Smart man! Got the bag, enjoyed his time, won a belt or two, got popular, listened to his body, look back on the spotlight, cherish the times! Good man!
You know what, I didn't even think about it when I seen this video, but as soo as I seen your comment, I remember it & now I can't stop chuckling to myself, so thank you, that's made me happy, I like being happy.
Alex Wright has aged very well. But we do forget how young he was when he first joined WCW. I always wondered why he never joined WWF after WCW was bought.
Also just look at how even major WCW Talent was treated it was atrocious i lost all respect for then WWF now WWE, they showed those guys absolutely no respect at all to the likes of DDP, Billy Kidman , Raven , Booker T, Scott Steiner (all be it Steiner was a bit of an asshole) only old WCW guys who got anything was the Kliq and Hogan / Flair
From a health and business perspective he 100% did the right thing. Unless you become a legend you don't get remembered too well in the industry except by proper fans; he was getting paid huge for mid card work, after that went back to Germany, banked his money and started his own promotion. In retrospect look at what other legends have turned into after going from wrestling 300 days a year to 0 with no backstage roles. some of those long-term low and mid carders would be on disability welfare for sure.
Bruce Prichard said on a Q&A episode of his podcast that WWF management were very high on Alex Wright and tried to sign him several times. The perception was that he was well paid in relation to his place on the card in WCW and in a comfort zone there. A shame as once the NWO angle started, WCW lost interest in giving him a serious push. He was having competitive and very good TV matches with Ric Flair prior to that. Even though he wasn't a great promo, he was young, could work with anyone and the WWF would have dialled up his dancing character. If he'd jumped in 1996 - 98 he'd have become a much bigger star ultimately in the WWF. I've no doubt of that.
yeah, i get what you're saying, but he probably at that time frame would've been an early version of Fandango and been in the midcard shuffle with; Val Venis, Godfather, etc. Which isn't bad at all, at those gimmicks were over, but at the same time all of them fizzled out and "creative" moved them onto something else and not many of them really made it into the 2000s. Or he could've went to WWF, stayed off TV for a little bit, gained 20 pounds of muscle, gone to one of their acting seminars and come back with something different, as WWF often, even now, wants to repackage people.
If the WWE were high on him then that was a bad sign, when the WWE is "high on somebody", they'll start off strong and within 6 months they'll be jobbing to the jobbers, Alex was right to turn it down
@@redauerbach2753 many old school guys said that guaranteed contacts were the end of the business. It made everyone lazy and unmotivated since they were going to get paid no matter how hard they try.
I have a picture with Alex wright and both Steiner brothers from when I was about 8, I’m 37 now. And got autographs from all 3 backstage at an event in my home town.
Alex Wright was a cracking performer but nobody really knew what to do with him. I doubt WWF during the time has was at WCW would've done anything with him really, once they got him. He'd have been the upper mid card job guy and I believe he deserved a bit more than that, however he's come out of wrestling with all his faculties and that's a good thing.
His character wouldve been a Male stripper and wouldve probly tagged and then had a rivalry with Val Venus. That's how I wouldve used him in WWF during 98/99
@@richarddowdjr.6461 More likely they'd have taken away any gimmick of his and use him as a disposable stormtrooper during the Invasion storyline, like they did with Jindrak, Stasiak, O'Haire, etc.
I had similar features to Alex Wright. The one day at work I wore a leather jacket. A co-worker/friend of mine busting out the Alex Wright dance in front of cubicle. That gave us the laugh to get through the "Office Space" environment for the next couple days.
You wouldnt know but according to the WCW contracts which can be read on google, between 96 and 2000 Alex was the 21st best paid wrestler on the card. He topped Big Show, Eddie, Rey and Benoit in earnings. His last two years were 375k and 395k no wonder he turned them down. He earned over 1,3 million in 4 years and he is a smart guy, I guess he is set for life.
Very entertaining wrestler right here. This guy is so talented. I am a super fan of Alex Wright. Edit: The guy was amazing. Very good technical wrestler and tremendous athlete. He had one of the best drop-kicks in the 90's if you go back and take a look. It was just so entertaining when he would grab the mic and start speaking German, berating the audience for being ignorant. The dance step he would do was basically quintessential and also I truly enjoyed when he would kayfabe spit on his opponent. When I remember WCW I actually dont remember the NWO stuff but instead I appreciate the Alex Wrights and the Dean Malenkos because those were the truly great elements of the show.
Great in ring ability, could work well as a face or heel. I remember in 1995 he had a great match with Rice Flair, that's the potential he had. Good pay per view matches with Chris Jericho and Ultimo Dragon. The unfortunate timing of his Berlyn character didn't help
Terrible idea. That is what ultimately buried WCW. They brought in Vinces guys and just 3 of them destroyed the entire locker room. Every week. The story tells it all. Vince's guys do business better. No one would have put anywhere near as many ass in seats than Hogan and The Outsiders. Why you would bury your own company.. That makes 0 sense at all. What makes sense is telling a story how you are the top wrestling business of the land. You are the pinnacle. And low and behold they have been for 30 years. Making your brand inferior is a mistake. 100%
@@cantgetright742 yeah I don’t think that’s what killed the WCW. What killed it was beating the same story lines to death and watering down the nwo by letting dozens of mediocre wrestlers in it. I do agree that the wwe would have made a mistake to let the wcw guys come in and just run wild. But there was some good talent there and some really good potential storylines and matches that was left on the table.
I can imagine Vince McMahon loving his dancing gimmick. He would have been perfect for the Un-Americans faction from around 2002/2003. I was always surprised WWE never brought in Disco Inferno as well. His gimmick seemed perfect for WWE and he had huge name value.
Well they did have an agreement with disco, but something happened & one side pulled out, don't know what it was or which side pulled out though but they had been making plans for him & everything according to some shoot interview I seen. I know that doesn't make it true, but seems an odd thing to lie about.
@Chris P I don't remember Val Venis dancing. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just can't remember it. I know he used to do the hip gyrating all the time, I always thought it was a bit noncey, even as a 12 13 year old (I turned 13 June 2000) I just thought Val as a character was creepy & inappropriate like, I ain't no prude, just it was a step too far for a show that's meant to appeal to children aswell
@@stevelowe2647 when disco went to TNA, he had more of a journalist role; he interviewed wrestlers, the most memorable was interviewing Stan Dupp (bka Trevor Murdoch, the current NWA champion). As for Alex Wright, you would think he would be a manager in one of the promotions.
@@spokenwordillusions5756 one would assume Alex doesn't want to, he definitely does have the star power to get a job in any promotion except maybe WWE, but think, AEW, ROH, TNA, all the smaller small promotions, any of them would take him, & with the exception of possibly AEW, they'd pay him as much as they possibly could to get him in, because he does have star power. That's my opinion anyway, by no means attempting to pass it as fact.
Finally, we get an answer as to why Alex Wright never ended up in WWE!!! Cause I had wondered for years why Vince never picked him up, & it turns out he was approached by them, but turned them down. It would have been interesting to see how Alex would've fared in the WWE, though.
I worked with Alex from 2012 - 2018 in his indy league NEW in Germany. This guy is one of the most honest, genuine, humble people I have ever met. A great guy to work hard with and have fun with.
I love watching him anew via the WWE network and much like William Regal says on his podcast. if you go with a gimmick all in, fans will see your determination and the fact you enjoy it. I love seeing it every Thursday on PWB these days and I'm happy to hear he had a good contract to match what he brought to the ring. As one of the first wrestlers I ever remember was "Berlin" and it made an impression. many wrestlers don't .
Alex Wright would be a massive star if he came into the game today. Tall, great look, super athletic, knew how to get heat and was good enough on the mic. Vince loves to dance and loves dancers (think Funkasaurus) so Alex would be perfect for him. Also Alex was an outstanding worker who could really go. And he knew the business from his dad and uncle being in it. Real shame we did not get to see him in the WWF.
I think Alex could've gone on to become a big star if he'd gone in 2002. He didn't have an inflated ego, and at the time there were plenty of people there who would have vouched for him. Burnout is as good a reason as any not to do something though. Totally understand it.
No, he couldn't. He was never going to draw money. He was a card filler and really only would've been used to promote European tours. But really, they had much better with Cesaro and look how that turned out.
Alex Wright was awesome but I think it would have been tough. First off he was a WCW guy and he was also didn’t have that classic build that Vince loved. If anything Vince would have made him look like an absolute buffoon.
I don’t blame him one bit, he was getting payed really well for a year to sit at home. And with so many years on the road away from his home country and family I would of done the same thing. Getting payed to rest at home and take some vacations sounds awesome to me
Dude, Alex is such a big deal that WWE offered him a contract, TWICE. C'mon. To turn down WWE and to be still undefeated against HHH and have that Dus Wunderkind dance, he can now dance off into the sunset and have the good happy ending. ❤
Just watched the interview where hes talking about not being able to give it 100 percent If he went back. Alex right now looks like he could go back and hang with 99 percent of the wrestlers today! Man still looks in fighting form
I remember reading in a magazine back in '95 or early '96 that Alex Wright was WCW's answer to The 123 Kid, which raised my eyebrow as Wright looked to be more of a mat grappler who would only do calculated high-risk moves when necessary, whereas Waltman would often throw caution to the wind, nearly killing himself through some freak occurrence. Looking back I didn't think too much of Wright either positive or negative. Thanks to OSW Review and Wrestling Bios, I have more of an appreciation of "Das Wunderkind", especially the heelishly awesome Dance Moves to his German-Techo entrance Music. I definitely like the multiple nip-ups he lifted from his father.
I don't think most realize just how young he is, when wcw was bought out he would turn 26 a few months later. He's younger than Jericho, Edge and Ron Killings. He was very young and if he wasn't set financially already I'm pretty sure he was comfortable with guaranteed money to sit at home or go back to something you had grown tired of. Not that shocking he stepped away
ah much respect to the guy. i didnt like him as a kid growing up (was not nWo) but after rewatching his work watching wrestling bios what a worker he was and had plenty of talent.
Shane appearing on Nitro was a historic moment. But they should have just ended the show with all the wrestlers in the ring. And then do the whole McMahon bought WCW angle 6 months later. It would have given them more time to bring in WCW stars then and potentially continue the storyline to around 8-10 months after the last show. Giving a better chance at having some guys jump over while the angle was going on. The whole thing was botched. The NWO could have been positioned to be the last stand for WCW against WWF. But they literally dropped the angle like 2 months before they arrived lol
Mike Awesome said it best, "you have to kiss everyone's ass over there" so he was happy when he was told they were releasing him.. Good on Alex for not going there.. Wish WCW would have done more with him, he was solid and really made the German suplex known..
Honestly, I would have let him go. I don't have him on ppv in a hot '98. Heading into 00', I would prefer Disco as a midcard hand. With the big 12 coming and going, I would have retained and transitioned the cream of previous years' midcard to main event/upper mid - Regal, Raven, Hennig, Rey (mask returns), Benoit, Eddie, Malenko (w/James Mitchell), Saturn (w/ Kristina Laum). And legitimise Windham as a top big man (it wasn't too late).
Before I watch the video I'm going to guess the answer. Like many others, his contract was with Time Warner, not WCW. He was still getting paid without wrestling.
@@jd9119 he was one of my favorites. I liked all the underdogs of that era of wcw. It wasn’t only about the nwo for me. The cruiser weights, Alex wright, Norman smiley, disco inferno just to name a few were entertaining to me.
@@jd9119 glorified jobber? He had wins over Paul Levesque, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, Paul Roma and Brian Pillman. He was a former wcw cruiserweight, television and tag team champion. He had matches against ric flair and cut a promo with randy savage and you’re saying he was a glorified jobber? I don’t think you actually saw Alex’s wcw career. Anyway I’m a fan of his and there were many other people who liked him as well. If you really hate him that much why are you even here watching this interview? 🤔🤷🏻♂️
He would have made an ok side show jobber eventually for WWE. For some reason if he came over in 2002 I could see him getting pushed as a tough foreign heel at first. But you know how wwe gets. By 2004 or 2005 he would have been a side show jobber dancing around with other goofy jobbers.
Not sure about the rest, but Hogan was signed to WCW. The contract he signed in 1998 is available online and clearly says it was a deal between him and World Championship Wrestling, Inc. The duration of the deal was to be May 1998 to May 2002, but he got out of it way earlier than that. Scott Hall would have been available for WWE had they wanted him issue because he got released in October 2000, several months before WCW closed.
@@chrishh5777 Good points. I'm sure a lawyer would be good to explain this better than me, but even tho hall was technically released and free to negotiate with wwe. His contract wasn't bought out or cancelled so he was probably being paid until 2002. (Pure speculation on My part) Your probably right about Hogan. Although Jan 1999 they had a nitro where Hogan said he signed a new contract that would take him to 2002. Then at bash at the beach 2000, legal behind the scenes stuff happened. He sued wcw. But like Scott Hall I'm sure he was still being paid to stay home since he didn't mutually terminate contract. Maybe these weren't AOL Deals and just really expensive wcw deals.
Ric Flair, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Sting and Goldberg also had this deal unlike Lance Storm, DDP, Kanyon, Bryan Clark, Bill DeMott and others who were embarrassed in the Invasion storyline.
With all the times Alex Wright jobbed out Triple H in 1994 including _Starrcade' 94,_ I'm surprised Triple H didn't try to get the WWE to sign him so Trips can get his "revenge" on him, similar to Hulk Hogan getting WCW to sign Ultimate Warrior in 1998...
He pretty much looks the same but no hair he still looks crazy young he was smart taking the money no doubt it’s crazy he was only a one time tv champ / one time cruiserweight champion & one time tag champ
WWF at that time gave a shit about the german market as well, in 2001 they went from 1 hour cuts of Raw and Sd on free TV (although niche station) to only heat and velocity. On PPV... with 4 weeks delay(!)
Very interesting to hear him say he got out to avoid ending up like some of his colleagues. Shows how hard the life is. Good for him that he made the right decision for him.
I think if he got a fair shake in wwe and wasn't doing anything dumb he could have had a good run. He is what Vince likes. Good looking, big and athletic and could mat wrestle and go Arial if needed. I'm sure he could have had great matches with Lesnar, Benoit, angel, Orton, cena especially in that 03 to 04 period.
Smart man! Always take the guaranteed payout. Most of the WCW wrestlers who went to WWF ended up crashing and burning out quick, getting canned by WWF and then they were left with nothing.
Always liked Alex as a kid. Even way back in 96. Man the C weight division was amazing back then. He always seemed like a class act and this just backs it up.
Keep the contract for a year and never wrestle for the wwe or take the buyout and maybe have a chance on wwe TV after getting embarrassed most likely. I'm happy aew is around
Smart man! Got the bag, enjoyed his time, won a belt or two, got popular, listened to his body, look back on the spotlight, cherish the times! Good man!
His dance will always live rent free in my head!
I practice it here and there
You know what, I didn't even think about it when I seen this video, but as soo as I seen your comment, I remember it & now I can't stop chuckling to myself, so thank you, that's made me happy, I like being happy.
Best dance ever!!!!!!!
You and the rest of us, Papi.
Saturday wright fever
He wanted to keep that win he had over HHH duh!
🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣
The WWF just wasn't big enough for Das Wunderkind. It would be like The Beatles opening for Nickleback.
Correction;
They weren't big enough for that Big Bratwurst!
@@Henderson1011 "oooh,oooh"
Alex Wright has aged very well. But we do forget how young he was when he first joined WCW. I always wondered why he never joined WWF after WCW was bought.
He doesn't look like he's aged hardly at all. Hard to believe he was wrestling when I was a kid.
Think he was only 19 and he was better than a lot of the bodybuilders
He's 47 but looks closer to 27.
@General Civility He is still attractive. Even without it.
Because he was awful
He took the smart path. Took his money and came off the road. He looks great, more importantly he looks healthy and happy.
Good luck to him.
Exactly. Alex and those WCW mid card guys were a big reason I watched WCW and even watch the old videos now.
Also just look at how even major WCW Talent was treated it was atrocious i lost all respect for then WWF now WWE, they showed those guys absolutely no respect at all to the likes of DDP, Billy Kidman , Raven , Booker T, Scott Steiner (all be it Steiner was a bit of an asshole) only old WCW guys who got anything was the Kliq and Hogan / Flair
From a health and business perspective he 100% did the right thing. Unless you become a legend you don't get remembered too well in the industry except by proper fans; he was getting paid huge for mid card work, after that went back to Germany, banked his money and started his own promotion. In retrospect look at what other legends have turned into after going from wrestling 300 days a year to 0 with no backstage roles. some of those long-term low and mid carders would be on disability welfare for sure.
Bruce Prichard said on a Q&A episode of his podcast that WWF management were very high on Alex Wright and tried to sign him several times. The perception was that he was well paid in relation to his place on the card in WCW and in a comfort zone there. A shame as once the NWO angle started, WCW lost interest in giving him a serious push. He was having competitive and very good TV matches with Ric Flair prior to that. Even though he wasn't a great promo, he was young, could work with anyone and the WWF would have dialled up his dancing character. If he'd jumped in 1996 - 98 he'd have become a much bigger star ultimately in the WWF. I've no doubt of that.
Really no doubt?
I could see it happen like you say. But, I still have some doubt about it.
yeah, i get what you're saying, but he probably at that time frame would've been an early version of Fandango and been in the midcard shuffle with; Val Venis, Godfather, etc. Which isn't bad at all, at those gimmicks were over, but at the same time all of them fizzled out and "creative" moved them onto something else and not many of them really made it into the 2000s. Or he could've went to WWF, stayed off TV for a little bit, gained 20 pounds of muscle, gone to one of their acting seminars and come back with something different, as WWF often, even now, wants to repackage people.
@@ChubbsTheCat Vince would have probably repackaged him as a nazi.
If the WWE were high on him then that was a bad sign, when the WWE is "high on somebody", they'll start off strong and within 6 months they'll be jobbing to the jobbers, Alex was right to turn it down
If he had went to WWE him and triple h could have work together and played if there past together in WCW.And triple h would get his win
I ain’t even gonna trip, I definitely bust out the Alex Wright dance at the club.
Wish WCW could've stuck around longer. Alex Wright was missed
I agree
Alex is a smart guy. He knew what was going to happen if the WWF got their shitty hands on him.
Paul Levesque wanted his revenge. 😁😁😁😁
😂
I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again nothing beats those aol time Warner guaranteed contracts
I’m with you. Proud they got them. Anything else is hating
@@redauerbach2753 of course
@@kaledadam3955 you get it my friend 👍🏼
@@redauerbach2753 many old school guys said that guaranteed contacts were the end of the business. It made everyone lazy and unmotivated since they were going to get paid no matter how hard they try.
@@dereksnyder7271 you go live that life and then well see how you feel about guaranteed money
I have a picture with Alex wright and both Steiner brothers from when I was about 8, I’m 37 now. And got autographs from all 3 backstage at an event in my home town.
Nice that’s cool. Were they nice to you?
Alex Wright was a cracking performer but nobody really knew what to do with him. I doubt WWF during the time has was at WCW would've done anything with him really, once they got him. He'd have been the upper mid card job guy and I believe he deserved a bit more than that, however he's come out of wrestling with all his faculties and that's a good thing.
Upper mid card is actually a really good well paying spot on the card.... everyone can’t be the world champion
His character wouldve been a Male stripper and wouldve probly tagged and then had a rivalry with Val Venus. That's how I wouldve used him in WWF during 98/99
@@richarddowdjr.6461 More likely they'd have taken away any gimmick of his and use him as a disposable stormtrooper during the Invasion storyline, like they did with Jindrak, Stasiak, O'Haire, etc.
I had similar features to Alex Wright. The one day at work I wore a leather jacket. A co-worker/friend of mine busting out the Alex Wright dance in front of cubicle.
That gave us the laugh to get through the "Office Space" environment for the next couple days.
Happy to see Alex speak out on burnout.
You wouldnt know but according to the WCW contracts which can be read on google, between 96 and 2000 Alex was the 21st best paid wrestler on the card. He topped Big Show, Eddie, Rey and Benoit in earnings. His last two years were 375k and 395k no wonder he turned them down. He earned over 1,3 million in 4 years and he is a smart guy, I guess he is set for life.
Very entertaining wrestler right here. This guy is so talented. I am a super fan of Alex Wright.
Edit: The guy was amazing. Very good technical wrestler and tremendous athlete. He had one of the best drop-kicks in the 90's if you go back and take a look. It was just so entertaining when he would grab the mic and start speaking German, berating the audience for being ignorant. The dance step he would do was basically quintessential and also I truly enjoyed when he would kayfabe spit on his opponent.
When I remember WCW I actually dont remember the NWO stuff but instead I appreciate the Alex Wrights and the Dean Malenkos because those were the truly great elements of the show.
Great in ring ability, could work well as a face or heel. I remember in 1995 he had a great match with Rice Flair, that's the potential he had. Good pay per view matches with Chris Jericho and Ultimo Dragon. The unfortunate timing of his Berlyn character didn't help
The wwf or wwe screwed up the whole takeover of WCW. They could have made it better if they pushed them more. Wcw or old nwa was way better than wwe.
I agree, however I doubt Vince saw it that way.
WWE screws everything up.
Vince destroys what he doesn't himself create
Terrible idea. That is what ultimately buried WCW. They brought in Vinces guys and just 3 of them destroyed the entire locker room. Every week.
The story tells it all. Vince's guys do business better. No one would have put anywhere near as many ass in seats than Hogan and The Outsiders.
Why you would bury your own company.. That makes 0 sense at all. What makes sense is telling a story how you are the top wrestling business of the land. You are the pinnacle. And low and behold they have been for 30 years.
Making your brand inferior is a mistake. 100%
@@cantgetright742 yeah I don’t think that’s what killed the WCW. What killed it was beating the same story lines to death and watering down the nwo by letting dozens of mediocre wrestlers in it.
I do agree that the wwe would have made a mistake to let the wcw guys come in and just run wild. But there was some good talent there and some really good potential storylines and matches that was left on the table.
I can imagine Vince McMahon loving his dancing gimmick. He would have been perfect for the Un-Americans faction from around 2002/2003. I was always surprised WWE never brought in Disco Inferno as well. His gimmick seemed perfect for WWE and he had huge name value.
Well they did have an agreement with disco, but something happened & one side pulled out, don't know what it was or which side pulled out though but they had been making plans for him & everything according to some shoot interview I seen. I know that doesn't make it true, but seems an odd thing to lie about.
Plus they brought in Fandango, mightve been 13 years later, but vince got his evil ballroom dancer instead of evil disco freak lol
@Chris P I don't remember Val Venis dancing. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just can't remember it. I know he used to do the hip gyrating all the time, I always thought it was a bit noncey, even as a 12 13 year old (I turned 13 June 2000) I just thought Val as a character was creepy & inappropriate like, I ain't no prude, just it was a step too far for a show that's meant to appeal to children aswell
@@stevelowe2647 when disco went to TNA, he had more of a journalist role; he interviewed wrestlers, the most memorable was interviewing Stan Dupp (bka Trevor Murdoch, the current NWA champion).
As for Alex Wright, you would think he would be a manager in one of the promotions.
@@spokenwordillusions5756 one would assume Alex doesn't want to, he definitely does have the star power to get a job in any promotion except maybe WWE, but think, AEW, ROH, TNA, all the smaller small promotions, any of them would take him, & with the exception of possibly AEW, they'd pay him as much as they possibly could to get him in, because he does have star power. That's my opinion anyway, by no means attempting to pass it as fact.
Finally, we get an answer as to why Alex Wright never ended up in WWE!!! Cause I had wondered for years why Vince never picked him up, & it turns out he was approached by them, but turned them down. It would have been interesting to see how Alex would've fared in the WWE, though.
Jobbing to HHH, if you judge what happened to everybody else.
Wright made $390k in 2000
^^^Da real MVP^^^
I worked with Alex from 2012 - 2018 in his indy league NEW in Germany. This guy is one of the most honest, genuine, humble people I have ever met. A great guy to work hard with and have fun with.
I love watching him anew via the WWE network and much like William Regal says on his podcast. if you go with a gimmick all in, fans will see your determination and the fact you enjoy it. I love seeing it every Thursday on PWB these days and I'm happy to hear he had a good contract to match what he brought to the ring. As one of the first wrestlers I ever remember was "Berlin" and it made an impression. many wrestlers don't .
What's PWB sorry?
I remember before the Berlin gmick as simply as Alex wright he holds a win over triple h
Alex Wright would be a massive star if he came into the game today. Tall, great look, super athletic, knew how to get heat and was good enough on the mic. Vince loves to dance and loves dancers (think Funkasaurus) so Alex would be perfect for him. Also Alex was an outstanding worker who could really go. And he knew the business from his dad and uncle being in it. Real shame we did not get to see him in the WWF.
That's exactly what I thought as well, he will get over anyone as a heel, fans will love him
He was a well paid contract star of aol warner...as he said himself....very lucky indeed..no need to further risk injuries..
The Alex Wright theme was a great theme me and my friends would throw it on when we were partying all the time
I think Alex could've gone on to become a big star if he'd gone in 2002. He didn't have an inflated ego, and at the time there were plenty of people there who would have vouched for him.
Burnout is as good a reason as any not to do something though. Totally understand it.
No, he couldn't. He was never going to draw money. He was a card filler and really only would've been used to promote European tours. But really, they had much better with Cesaro and look how that turned out.
@@jd9119 There's always an idiot like you making similar comments on all the videos.
Alex Wright was awesome but I think it would have been tough. First off he was a WCW guy and he was also didn’t have that classic build that Vince loved. If anything Vince would have made him look like an absolute buffoon.
After what Vince did to the WCW wrestlers, why would any WCW guy want to work there?
He was smart not to go, Triple H would have buried him for beating him in WCW.
I don’t blame him one bit, he was getting payed really well for a year to sit at home. And with so many years on the road away from his home country and family I would of done the same thing. Getting payed to rest at home and take some vacations sounds awesome to me
Vince holding out his hands for that bratwurst 🌭
Vince couldn't get him to sign the NDA
@AHundo1017take it how Shawn Michaels used to take it I suppose😂.
u know PAt Patterson wanted him
God I can only imagine what ridiculous bullshit Vince would have used him for. Glad he didn’t go.
Eugene's stalker
@@ColorsBright “IT WAS ME ALL ALONG DAMMIT”
Vince wasn’t ready for RAW is Wunderkind!!!
Dude, Alex is such a big deal that WWE offered him a contract, TWICE. C'mon. To turn down WWE and to be still undefeated against HHH and have that Dus Wunderkind dance, he can now dance off into the sunset and have the good happy ending. ❤
Just watched the interview where hes talking about not being able to give it 100 percent If he went back. Alex right now looks like he could go back and hang with 99 percent of the wrestlers today! Man still looks in fighting form
I remember reading in a magazine back in '95 or early '96 that Alex Wright was WCW's answer to The 123 Kid, which raised my eyebrow as Wright looked to be more of a mat grappler who would only do calculated high-risk moves when necessary, whereas Waltman would often throw caution to the wind, nearly killing himself through some freak occurrence. Looking back I didn't think too much of Wright either positive or negative. Thanks to OSW Review and Wrestling Bios, I have more of an appreciation of "Das Wunderkind", especially the heelishly awesome Dance Moves to his German-Techo entrance Music. I definitely like the multiple nip-ups he lifted from his father.
Alex Wright. With the Berlyn gimmic in wee would off been epic.
would *have
I don't think most realize just how young he is, when wcw was bought out he would turn 26 a few months later. He's younger than Jericho, Edge and Ron Killings.
He was very young and if he wasn't set financially already I'm pretty sure he was comfortable with guaranteed money to sit at home or go back to something you had grown tired of. Not that shocking he stepped away
Those WCW lawsuits revealed a lot
He sat out his contract for 375k!
ah much respect to the guy. i didnt like him as a kid growing up (was not nWo) but after rewatching his work watching wrestling bios what a worker he was and had plenty of talent.
Shane appearing on Nitro was a historic moment. But they should have just ended the show with all the wrestlers in the ring. And then do the whole McMahon bought WCW angle 6 months later. It would have given them more time to bring in WCW stars then and potentially continue the storyline to around 8-10 months after the last show. Giving a better chance at having some guys jump over while the angle was going on.
The whole thing was botched. The NWO could have been positioned to be the last stand for WCW against WWF. But they literally dropped the angle like 2 months before they arrived lol
Him shaving his head ended any type of decent career Alex Wright would’ve had in the wwf
Mike Awesome said it best, "you have to kiss everyone's ass over there" so he was happy when he was told they were releasing him.. Good on Alex for not going there.. Wish WCW would have done more with him, he was solid and really made the German suplex known..
Am I the only one who liked his Berlyn gimmick? It just seemed like the right time with Rammstein being popular he could have been a strong heel.
Honestly, I would have let him go. I don't have him on ppv in a hot '98. Heading into 00', I would prefer Disco as a midcard hand. With the big 12 coming and going, I would have retained and transitioned the cream of previous years' midcard to main event/upper mid - Regal, Raven, Hennig, Rey (mask returns), Benoit, Eddie, Malenko (w/James Mitchell), Saturn (w/ Kristina Laum). And legitimise Windham as a top big man (it wasn't too late).
I think they canceled it because of Columbine.
The fact wcw never had alex and disco as a tag team is a crime they would have been awesome
Did you not watch WCW towards the end? They were called the Boogie Knights...or the Dancing Fools as Tony Schavonie would call them.
Before I watch the video I'm going to guess the answer. Like many others, his contract was with Time Warner, not WCW. He was still getting paid without wrestling.
Alex wright was one of my favorite wcw wrestlers of that era. Thank you Alex. 👍🏻
He was nobody's favorite wrestler. Are you on drugs? Or do you just want to brown nose?
@@jd9119 he was one of my favorites. I liked all the underdogs of that era of wcw. It wasn’t only about the nwo for me. The cruiser weights, Alex wright, Norman smiley, disco inferno just to name a few were entertaining to me.
@@jd9119 toxic much?
@@jmi84 He was a glorified jobber, just slightly above Norman Smiley and Disco. The guy was there to be a filler and he did his job alright.
@@jd9119 glorified jobber? He had wins over Paul Levesque, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, Paul Roma and Brian Pillman. He was a former wcw cruiserweight, television and tag team champion. He had matches against ric flair and cut a promo with randy savage and you’re saying he was a glorified jobber? I don’t think you actually saw Alex’s wcw career. Anyway I’m a fan of his and there were many other people who liked him as well. If you really hate him that much why are you even here watching this interview? 🤔🤷🏻♂️
One of my favorite wrestlers
I bet he's glad he didn't take the buff Bagwell risk
He would have made an ok side show jobber eventually for WWE. For some reason if he came over in 2002 I could see him getting pushed as a tough foreign heel at first. But you know how wwe gets. By 2004 or 2005 he would have been a side show jobber dancing around with other goofy jobbers.
Back when even jobbers got a pop. Alex and Disco were awesome.
Have to say it - "Hey fun boys, get a room!" Alex Wright lives on with OSW and Wrestling Bios who got him over more than a pro wrestling promotion.
There has got to be more than 10 on an AOL contract.
Alex Wright, Booker t, DDP, Hogan, Hall, Nash, Steiner, Goldberg, Sting, Buff Bagwell, Ric flair,
Not sure about the rest, but Hogan was signed to WCW. The contract he signed in 1998 is available online and clearly says it was a deal between him and World Championship Wrestling, Inc. The duration of the deal was to be May 1998 to May 2002, but he got out of it way earlier than that.
Scott Hall would have been available for WWE had they wanted him issue because he got released in October 2000, several months before WCW closed.
@@chrishh5777 Good points. I'm sure a lawyer would be good to explain this better than me, but even tho hall was technically released and free to negotiate with wwe. His contract wasn't bought out or cancelled so he was probably being paid until 2002. (Pure speculation on My part)
Your probably right about Hogan. Although Jan 1999 they had a nitro where Hogan said he signed a new contract that would take him to 2002.
Then at bash at the beach 2000, legal behind the scenes stuff happened. He sued wcw. But like Scott Hall I'm sure he was still being paid to stay home since he didn't mutually terminate contract.
Maybe these weren't AOL Deals and just really expensive wcw deals.
Hast alles richtig gemacht, mein Freund.
Ric Flair, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Sting and Goldberg also had this deal unlike Lance Storm, DDP, Kanyon, Bryan Clark, Bill DeMott and others who were embarrassed in the Invasion storyline.
With all the times Alex Wright jobbed out Triple H in 1994 including _Starrcade' 94,_ I'm surprised Triple H didn't try to get the WWE to sign him so Trips can get his "revenge" on him, similar to Hulk Hogan getting WCW to sign Ultimate Warrior in 1998...
Man I liked Alex in WcW most of my friends hated him and it made me like him even more him and disco together I loved it
He pretty much looks the same but no hair he still looks crazy young he was smart taking the money no doubt it’s crazy he was only a one time tv champ / one time cruiserweight champion & one time tag champ
The interviewer looks like Kent Paul from Vice City.
I’d always do the Das Wunderkind dance when I beat my brothers at video games
WWF at that time gave a shit about the german market as well, in 2001 they went from 1 hour cuts of Raw and Sd on free TV (although niche station) to only heat and velocity. On PPV... with 4 weeks delay(!)
i would have loved to see more of him back then, but i guess he made the wright choice :D
Very interesting to hear him say he got out to avoid ending up like some of his colleagues. Shows how hard the life is. Good for him that he made the right decision for him.
cuz he knew his comrades were goin to be buried n play their parts accordingly. Alex i am sure wanted nothin to do with that angle.
He was like the WCW HBK
Really wish he did sign. He was one of my favorites. Great look, great theme and hell of a wrestler.
Alex was perfect for WWE. A very tall, good looking cruiserweight, who was charismatic and a great worker
I think if he got a fair shake in wwe and wasn't doing anything dumb he could have had a good run. He is what Vince likes. Good looking, big and athletic and could mat wrestle and go Arial if needed. I'm sure he could have had great matches with Lesnar, Benoit, angel, Orton, cena especially in that 03 to 04 period.
Apparantely the contract was about 375k (maybe more) at the time..to sit at home and rest.
What an incredibly handsome, humble, honest and sweet man.
I think Vince would have made a superstar out of Alex Wright
Underrated and under used wrestler. He had no chance with Hogan and NWO around
Smart man! Always take the guaranteed payout. Most of the WCW wrestlers who went to WWF ended up crashing and burning out quick, getting canned by WWF and then they were left with nothing.
Vince would have given him a janitor gimmick and made him dance more than work.
it seems pretty simple he was a TED man not VINNEY MAC man but if we left it like that wouldn't be much to talk about!!
Alex Wright 😅 er war echt super. Hat immer Spaß gemacht
Greatest dancer in history of pro wrestling
Wow. Didn’t know he did interviews so recently!
would’ve been a main event star on velocity
Always liked Alex as a kid. Even way back in 96. Man the C weight division was amazing back then. He always seemed like a class act and this just backs it up.
Keep the contract for a year and never wrestle for the wwe or take the buyout and maybe have a chance on wwe TV after getting embarrassed most likely. I'm happy aew is around
Alex was awesome in wcw. Good tv and crusier champ.
Alex was the man and a great wrestler
Well, Alex Wright seems to be doing well on that show Barry now.
Alex will always be remembered! Great performer!
He really seems like a genuine good dude
My favorite dancing wrestler...never will forget him and Disco and that dance attack on Nitro...kool killer wright...woooowww...👍
They would have buried him. WWF doesn’t know what to do with some guys who are mid card Sat night guys like Disco Inferno and Das Wonderkid.
Great decision for Alex not to go to WWE would have just been fishfood for Triple H, Kurt Angle and other Vince favourites
Cool upload. Did you ask him about Gunther?
I remember alex wright as a kid watching wcw on german chanel DSF
Understandable answer from Alex. Respect 🫡
If he went out there today with that dancing gimmick, I believe he could get over.
I love this guy. Wonderful wrestler. Great technical ability, great attitude. Love it.
Alex Wright, and disco inferno never ended up in wwe. Always wondered what they would have done with them if they went.
HHH was jealous of his big bratwurst
Vince would have tried to put him into the Truth Commission.
The fact he’s still in his 40’s is crazy to me, he’s been wrestling for a long time.
Sad but true. WWE quite possibly could've made him a parody of what made him famous
He could have been big in the WWF.
Can we all just take a moment to marvel at how well he looks?