Alex Wright on Why WCW Killed the BERLYN Gimmick Off So Soon

[@brettpritchard265]

Such an underrated wrestler. One of my true favorites in that era. People like him, William Regal, Norman Smiley and others were so very valuable to WCW during that time period.

[@MidTownSnipers_VHP]

Facts

[@tremere40k]

Wish he had gotten a WWE run at some point, They could of done a Too Cool vs Alex dance off storyline.

[@17thN.O]

That the truth. I was a fan of all of them.

[@Keirazafar]

Oh wow, I was watching WCW clips like I do from time to time, and I Alex popped up on one of the segments, and I was like omygod I remember him haha, yeah he was only 19 coming into WCW, great talent great look great package, so sad they didn’t use him and just wasted him 😢, and now he’s 47 and looks terrible unfortunately by his standards 😢

[@volcano3493]

@@Keirazafar He still runs NEW (New European Wrestling) in Germany. In addition he is in good health a fact which many former stars of WWE & WCW can´t claim.

[@Pete1230]

Always liked Alex Wright. I miss the old WCW days.

[@tacoenvy]

Whatttttt Das Wunderkind! Man I haven't seen a interview with Alex before. He was actually good in the ring and had some pretty good matches with some big names. Still has the best dance taunt of all time. Ain't nobody topping that.

[@MidTownSnipers_VHP]

Facts

[@JLvatron]

"Germany's youngest Dancer!"

[@WaldoBagelTopper]

Time has been kind to Alex Wright. God bless him.

[@jblitz55]

Always felt Alex was a wrestler who didn't reach his full potential in the biz. Not all his fault either.

[@syrus44]

Wcw buried him

[@rickylucas6503]

He never got a chance to go anywhere else to get better. He stayed in wcw from 94 to the end and didn't learn more by leaving and going to other promotions. Bagwell is similar. Full of potential, didn't leave to learn and return.

[@mvjr7758]

Was a pretty good wrestler & totally disappointed he got lost. I think he could've been good in WWE after too.

[@rickylucas6503]

@Lefroy aj styles was the best wrestler in tna from the start and he was only 2 years in the business at that point. He still learned from working in roh, japan, and multiple other promotions. It's about working around different crowds and wrestling different opponents that gets you the best experience.

[@brandonpage7087]

Alex can always brag about having a pinfall victory over Triple H.

[@sgtraytango]

I saw a WCW house show in Birmingham, England in 2000 and Bam Bam Bigelow vs The Wall from that show is still one of my favourite big man matches of all time.

[@N1120A]

I met Alex in his Berlyn gimmick days in an elevator at the MGM Grand in Vegas. Nice guy, soft spoken and kept a bit of his heel face on in public. This interview shows just how German he is.

[@Arayig1982]

He's actually English via his father where he gets his English Wright surname.

[@takerdust]

@Marc Carran Rittersport is the shit

[@ChunkyKong-47]

@@Arayig1982not exactly sure that’s how that works, i think most people and himself would say he’s German but you’re not wrong, his father is English

[@Arayig1982]

@@ChunkyKong-47 i wonder for him, he growing up in Germany how Germans would struggle with how to pronounce Wright if they had no knowledge of English. Maybe something akin to Vreegehut.

[@ChunkyKong-47]

@@Arayig1982 honestly I don’t know if it would have been too much of an issue. If he was from a smaller town maybe but being from Nuremberg (a lot of Germans from big cities speak half decent English) and wright being a somewhat common name a lot of people might just know inherently it’s a “w” sound and not “v”. But also knowing German, saying Vright with a v sound might not feel/sound strange enough for people to know it’s wrong. German has a lot of words starting in ver- or ber- that when pronounced quickly feels very similar. To me saying Vright feels almost the same as saying bereit or Verein

[@myaquariumfish5188]

Love Alex's dance moves. Alex and Disco were awesome.

[@stevejamieson8468]

When they brought Tokyo Magnum into the group, it was pure entertainment.

[@J_Wags]

Have always wanted an Alex Wright shoot interview. He was one of my childhood favorites. I used to do the Das Wunderkind dance all time everywhere when I was like 10 😅😅

[@mikeotoole3223]

Ditto on the dance man! We must be around the same age because I was doing it when I was around 10 or so as well! Lol good times!

[@blueeyeddevil9441]

James Romero, you are doing some great interviews. Very easy to watch. You are polite and also able to get information we are interested in. Thanks James. I just subscribed here from America.

[@NacheMan]

I agree. These are just great!

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Wow, I would never recognize Alex Wright in this interview. He looks like a manager of PEP BOYS than Das Wunderkind.

[@thehaunted8055]

That's the Wall, Brother

[@mikem10481]

WCW needed a fresh perspective and new approach and a gimmick change for Alex Wright was definitely needed. If they used Rammestein as a theme tune it would definitely got over.

[@fernquiroz]

guess *_Jimmy Hart_* didn't know how to rip off techno just Nirvana, and Pearl Jam type of music.

[@bshaun]

@@fernquiroz OMG, just kept the same tempos, but reversed some of the chords and notes. That was Jimmy Hart's doing?

[@bshaun]

Some heavy ass Rammestein would've helped. I just didn't understand what they were going for with the Berlyn gimmick. Should've been far more intense and in-your-face. Just felt like a contrived, watered down attempt at something before the gimmick ever got off the ground.

[@sgtraytango]

@@bshaun Yeah, Jimmy was WCW's main music guy the way Jim Johnston was for WWE (I still think Hogan's "American Made" song is superior to "Real American"). It's cool how he did a version of "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple for Shane Douglas, since Shane had used it in ECW for years.

[@WSI]

@@fernquiroz no those Nirvana/pearl jam rip offs I believe was library music from the Turner muzak catalogue. Jimmy Hart did compose a lot of themes though.

[@garyrichards9653]

Alex Wright was class. The Berlyn gimmick, had legs.

[@sappyfoot]

and arms

[@17thN.O]

It went hard

[@jerryjanik480]

I loved Alex's matches with people like Eddie Guerrero Rey Mysterio Dean malenko Brian pillman Chris Benoit Alex Wright truly is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time in my opinion he is a underrated professional wrestler he is one of the best European wrestlers with William Regal and Finley

[@gtrman69777]

The cruiserweight division was one of the reasons why I liked WCW more than WWE. There was a ton of talent in that division.

[@SoCalChris]

As time went on, the more I liked and respect Alex. He knew his place and his role on the card. He accepted it and excelled at it. Him and Disco (put aside any opinions on him, just based on the character), they were so entertaining at what they did. I'd take reliable wrestlers such as them any day of the week over bigger names.

[@johnmiller6417]

Have u tryed to listen to the podcast with disco and Konan. Disco can’t get a point out. It takes forever. Horrible

[@SoCalChris]

@@johnmiller6417 I know. Like I said, put any opinion of his commentary to the side and just base it on what he did in the ring.

[@King-ry4mo]

So underrated. I know I was only a kid but he always caught my attention on nitro sucks how it went for him

[@shawnwbronx]

It didn’t help when Duggan no-sold everything he did at Fall Brawl.

[@txmetalhead82xk]

Duggan was notorious with that kind of BS.

[@shawnwbronx]

@@txmetalhead82xk that’s one part of the old school mentality that I hated. His time had passed. Put the younger guy over.

[@noname-wz5ww]

You hear all this good stuff about Duggan, he survived cancer, etc, guy was notorious for no selling lots of opponents and was the single worse wrestler in ring in history. One move, football tackle. Even great Khali had two moves.

[@michaelrood2751]

Duggan was horrific post Mid South. My least favorite wrestler

[@baboracus]

​@@noname-wz5ww You gotta give Duggan credit for being a part of the greatest commentary segment ever (look up Heenan laughs at hacksaw jim duggan)

[@thelionsshare6668]

I absolutely LOVED the Berlyn gimmick, especially since it was WCW. Evil, talented, an honest-to-God heel. Perfectly executed. Nihilistic. This was the kind of thing that Vince Russo whined about--he was slowly building up characters and TV storylines, building the ratings back up, and then corporate would kill it, because the "creative control" talent wanted the spotlight.

[@sgtraytango]

Yeah, I was sad when Berlyn suddenly disappeared, it really could've gone somewhere.

[@naqwnaqw3712]

@Lefroy I was about to write that. The best in the business. Randy Orton’s are number 2.

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

The Berlyn character needed to start off a lot stronger if it had any chance, not be mysterious. As a fan at the time, I remember a prominent sign in the crowd that read Alex Wright Still Sucks.

[@shikamondes4068]

Vince Russo killed the character. It was a Bischoff/Dusty thing and when Russo came in, he axed it. Berlyn should have attacked Goldberg since he’s Jewish and then had a long program with him.

[@thelionsshare6668]

@@shikamondes4068 But the character's not a Nazi. He was a nihilist, like those German guys in The Big Lebowski.

[@KwangTheMongrel]

The Wall was one of my favorites when I was a kid but nobody ever brings him up so this was awesome to get to hear a little more about him. Thanks for asking about that.

[@txmetalhead82xk]

You can tell that Alex and the Wall got to be great friends. Alex had trouble talking about it. What a nice guy

[@samantha_proust]

Same here. I was 6 or 7-grader at school when The Wall appeared on WCW. I think the first thing that called my attention was the fact that during that time in WCW, he was the second wrestler (after Kevin Nash) to step into the ring by simply topping over the top rope. It was enough to captivate the consciousness of the child that I was. i was excited.

[@samantha_proust]

btw do you happen to know if there are any interviews with Jerry Tuite himself?

[@KwangTheMongrel]

@@samantha_proust exactly! They made him such a juggernaut. I just remember him chokeslamming people all over the place. It was great. I made a few recreations of him on video games lol

[@foreverunsaved6661]

I seen Alex wrestle live once - I was sitting right by the aisle where the wrestlers came to the ring. This man was a lot bigger than he looked on TV.

[@thesupervisor3270]

Woooooow u got Alex Wright on!? This alone u are officially with the elites far as wrestling KZbin pages

[@MiamiSunrise]

Alex I thought had a great look and when he changed to Berlyn I thought very highly of his new look. I felt like something really cool was coming with that gimmick and unfortunately it dried up far quicker than basically anyone wanted it to. Berlyn really seemed like he was going to be a big time evil heel. Really cool that this interview has happened!

[@briansmith48]

All the former WWF guys started to come into WCW in the late 90's and took up all the TV time. They pushed alot of midd carders ether into dark matches or out of the company altogether.

[@chicagomike4587]

Alex was loaded with talent - a young guy like that would have been perfect for WWF at the time. He's a smart man too and a gentleman

[@ramrod3922]

Alex Wright was awesome funny in the WCW days! Grest performer as well. That dance was classic.

[@heroesmartialartsacademy734]

Talented worker

[@typratt9017]

My favorite underrated wrestle .. das wunderkind baby

[@jerryjanik480]

So true I hold him with so much respect with people like William Regal and Finley but to compare with the cruiserweights of time ended up joining The WWE and winning world heavyweight champions could have been also could have been one of those guys too

[@MrTurbografx16]

Alex was a great wrestler Always enjoyed his matches. Played the babyface very well.

[@mississippimeatloaf1637]

He bears absolutely no resemblance to his WCW days, it's almost as if he moved to Jupiter after WCW closed, it's good to see him after all these years

[@JRWeez]

Yea ive wondered where he was

[@brandondetroitfanmichaels4325]

See what not having hair does to you

[@vjacheslavdvorc]

@@brandondetroitfanmichaels4325 In recent WCW months he has been hairless.

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

@@brandondetroitfanmichaels4325 I think it is the hair. Watching all the Don Muraco podcasts recently after not seeing him in years he still looks like Don Muraco just older. I wouldn't be able to recognize Alex Wright on the street today.

[@txmetalhead82xk]

He’s still in wrestling, as a trainer.

[@birdmantd]

I met Jerry Tuite aka the Wall back in 1997 pre-WCW. My cousin lives in Manalapan NJ (central/south Jersey not too far from the shore) where Jerry is originally from and at his party knowing I was a big wrestling fan was nice enough to introduce us. He seemed like a reserved guy that wasn't super crazy about talking wrestling but did tell me about his career up to that point. I remember him specifically mentioning having wrestled Bam Bam and seeming proudest of that which makes given what Alex mentioned here. Really cool to see he that he made it once he popped up in WCW and later sad when he passed so young.

[@georgechilidis8446]

I love good wrestling stories from the middle of 60’s that I started watching on black and white TV.. Yes Alex Write was an amazing wrestler I enjoyed the dance moves it was the disco era, Alex great story teller..

[@corporatemcmahon2815]

The Alex Wright Dance was the best trolling and getting heat!!!

[@M.S.Fitness]

I'm doing the Alex Wright dance rn as I listen to this

[@johngreed381]

man i really liked alex and wanted to see more of the berlyn gimmick. i thought it was awesome.

[@MrDrokkul]

Hey man! It's Alex Wright! The German! If you wanna know what the Germans are about pick him and you'll have a hell of a wictory. Sorry...it had to be done.

[@thebigmarbowski84]

I promise!

[@jikal9032]

I remember flipping back and forth to get him to start jabbering in German lol

[@DanielCordone9]

I stopped watching WCW since 1995 for a few years as it was no longer shown on UK tv. Didn't know Alex Wright, but watched some of his matches recently and he looked technically good and athletic.

[@AnGhaeilge]

Was always hoping to see him in WWE. He was an amazing wrestler. So technical. I remember the Louis Theroux documentary well. They covered the WCW Power Plant in it and some other small local wrestling promotion, I think was called the AIWF.

[@nriab23]

Big long Bratwurst!!! Pro wrestling Bios ftw. Both these channels are excellent.

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

Who doesn't love Saturday Wright Fever? Oh, big bratwurst 🤣

[@midnightslider9639]

I saw that Louis Theroux doc too! Glad Alex is looking well, he was a fantastic wrestler.

[@CageDalton]

Berlyn could’ve been huge money for WCW in my opinion it could’ve been WCW Undertaker. But WCW was the drizzling shits when it came to the backstage side of the business.

[@jeffreyblock16]

Crow sting was wcw’s undertaker

[@Arayig1982]

@@jeffreyblock16 mortis

[@NotAGarage]

Best, and highest Missle Dropkick ever.

[@marcm9999]

I loved Alex Wright. Great technician!

[@LewisCampbellTech]

Anyone surprised at how young he still looks 25 years later?

[@michaelpilgrim8131]

Hey, fun boys, get a room.

[@JGD185]

Very talented guy

[@timsullivan4687]

Always loved Alex Wright and still do

[@petesmart1983]

Basically cause he didn't fit in with the old lazy ex wwe guys like Nash,Hogan who were controlling booking etc

[@thelionsshare6668]

@@TheStuport The Berlyn gimmick was in the late 90s, during WCW's attempt to regain their ratings.

[@JGD185]

It must have really sucked to have the fate of your career in their hands. He honestly should have gone to WWF since Vince loved taking midcard WCW guys and turning them into stars

[@thelionsshare6668]

@@JGD185 Yeah, since Vince OWNED the character just a short while later, Berlyn in the Attitude Era? And really, any era. Having a nihilist German heel is a good update from the Nazis of old, like Waldo & Fritz Von Erich, Baron Von Raschke, etc. and less offensive. I really loved this gimmick. There was a lot they could've done.

[@SupaStah01]

Fantastic wrestler. If Alex was around today, he'd be a top guy. He's far better than anyone WWE has

[@MegaZombieDeath]

Glad they talked about The Wall, that is the first thing I think of when it comes to Berlyn. Maybe unfortunately.

[@sgtraytango]

Not sure why it'd be unfortunate, Jerry was a pretty good big man and despite the name, he had a good look and worked pretty well. Really shined post-WCW when he was in early TNA with the future Kizarny and in Japan until his untimely death.

[@M.S.Fitness]

Up there......That's The Wall Brother

[@MegaZombieDeath]

@@sgtraytango I was maybe misunderstood. I liked The Wall, and yeah, especially when he was in TNA as Malice. I was more so meaning the Berlyn Wall name and it being late WCW. It seemed like they were setting him up to be the NWA/TNA Champion, not sure what happened.

[@samantha_proust]

I'm also glad that finally, someone has mentioned the Wall. Because the Internets lacks info about this person, despite the fact that he was the big star on wcw.

[@therattlesnake1614]

I so wish Alex wright made a comeback as Alexander wright 😎👍

[@thejmc4074]

I hope you asked about the hard body Harrison incident.

[@NicCollinsFilms]

I loved Berlyn and The Wall lol I made customs of them as a kid and they dominated my fig fed 😂

[@samright4661]

Alex was a good worker.. Awesome mid card hand

[@bustersales6921]

Lmao no. He was a potential mega star. The old farts like flair held him down out of jealousy. Mac Mahon once said that he would’ve made wright the biggest babyface on the planet. Wright was one of the greatest prospects the biz had ever seen

[@JGD185]

@@bustersales6921 Vince really said that?

[@samright4661]

@@bustersales6921 Why didn't Vince sign Alex?

[@notafaker]

They had something with the Berlin gimmick

[@Briandoesit]

I never saw the gimmick as a NZi. Just through he was a gothic German heal. I thought it could have been a lot bigger.

[@Antihero297]

I was watching Berlyn's debut recently and you can clearly hear some guy in the audience shouting out "THAT'S ALEX WRIGHT" 😂

[@jeffnettleton3858]

I didn't see much of the Berlyn gimmick, other than the initial glimpses; but, "vampire" was definitely no on my mind. Eurotrash cuthroat businessman/gangster type, was more my thinking.

[@Lets_RC]

Seems like a very down to earth guy.

[@nathueil1]

During the BERLYN era, I was wanting to own a bidet something ferocious.

[@bshaun]

It's amazing how they site those things in so accurately. I used someone else's once, to see what all the fuss is about, and it was still right on the bullseye.

[@robfinlay8058]

In many ways Alex was lucky. He got into wrestling at a very young age, made good money for several years and then got out with his health and sanity intact and moved onto another line of work and another stage of his life. He was still only 25 when WCW closed down. Far too many wrestlers cling to the business when it is clear their day in the limelight has long since passed and they'd have been far better off realising this and training for another career long ago. Buff Bagwell for example.

[@Robocoppat]

It's like pulling teeth watching this interview!

[@shamzam3012]

I remember seeing that gimmick debut and then disappeared, I had always wondered what happened and now I know

[@TreyBoKnows]

Alex Wright looked like the drummer from U2 back in the day

[@moemarenah219]

Saturday Wright fever!!

[@jonstone6460]

This is awesome

[@ChunkyKong-47]

The way he said bam bam big elbow felt so German lol

[@LAvsMVP]

Berlin and his sidekick Wall that’s WCW for ya lmao

[@LALakersNornIron]

Berlyn had the potential to be a decent mid card heel. Great look, great music, Dark gothic feel. He could have feuded with the likes of Chris Benoit, Sting or Bret "The Hitman" Hart for the US Title or TV Title. Later he and the Wall should have been a tag team going for the WCW World Tag Team Championships. The Berlyn Wall.

[@lurchlogan]

Alex Wright had an underrated dropkick. If Hardcore Holly has the best dropkick in the biz, Das Wunderkind is not too far behind!!

[@vultureguy33]

Looking like Chuck Liddell in the thumbnail lol

[@sonofsarek]

I always liked Alex’s matches.

[@theevn7]

Great memories legend

[@vanealmorrow6024]

Good to see him.

[@crazyfun5150]

I always thought Alex Wright was an entertaining character. Then I thought it was cool how he reinvented himself as Berlyn character. Funny thing is that would fit in perfectly right now with the Gunther character and stable lol 🤣

[@cdmit27]

Dude YES IT WOULD! Gunther and Ludwig give me major Berlyn vibes.

[@crazyfun5150]

@@cdmit27 how awesome would that be? Beryl would’ve been perfect for Gunther and his stable in NXT. Sucks we never got to see him in WWE. He was a pretty talented wrestler.

[@FlickFusionOfficial]

Had he gone to WCW, his Berlyn character would’ve gotten over since it’s the attitude era… I could see him team up with Gangrel or the undertaker with that gimmick… or maybe work with edge and Christian or the Hardy boyz

[@TheKENNYLUCHADOR]

Had he gone to the WWF, and followed Austin and HHH.. I believe he would have been a big star

[@daniyelx9941]

Hi Mr Alex. I wanted to thank you for the trance song You Made. thank you /// دمت گرم زنده باشی

[@nick56677]

I was wondering whatever happened to Alex Wright, and so glad he is doing shoots. I loved his dancing gimmick when he would randomly dance with the nitro girls lol. When Alex Wright or Disco came out, it was no longer a wrestling show, it was now a night club😂

[@volcano3493]

He still runs NEW (New European Wrestling) in Germany. In addition he is in good health a fact which many former stars of WWE & WCW can´t claim.

[@dallas5339]

I miss wcw so much 😢 😔

[@OneUponADime]

When Berlyn I thought I was so smart realizing it was Alex Wright hahaha🤪

[@gothamkid5612]

I never remembered him as Alex Wright, I remember him as Berlin. He was talented.

[@TheRayvolution]

Alex Wright was brilliant!!!

[@branchtana315]

IIRC, one of the Berlyn vignettes had clips of actual black and white WW2 footage of a group of Wehrmacht Panzers running over some sort of terrain. As a teenager, I loved the presentation of the Berlyn gimmick and thought it could be big. Having said that, I can't imagine why anyone would think this was a Nazi gimmick with the character being called Berlyn, and with footage of charging Panzers in a vignette. Lol

[@Farmerb1985]

Awesome German pro wrestler with talented skills and abilities in the Ring. I love beryln character with the wall as his bodyguard in 1999 but i prefer the daswunderkid gimmick and member of the boogie night tag team with disco inferno

[@joshuaDstarks]

I haven’t seen this guy since 1997.

[@chadlatham3819]

I used to play high school football (99/00) offense and defense. And anytime I either sacked the QB or scored a TD I busted out the Alex Wright dance! If in the HIGHLY unlikely situation I ever went pro I was totally going to carry that with me lol. ....I sell electronics now....hmmm maybe next time I make a huge sale??? 🤔

[@Antihero297]

Berlyn didn't quite work out for Alex, but it made a pretty big star of The Wall. He was a badass. R.I.P 🙏

[@samantha_proust]

Exactly! I was really excited as a child (when i was watching it) to see how a "minor character" is rising to the big star and being given great pushes such as storylines with Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious etc.

[@princebloodgrave8097]

Berlyn was one of my favorite characters. :D I wish that he stayed as Berlyn.

[@AWF1000]

that berlyn gimmick was actually a fantastic idea.. not many things i loved during that time period of wcw but berlyn was actually the best part at the time.

[@westmakati]

I like the pretty boy image "das wunderkind"

[@mdkane1921]

I remember the news about why they canceled the Berlyn gimmick, it was supposedly because of the columbine high massacre because he looked like shooters, they called themselves the trenchcoat mafia. Their appearance and time of the shooting correspond to this.

[@p.d.l7023]

Berlin, to me, was a wrestling version of the Mike Myers Sprockets snl skit.

[@Keirazafar]

Oh wow, I was watching WCW clips like I do from time to time, and I Alex popped up on one of the segments, and I was like omygod I remember him haha, yeah he was only 19 coming into WCW, great talent great look great package, so sad they didn’t use him and just wasted him 😢

[@btipton6899]

I'm here for the bratwurst.

[@RyanParreno]

I know why he didn't make it to WWE (he burned out and quit the business) but Alex would have been a welcome sight in the Invasion angle or through the start of the Ruthless Aggression era, Power Trip and all that. Actually, imagine if he made his way as one of the founding stars of NWA TNA or Ring of Honor. I think the latter would have fully realized his potential as a wrestler AND trainer in America. That would have made him one of the guys who brought up the Daniel Bryans and CM Punks and Samoa Joes

[@volcano3493]

He still runs NEW (New European Wrestling) in Germany. In addition he is in good health a fact which many former stars of WWE & WCW can´t claim.

[@wrath231]

A true legend!

[@scudman51]

I thought it was supposed to be an industrial techno type thing! That's very interesting to know that it was gothic.

[@popeyedoyle2103]

massively underrated and under used star..

[@Deadpool_64]

A goof dancing gimmick wasn't gonna go but so far, Berlyn could have kept him strong in the upper midcard. I really liked the gimmick.

[@MNC122703]

It was a goo character Berlin… and he still looks great