There are so many "What if's" when it comes to WCW and it's ultimate demise that one could spend all day getting lost in them. But one "what if" that kind of goes unnoticed was the career of one of WCW's youngest stars, "Das Wunderkind" Alex Wright. Wright was one of the many colorful characters that populated WCW during its 1990s peak, best remembered for his love of dancing to German techno music and feuding/paling around with fellow dancing wrestler Disco Inferno. But in some ways, the dancing hid the fact that Wright, who wrestled his first match at 16 years old and later signed with WCW when he was 19, was overflowing with potential.
And truth be told, Wright was. He had the pedigree, as the son of accomplished British wrestler Steven Wright. His 6'5", slim-220 lb, blonde hair look was something most promoters drool over. But most importantly, he had the ability, working a technical high flying style that was right at home with the style of the WCW Cruiserweight division. So when Wright debuted in WCW officially in late 1994, and defeated a certain future WWE chief content officer in Triple H at that year's Starrcade, the future seemed bright. It seemed even brighter just three years later in 1997, when Wright, reimagined as a cocky pretty boy heel, won both the WCW Cruiserweight and WCW World Television Championships in short order. Sure, there was still the NWO and other older main eventers ahead of him, but it seemed likely that once those stars road off into the sunset, Wright's time as a main eventer would come.
Of course, this is a story about WCW, so it never quite panned out for Wright as hoped. And yes, it's for the reasons many would think, like older WCW talents taking advantage of Wright in matches. Paul Roma was the first to notably do so, stiffing Wright during their SuperBrawl V match and even kicked out of Wright's winning pinfall in an attempt to sabotage him, the latter which led to Roma being fired. But perhaps what hurt Wright the most was, ironically enough, an idea he pitched and developed himself. Many may rememberBerlyn, the mohawked, darker character Wright portrayed in 1999 that ultimately went nowhere. What isn't remembered is that the character was neutered almost from the jump, thanks to several factors outside of Wright's control.
For starters, Berlyn's debut, originally scheduled for the spring, was delayed over concerns it would invoke the Columbine shooting tragedy. When he finally did show up, WCW immediately started favoring Wright's bodyguard, The Wall of "THAT'S THE WALL, BROTHER!" fame over him. That was likely due to two WCW talents sabotaging Wright almost immediately. Buff Bagwell, who was set to lose to Wright in Beryln's debut at Fall Brawl 1999, refused to do so. WCW replaced him with WWE Hall of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who did agree to lose to Wright, but did so only after a performance where many felt he no-sold Wright's offense, making Wright look weak. Those factors, combined with WCW's regime change backstage at the time, led to Berlyn being scrapped only a few months later, and Wright being removed from TV. He returned in late 2000 under his old dancing gimmick, and had a brief reign as WCW Tag Team Champions with Disco Inferno before WCW closed down, leaving Wright out of a job.
So what happened to Wright after WCW closed his doors? Initially, not much, as Wright would take the next two years off from wrestling, and was one of the numerous WCW wrestlers who WWE was unable to sign due to his deal being with Time Warner instead of WCW itself. Even if that hadn't been the case, however, Wright has indicated he may not have signed anyway, as he had grown tired of the wrestling politics he had encountered during his WCW run. That was further supported by the fact that Wright decided to hang up his wrestling boots for good in 2003, wrestling his retirement match in his native Germany at the still young age of 28. And even though wrestling is littered with wrestlers that have gone by on retirement promises repeatedly, Wright has remained true to his word, never wrestling another match again following that 2003 bout.
After several years away from wrestling, Wright returned in the late 2009s, this time as a trainer and a promoter, launching The Wright Stuff wrestling school and the promotion New European Championship Wrestling out of Germany. The Wright Stuff has since gone on to produce talents like former WWE star Giovanni Vinci, and led to Wright working as a guest trainer for WWE in 2014. Wright has also left the door open regarding wrestling again, revealing in 2022 he'd be open to wrestling in AEW against old rival Chris Jericho, while GCW's Joey Janela has listed Wright as a dream wrestler for his annual Spring Break event. Whether that happens or not, it's clear that, while Wright's wrestling career may not have reached the heights it could have, he has still contributed in a big way to wrestling, and may have more to bring to the table going forward.
