Where, O Where can Alex Wright Be?
Alex Wright was born to be a wrestler. Alex Wright's father, Stephen Wright, was a professional wrestler for many years. Stephen began training Alex to become a wrestler at an early age.
Alex spent time performing in Japan & Germany before fully committing himself to WCW in 1994. During this time, Alex had many memorable feuds against top-notch stars, such as Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Diamond Dallas Page, and Ric Flair. Alex didn't get his big push until 1997 when he became "Evil" Alex Wright, a wrestler who believed that his good looks made others incredibily jealous of him. He won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in 1997 from Chris Jericho on Monday Nitro. Later that year, he lost the title back to Jericho. Two weeks later, he won the WCW Television Championship from Ultimo Dragon. He held the belt for awhile until he lost in a match against Disco Inferno.
Alex became affiliated with WCW when WCW had a German Tour. At that time, there was a big TV talk show in Germany,which some wrestlers from WCW had to attend to promote the tour. It was Sting,Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero), and Alex Sharpe, the WCW Public Relations. The topic of the talk show was pro-wrestling. At that time, he was just beginning to wrestle, and was the youngest pro wrestler in Germany, so the TV show called Alex. When Alex got there he met with Sting, Johnny and Alan. Then Alex had a try out match against Paul Roma. They liked his work very much. Alex finished the rest of the German tour. After that they made him an offer for a training contract. Which of course, Alex took.
Fact: Triple H's first PPV match was against Alex Wright at Starrcade in 1994.
In 1999, promotional spots began appearing on WCW television featuring Alex as a new Rivethead-style character named Berlyn. Berlyn wore all black and had a long trench coat. He had a black mohawk and goatee. Berlyn refused to speak English. The promos coincided with the aftermath Columbine school massacre, which threw a hitch in WCW's plans. Sensing the unintentional similarities in dress between Berlyn and the teenage killers, WCW delayed the debut of Berlyn for several months.
According to Alex, the Berlyn gimmick was created by Alex, Diamond Dallas Page, Dusty Rhodes, & Alex's wife.
Finally Berlyn debuted. Although it was well-known that he did know English, this was explained by having the announcers tell them that Berlyn hated America so much, he won't even speak its language anymore. He had multiple bodyguards, and appeared every night in a limo. Berlyn set out his first challenge to Buff Bagwell, and was slated to face him at Fall Brawl. However, due to Buff not making it in time to the arena, Berlyn faced "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, another true American. Berlyn defeated Duggan with an illegal shot from one of the bodyguards, followed by a neckbreaker. On the next Nitro, Berlyn won in a similar fashion over Bagwell. His main bodyguard who did the attacks soon became known as Berlyn's Wall.
Berlyn would briefly feud with his former bodyguard for a time, with no PPV match coming out of it. He also competed in the WCW World Tag-Team Title Tournament, being paired up with "The Dog-Faced Gremlin" Rick Steiner. Unfortunately, the two individuals could not co-exist, and lost in the first round to PG-13. Berlyn then slowly drifted out of WCW, with his angle having run its course. For the next few months, Berlyn was not seen in professional wrestling, spending more time with his new wife in Germany.
In October '00, the Disco Inferno had broken away from his compatriots in the Filthy Animals, due to various miscues between them. In his feud with Konnan, Billy Kidman, & Rey Mysterio Jr, Disco was outnumbered. During a match-up with Konnan on a Monday Nitro, Alex Wright reappeared, bald but still dancing. He helped Disco win the match, allying himself once again with the Disco Inferno. They formed the tag-team the Boogie Knights, and soon had a major feud going with the Filthy Animals. The Natural Born Thrillers were also included, due to their problems with the Animals. At Halloween Havoc '00, the Boogie Knights fought in a Triangle Match against Kidman & Mysterio and the Tag-Team Champions, Jindrak & O'Haire. It was a wild affair, with three men being legal at all times. In the end, while Wright was fighting with others on the outside, Disco was hit by O'Haire's Sean-Tom Bomb and pinned, allowing Jindrak & O'Haire to keep the tag-team titles.
After that defeat, both Wright & Disco slowly faded out from WCW, rarely appearing on the major shows. Wright made one more big appearance in late January '01, when CEO Ric Flair tried to name him the next #1 Contender to the World Title, held by "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner. Kevin Nash, however, disagreed with the call, and when Wright decided to attack him, Nash powerbombed Wright straight through the stage. Wright then did not make another appearance in the Turner-ran WCW.
Wright has not appeared on American television since then. In the years following Wright has stayed away from active competition, only wrestling on rare occasions in Germany. Despite this, Wright is still well-respected as a wrestler, as indicated by Ring of Honor fans chanting his gimmick name at ROH shows.
Today he is working as a banker and fitness instructor in Nuremberg, in addition to opening a school called "The Wright Stuff" in Germany.
