Alex Wright credits Ric Flair with giving him the wake-up call he needed during a difficult period early in his WCW career.
Speaking with Bryan Asbury on Developmentally Speaking, available through the show’s official YouTube channel, Wright said isolation and financial problems after moving to the United States contributed to heavy drinking and considerable weight gain.
“I started really drinking a lot and I gained a lot of weight.”
Wright estimated that he gained roughly 40 pounds before Flair confronted him backstage about his condition.
“Hey, listen kid. I know you’re talented and we really want to do something with you, but right now, how you look… you need to change. Otherwise we can’t do anything with you.”
Wright described Flair’s intervention as exactly what he needed.
“The foot on my ass.”
He responded by changing his diet and training twice a day.
“I went from 250, I went down to 190.”
According to Wright, Flair eventually acknowledged the transformation by telling him he finally looked like the character WCW wanted to present.
“Okay, now you look like Das Wunderkind.”
Wright said WCW began developing plans for him after he got himself back into shape. His brightly presented Das Wunderkind character would later become so recognizable that Wright eventually sought a complete reinvention with Berlyn. WrestlingHeadlines recently covered Wright explaining that he personally pitched the Berlyn character years later.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
