10 Wrestlers Who Became Backstage Outcasts In WWE

10. The Patriot

The Patriot (Del Wilkes), as all of wrestling's masked men really should be, was a mysterious and enigmatic figure in the locker room. This was an extension of a loner personality that saw him cause friction with his co-workers. Leaving WCW for WWF in 1997, after he became tired of being eclipsed by the company's recent star signings from the competition, Wilkes found only more of the same.

The locker room was largely split around the on- and off-screen feud between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. While details are slim, Wilkes unfortunately managed to somehow irk both locker room leaders. With neither The Kliq nor The Hart Foundation in his corner, the man behind the patriotic mask again saw his wrestling career flounder.

Wilkes' run in WWE began well with a feud opposite Hart. The Patriot picked up a win over "The Excellence of Execution" (Raw, 28th July 1997), which led to a WWF Championship match at WWF In Your House 17: Ground Zero (7th September 1997). Though it was a decent match, The Patriot lost cleanly via submission. Being defeated the next night by Triple H, The Patriot entered the mid-card, largely competing on house shows until his early 1998 release