Kevin Fertig had been doing an occult-style gimmick for years in Ohio Valley Wrestling before he was called up to the main roster in the spring of 2004. His new character was Mordecai, a religious zealot dressed in all white (including his hair and beard). He made references to ridding WWE of sinners, including veiled allusion to The Undertaker himself. As with most debuts, though, Mordecai started off slowly. His first feuds were with Scotty 2 Hotty and Hardcore Holly, whom he defeated at Judgment Day and The Great American Bash, respectively. The matches were terrible, and the following month, Mordecai was released. Fertig claimed in an interview that the reason for his firing was a bar fight in which he was involved, and WWE's subsequent chastisement. He was given a second chance two years later -- as Kevin Thorn, ECW's vampire -- but he never received close to the level of push for which he was earmarked as Mordecai. Had circumstances not been different, it's interesting to think where he might be today.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
