Upon death, Gara'jal the Spiritbinder from The Mists of Pandaria will say "Death be a doorway, an' time a window; I'll be back! AH-HAHAHAHAHAH!" This is a reference to the last words of Vigo the Carpathian from the film Ghostbusters II, "Death is but a door. Time is but a window. I'll be back."

Goblins defending the town-in-a-box during the Goblin origin story will occasionally make references to other games or media. After killing a zombie, there is a chance Goblin Survivors will yell out "Smoker" in reference to the Left 4 Dead game series. They may also yell "What do you think, Zombie kill of the week?" in reference to the movie Zombieland.

Ironband's Excavation Site contains a half-buried statue, similar to the statue of liberty. This appears to be a reference to Planet of the Apes.

Between 2004 and 2011, the human race collectively spent almost 6 million years playing World of Warcraft.

As an April Fools joke in 2008, Blizzard unveiled a second hero class for Wrath of The Lich King, the Bard.

Players would use two-handed axes as guitars, with the interface resembling that used in music games such as Guitar Hero.

The two robots "Big Papa" and "Large Daddy" in the Stonetalon Mountains are references to the Big Daddy mini-bosses of the Bioshock series.

There are a number of items that are references to the Diablo series:

• A mace called "Wirt's Third Leg" is a reference to the peg-legged boy "Wirt" from Tristram.
• The Cow King's Hide Chest armor is a reference to the secret cow level in Diablo 2.
• It's possible to obtain a Mini Tyrael and a mini Diablo as pets.

Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer, is a staff dropped by Illidan Stormrage. The staff is modeled after a Felhunter, which greatly resembles a Starcraft Zergling, and the "hero" Zergling unit is called "The Devouring One".

There is a picture of Infested Kerrigan from the Starcraft series on the screen of Goblin Shredder cockpits.

The Grunty and Zergling pets are references to the Starcraft series. The Zergling is a Zerg unit and Grunty is a Murloc in a Terran Marine's suit.

In 2006, prior to the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, Blizzard announced the Wisp race as an April Fool's joke. The announcement page satirically recounted their role in the death of Archimonde at the end of Warcraft 3.

The race also featured permanent death, and a "Detonate" ability, which would kill the character. The announcement, made a day late, caused an uproar within the World of Warcraft community until it was revealed to be an April Fools' joke, and the Draenei were revealed to be the new Alliance race for the expansion.

The Adominable Greench is a reference to The Grinch from How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

There are two ogres in-game named "Jorb" and "Chort". This is a reference to Homestar Runner character Coach Z, which are his pronounciation of job and cheat, respectively.

The Wretched are the only elf species without a female model.

Gnomeregan has hidden binary messages hidden in it such as "play more WoW", "Help, I'm trapped in a binary punch card factory", "The Gnome King wears night elf underwear", and "Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree k.i.s.s.i.n.g."

Uwe Boll once tried, and failed, to get permission to make a film based on the World of Warcraft Series. Upon contacting Blizzard CEO Paul Sams, Boll was told:

There are a number of references to the Star Trek series in the game;

• A Goblin Doctor known as "Doc" found in Area 52 will say "Damnit Boots, I'm a doctor not a priest!" after turning in the quest "That Little Extra Kick." This is in reference to Dr. McCoy from Star Trek :The Original Series.
• Also in Area 52 are several Goblin NPCs working on a rocket, all wearing Gold Shirts and Black pants, in reference to the Engineering crews of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Chief Engineer "Trep" is in reference to Chief Engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker from Star Trek: Enterprise. "Trep" also has a quest named "Report to Engineering" in which the player must deliver Etherlithium Matrix Crystals to him, referencing the Dilithium Matrix Crystals which regulates the anti-matter flow for the ships in the Star Trek series.
• In the Exodar Holographic Emitters, there are five NPCs by the names of Curzon, Tobin, Torias, Emony, and Audrid. All five of these are in reference to Dax's previous hosts from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• The camp "Bash'ir Landing" may be another reference to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, namely to Julian Bashir the Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine.
• Warden Treelos, a lone-surviving Druid near Cenarion Thicket will randomly yell "There are four lights!" This is a reference to Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically from the two-part episode Chain of Command.
• In Gadgetzan, there is a Gnome Engineer wearing a gold shirt and black pants with the name "Jhordy Lapforge", in reference to Geordi La Forge from Star Trek:The Next Generation.
• Another gold-and-black Gnome Engineer can be found in Blade's Edge Mountains by the name of Smiles O'Byron, in reference to Chief Miles "Smiley" O'Brien from both Star Trek:The Next Generation and Star Trek:Deep Space Nine. The NPC even specializes in Transporters, much like the Star Trek equivalent did.
• In Stormwind City, there is an NPC by the name of Lenny "Fingers" McCoy, in reference to Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy from Star Trek:The Original Series.
• Nogg's Machine Shop found in Orgrimmar is named after the Engineer-savant Ferengi called Nogg, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• Two Goblins named Scooty and Sprock are in reference to Montgomery "Scotty" Scott and Spock both from Star Trek: The Original Series. Scooty in particular wears a white shirt and black vest, much like what Scotty wore in his later years.