More than two decades later, Alex Wright still believes his Berlyn character had significant potential before a change in WCW leadership altered its direction.
Speaking with Bryan Asbury on Developmentally Speaking, Wright explained that the drastic reinvention was an idea he personally brought to WCW.
“I pitched the Berlin gimmick.”
Berlyn was designed as a complete departure from Wright’s earlier “Das Wunderkind” presentation. Instead of the smiling, dancing babyface fans had known for years, Wright returned with dark hair, facial hair and a much more serious demeanor. The character was accompanied by an interpreter and a bodyguard who became known as The Wall.
Wright said he believed WCW handled the initial introduction well and saw considerable upside in the character.
“They did a lot of a good job debuting that gimmick.”
Wright added that Berlyn had “a lot of potential.”
The character formally arrived on WCW television in August 1999, near the end of Eric Bischoff’s run overseeing the company. Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara arrived from WWE only weeks later, creating a major change in WCW’s creative direction.
Wright has been more explicit about what he believes happened to Berlyn under Russo in previous interviews.
During a 2012 appearance on Inside The Ropes, Wright said the backstage situation in WCW had become chaotic by the time Russo arrived. He claimed Russo discarded ideas associated with the previous creative regime and personally made it clear that he did not believe in Berlyn.
“He told me he didn’t like it. He said we’re gonna leave the gimmick.”
Berlyn did remain on television for a period after the creative transition, so Wright’s account is not that Russo immediately removed the character. His criticism concerns the direction and momentum of the gimmick after the change in leadership.
The elaborate presentation gradually disappeared, Berlyn’s partnership with The Wall broke apart, and Wright eventually returned under his regular name before teaming with Disco Inferno as the Boogie Knights.
Wright’s criticism represents his own recollection of WCW’s creative process. The internal discussions he describes have not been independently corroborated, and Russo’s involvement should not be characterized as the sole established reason the character failed.
WrestlingHeadlines recently covered Kevin Nash offering a different perspective on Russo’s WCW tenure, arguing that the promotion’s larger problems went well beyond television booking.
If you use any portion of the quotes from the Developmentally Speaking interview in this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
