10 Wrestlers From The 2000s Who Are Only Remembered For One Storyline
Daniel Cobb
The 2000s was an interesting time for wrestling fans. WCW folded. TNA/Impact Wrestling became a major name in the world of wrestling. John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Eddie Guerrero all grew to prominence in the WWE. It also featured some of the most insane storylines in wrestling from Kurt Angle's feud with Jeff Jarrett at TNA and the end of The Rock vs Austin.
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While these superstars may have had impressive careers outside of one defining moment, other wrestlers have one moment that they will forever be remembered for. This article will examine 10 wrestlers (across all promotions) that are only known for one major storyline.
10 Vampiro - Feud With Sting
Although Vampiro made his WCW debut in 1998, the major storyline that defined a large part of his career took place in 2000. Sting and Vampiro joined forces and became a short-lived team known as Brothers in Paint. Vampiro, later, became a member of the New Blood faction and started feuding against Sting. This resulted in a Human Torch Match at Spring Stampede 2000, where the objective was to set your opponent on fire.
The match took place on the Tron where the torch was located. Sting was clearly replaced by a stuntman when the lights went down. It was a hot mess but was memorable. Vampiro set the stuntman on fire and he fell from the titantron. It's the thing most fans think of when they think of Vampiro.
9 Perry Saturn - The Mop Lover
Perry Saturn joined WWE in 2000 with high expectations, as part of The Radicalz group with Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko.
He started with a promising run and a manager, Terri Runnels, but a real-life punishment for working too aggressively with local talent led to a strange storyline where he dated a mop named Moppy. This is all that fans remember about Saturn's WWE stint in the 2000s. In all honesty, he did little else of note.
8 Rico - The Stylist To Billy And Chuck
WWE has had many controversial characters, and in 2002, Billy and Chuck (Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo) were two such characters, portrayed as a same-sex couple and tag team managed by Rico.
They became two-time World Tag Team Champions with Rico's help, but Rico could not escape the shadow of this storyline. He tried branching out as a competitor instead of a manager but was released in 2004.
7 Judas Mesias - Abyss' Brother
TNA introduced Judas Mesias as Abyss' brother but faced criticism for copying WWE's storyline with The Undertaker and Kane. The storyline saw Mesias introduced by their father James Mitchell, who had turned on Abyss, leading to a brother vs. brother feud.
It was all stuff WWE fans had already seen in the 90s. Although Mesias had a few more matches in TNA, this was the only angle that fans remembered, and it was considered lackluster.
6 Maven - Feud With The Undertaker
The first season of Tough Enough aired towards the end of WWE's Attitude Era and was broadcast on MTV as the company's reality show. Maven won a WWE contract on the show and was given a notable storyline with The Undertaker.
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Their feud included his memorable elimination of Undertaker at the 2002 Royal Rumble and a pinfall victory over Undertaker with help from The Rock. Despite these high points, WWE was unable to do more with Maven and his career was relatively short.
5 Manu - Legacy
Manu, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Afa and a member of the Anoa'i wrestling family, had high expectations when he signed with WWE in 2006 and made his main roster debut in late 2007.
He was one of the original members of Randy Orton's Legacy faction but was kicked out for failing to impress Orton. He attempted to seek revenge, but the storyline was cut short by the interference of Ted DiBiase Jr. After this, WWE did not have much for Manu, and he was eventually released.
4 Chris Masters - The Masterlock Challenge
Chris Masters was a wrestler who was pushed by WWE due to his great physique. He did have a few feuds against bigger-name wrestlers, but he's best remembered for his famous Masterlock Challenge. The WWE ran regular segments featuring various wrestlers trying to break out of his Masterlock Submission.
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The storyline was built up well, but the focus was on who could break the submission, rather than on Masters, himself. Bobby Lashley ended up breaking the hold as a way to build him up in 2007. A few months after the challenge was broken, Masters was out of the WWE.
3 Mike Knox - Crazy Boyfriend
Mike Knox was one of the bigger stars of WWE's 2006 revival of ECW as a third brand. He made his debut by breaking up Kelly Kelly's striptease because she was his on-screen girlfriend.
Knox was known as a "crazy boyfriend" character and had a decent storyline with CM Punk, but he couldn't get over with the crowd and his push was ended. This ended up being his only major storyline at the company.
2 Taylor Wilde - Defeating Awesome Kong
Taylor Wilde surprised fans when she defeated Awesome Kong to win the Knockouts Championship in TNA. The win came during an open challenge series where Kong was destroying unknown talents, who were hoping to win $25,000.
After a failed attempt or two, Wilde was able to defeat her and win the money as well as the top women's prize in TNA. Although Wilde looked good in the ring, she was never able to have another memorable storyline, so her win over Kong was the peak of her career.
1 Snitsky - Lita's "Baby"
Gene Snitsky made his WWE Monday Night Raw debut in 2004, where he was portrayed as a monstrous wrestler in a match against Kane. Snitsky was involved in a storyline where he interfered in Kane's relationship with Lita, causing them to lose their "baby."
This led to one of the most infamous moments in WWE history, where Snitsky appeared to punt a fake baby across the arena during one of his matches. Although Snitsky had a relatively short career with WWE, lasting until 2008, this moment remains his most memorable and recognizable contribution to the company.