The Patriot: Could he have lasted in the WWF?

[agent817]

I know a lot of people say that he was brought in to feud with Bret Hart in 1997 and wasn't there that long because of an injury. However, I wonder this: If he didn't get hurt, do you think he could have lasted or do you think his release would have happened when the Attitude Era was starting to boom? I wouldn't be surprised if he would have become a total jobber since his gimmick would not fit in with Attitude.

I'll be honest, I have stated many times before that I wasn't really into wrestling in 1997 and how I discovered this guy was seeing his action figure advertised on the back of a WWF action figure box back in 1998 and wondered who he was. I also watched "Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows" not that long after that and sort of got the gist of the character. He seemed like he was ONLY there because Bret had that whole anti-America thing going at the time and brought in this guy as a foil to this angle. He looked like he would fit in more with either the Rock N Wrestling Era or even the New Generation Era, or at least the days of 1993-1995. Technically, 1997 was still in the NG Era, but Attitude was slowly starting to blossom.

I know that Kurt Angle had the whole American thing going on when he was around, but at first, his character was that of a goofy dork and he was a comedy heel for the most part after he debuted. He did get taken seriously later on as a heel and face when his character became more serious.

Though with The Patriot, I wouldn't be surprised if he would have been released after a while or even just be delegated to jobber status. What do you think?

[thelonewolf527]

I remember that action figure being the only reason I knew of him too. I had the Shawn Michaels one and wanted the Kane unmasked one so bad but it was almost impossible to find (thank you Ebay and whoever got me it for Christmas). Too bad it looked more like Steve Blackman with a random face tattoo.

What were we talking about again?

[agent817]

We were talking about The Patriot, this wrestler who feuded with Bret Hart for a little bit back in 1997. He was a masked guy and was this all-American and patriotic character. Funny thing, his theme music was Kurt Angle's theme music.

[cabbageboy]

I don't see why not. He probably would have been fine going into 1998 and would have actually been a nice antidote to all the Russo silliness of the Attitude Era. Of course given his sincere all American gimmick they probably would have turned him heel.

[Deleted]

Was WWE Patriot the original from Global(possibly Del Wilkes)? Or was WWE Patriot Tom Brandi(possibly Salvatore Sincere)?

[agent817]

Dec 23, 2011 14:20:19 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Was WWE Patriot the original from Global(possibly Del Wilkes)? Or was WWE Patriot Tom Brandi(possibly Salvatore Sincere)?

Del Wilkes.

[giffyjames]

Dec 23, 2011 14:20:19 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Was WWE Patriot the original from Global(possibly Del Wilkes)? Or was WWE Patriot Tom Brandi(possibly Salvatore Sincere)?

del wilkes. its painfully obvious now since tom brandi is nowhere near the size of the patriot.



if only the patriot came to wwe 2 years earlier. world title material for sure

[Krimzon]

I was a HUGE fan of the Patriot! I loved that he called his finisher "Uncle Slam" and I loved that his theme music was basically a Christmas Remix of Kurt Angle's, though Angle's would come around later.

[giffyjames]

Dec 23, 2011 10:54:47 GMT -5 agent817 said:

We were talking about The Patriot, this wrestler who feuded with Bret Hart for a little bit back in 1997. He was a masked guy and was this all-American and patriotic character. Funny thing, his theme music was Kurt Angle's theme music.

music was a tad different, but you're right.


also, i dont think they could ever turn him heel, he'd be like goldberg and the people would refuse to boo him.

[jadison]

I immediately think "lol no" but Hacksaw Jim Duggan did have a pretty good career. So maybe, but I wouldn't have wanted him to last. Even when I was 11 I thought he was lame.

[Handsome Halfbreed]

He did seem out of place. I remember on an old 1997 episode of RAW, Steve Austin was going to pick a mystery partner for a tag team title match. His options were Ken Shamrock, Shawn Micheals, Sid and... The Patriot! Of course it ended up being Dude Love which was cool... but I remember thinking if it ends up being the Patriot then I guess I'm watching Nitro the rest of the night....
I think the Patriot was always ment to be nothing but job fodder for Bret Hart.

[Andrew is Good]

I was a mega fan in 97, and I don't remember the Patriot being that much of a jobber, he was pretty over in the States, and was put over pretty well on tv. He was fighting for the WWF Title at the time.

I do remember a few neats things about him. His music eventually became Kurt Angle's, and he was the first guy I saw use the Full Nelson Slam as a finish, and he called it the "Uncle Slam".

And it was already mentioned above me, haha. Anyway, besides, they had a neat mix of guys in that company, Austin, Mankind/Dude Love, Shamrock, so why not have the Patriot in there as well, especially since he was pretty good in the ring.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

The Patriot could have lasted a few more years then he did.

[Hit Girl]

Definitely.

A pro-USA persona vs the Hart Foundation


The Patriot gimmick could work today, in the PG era, and sell loads of masks.

[papagiorgio]

He could have worked well before the Attitude era or after 9/11. He could have worked ok in the Attitude era had he stuck around, but I would guess he would have became almost a parody of himself.

[joebob27]

He'd basically be Kurt Angle or Owen Hart as the Blazer without an ounce of charisma, so... not really.

Once that didn't work out he'd probably become a sexual deviant.

[Bang Bang Bart]

Would a deliberate parody of the super-patriotic hero in the Attitude era worked for Patriot? (Think the early days of Kurt Angle, where he was an All-American snob who thought little of others.)

[jason1980s]

I liked Patriot though with the Attitude Era coming I think he would'nt have done well. In the 80s maybe though probably seen as much lower than All American Hogan or a Slaughter wannabe like Kirchner. He was good with Bret while it lasted but once Bret was gone he loses a major angle. He was in WCW but no one to feud against for the gimmick. Duggan was much better on the mic. with just a "hooooo" and had much more presence.

Patriot is a gimmick that can be interchanged as evident by Tom Brandi. Whether he got the gimmick from Wilkes or stole it I don't know but he's got the body type and once Wilkes was gone WWF could use Brandi as a replacement. Brandi was nothing as Sincere so fans wouldn't miss him and even though he had a turn as himself as a face it lasted very shortly. The USA match was so different without him and yet everyone comes out to his music and Sgt. Slaughter had it too on the DX In Your House. I love seeing the Team Canada entrance but Team USA lost a major team member in Patriot though they still would've lost and been booed but for that fued it would be like losing a Jerry Lawler (SS 93) just without a great replacement.

Some companies were so far behind with their toys like Jakks with Patriot being released around mid 1998 and they had Pillman too I'm sure fans had forgotten about Patriot by then. He probably would've been seen as Lex is now or Kirchner was in the 80s, and with Austin the hero Patriot would probably be in matches with low card guys.

I remember seeing him for the first time, having gotten back into wrestling around Summer 1997 and I think it was his second match and announcers were making him out to be a big thing so they probably had plans. I remember him having a match with the Sultan and thinking why does WWF keep giving Fatu gimmicks (they finally did good with Rikishi) because Patriot beat him and he (Sultan) basically seemed like a jobber with a gimmick in the match. He sure wasn't a great choice to face Rocky for an IC title match but by Summer he was nothing. I don't think they did a segment with Iron Sheik but it would have been a good intro to a match with Sultan given Sheik's past feuds.

The coming of the Attitude changed for a lot of guys and so many guys who had nothing for so long finally had a place but with Patriot I think fans would've treated him like the Gobbledy Gooker as he was supposed to be a hero but the hero was cursing, drinking, boss beating Austin. Patriot who had such a great place against Bret wouldn't have a place when so many did. Maybe if Tom Brandi had taken over the gimmick, say around November 1997 and Mero had unmasked him as Sincere, Brandi could become more of a heel and maybe a darker take on the Patriot. The timing may be just right as Goldust and Mero turned heel and they sure were heel in Canada no matter the character changes. Patriot would need a major change. Too bad Brandi wasn't thinking of that at the time.

[Beets by Schrute]

Dec 23, 2011 10:54:47 GMT -5 agent817 said:

We were talking about The Patriot, this wrestler who feuded with Bret Hart for a little bit back in 1997. He was a masked guy and was this all-American and patriotic character. Funny thing, his theme music was Kurt Angle's theme music.

What?!
*goes on YouTube*
Da hale?!

[percymania]

I was a big Patriot mark back in the day. Stars & Stripes were my favorite tag team back during their run in WCW. I wished Patriot had a bigger impact in WWE than he did.