The Wildman of WWE had his share of fans, but Mero never quite reached the top tier of professional wrestling. A former Golden Gloves boxing champ, Mero was fast on his feet and had a 1-2 punch that could knock out even the biggest competition. When Ahmed Johnson (who well get to momentarily,) forfeited the IC title, a tournament was arranged to crown a new champion. In the finals, Mero defeated Faarooq and won the second tier title. Things were going great for Mero. He had his wife Sable by his side, he held the second best title in professional wrestling, and he was on a hot streak that seemed untouchable. This should have meant that bigger things were going to come Meros way. Yet for whatever reason, Meros reign was a short lived one as he soon lost the title less than a month later on an episode of Monday Night Raw to Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Helmsley would go on to hold the title for 115 days while Mero would tear a ligament in his knee and be out of action for half a year. He returned with the boxer gimmick Marvelous Marc Mero, but the damage had already been done, both to his knee and to his career status. He then left WWE in 1999 and wrestled in a couple other promotions before retiring.