10 Embarrassing NXT-Era Creative Failures You Totally Forgot About

8. Patrick Clark: Mr. USA

Becky Lynch
WWE

Long before Velveteen Dream was so much more than a nickname for the audacious and ostentatious Tough Enough success story Patrick Clark, it was precisely that - just a nickname.

A dip into the archives on the WWE Network will find him as a lamb to Austin Aries' slaughter on the July 20th edition of NXT, with Corey Graves foreshadowing his bullish main roster announce desk banter with some digs at his magnificent USA-inspired gear. The tights in question feature stars, stripes, a bald eagle and a giant spray of his own face - long before Aleister Black was saying his name, Dream was getting it out there anyway could.

Standing out immediately amongst the other rank-and-files trotted out to do jobs to those in the Performance Center class above them, Clark's permanent rebadge to Velveteen Dream felt less extreme exactly because he'd been soft-launching the gimmick for months. He may have looked for months on end like a Prince tribute act, but it was merely the first piece of a complex puzzle he continues to assemble to this day.

Everything Clark allegedly lacks in talent he overcompensates for exponentially in character-work. Elias has proven how this may be the right way around for NXT call-ups - Velveteen Dream might be main roster-ready even if his moveset isn't.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.