles the name of famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey.