20 WWE Attitude Era Superstars You Forgot Existed
WWE burned through a LOT of forgotten faces during the Attitude Era days.
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind, The Undertaker, Kane, D-Generation X, the McMahon family - WWE's revered Attitude Era had some of the biggest stars in industry history. It's not surprising that so many wrestling fans look back on that period (generally agreed to exist between 1997-2001/2-ish) and yearn for those days to return again.
The sheer wealth of star power Vinnie Mac had at his fingertips was insane, but not every worker quite fit the mould of "WWF Superstar". Some have slipped from memory in the 20 years since Attitude faded, and they're never given the same kind of attention that federation success stories like DX, Austin or Mick Foley are.
No bloody wonder.
Some of the gimmicks on show in this collection of misfits stand out, and not for the right reasons. Prepare to read about South Park-obsessed monsters, South African military forces, sex slaves, dudes who may well fancy their own mothers, drug dealers, locker room snitches, and erm...wrestlers who were accidentally named after penises.
No, not Val Venis. This is someone else, and you've probably forgotten that he even existed...
20. Tom Brandi
Care for a shot of Brandi?
Tom was a mid-90s gimmick named 'Salvatore Sincere' when the WWF decided to ditch that name, go real and make him...even less exciting. Marc Mero was the one who outed Brandi as a "jobber" (he actually used that word on TV - Attitude Era, folks) and started Tom's road to unemployment.
Brandi's biggest claim to fame is being the dude that Mick Foley and Terry Funk slapped around for a minute or so pre-elimination in the 1998 Royal Rumble. After that, he dwindled even further down the cards before leaving the promotion completely in April.
Here's the thing: Tom was clearly a solid, nuts n' bolts style of worker and had a decent look, but he was never going to be taken seriously on a roster as packed as the WWF's. Once they ditched the 'Sincere' character, company creative clearly had nothing else of note for Brandi.