When The Patriot first debuted in June 1997, he was set to be one of the WWF's top babyfaces, but six months down the line Del Wilkes found himself unemployed solely due to backstage politics. Jim Cornette in particular said that The Patriot's push was squashed because both Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation and D-Generation X didn't like the guy, and refused to work with him. As a result, the creative team gave in and abruptly ended his feud with Bret Hart, instead having Del Wilkes flounder on the midcard in a mismatched tag-team with Vader. He was a solid wrestler with a decent physique and a gimmick that had potential fan support, considering the strong American vs Canadian vibes of WWF programming circa 1997, but The Patriot was never really given a chance. It goes to show how dominant the demands of both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were, that they could so easily manipulate WWF creative and completely erase a guy who had literally just been hired, because they felt like it. There's also a great irony here, as Del Wilkes claimed he previously left WCW because he was tired of the Hulk Hogan clique, and was only met with worse treatment in the WWF. While a lot of careers were damaged and held back due to backstage politics, The Patriot's was completely buried just weeks after he had stepped in the door.
Sam is an experienced Film, Gaming and Wrestling writer, critic and journalist who was written for a vast number of different entertainment websites. Follow him on twitter at @Sams_Reel_Views.
