EC3 just left WWE for the second time in his career, still having won no major accolades within the company. Many will have forgotten his first run, which was mainly in the gameshow era of NXT, with only a slight overlap with the Black & Gold brand we know today. Among those who forgot about that run, is the owner of WWE himself, Vince McMahon.
Asking Who Derrick Bateman Was
During that first run in WWE, he would go under the ringname of Derrick Bateman, and would look roughly the same. He was in a bit less than perfect shape, and had a very poofy haircut, something we would never see on EC3 at this point. A very servicable worker, he was the rookie of Daniel Bryan, which mainly is remembered for one promo. This would see how close the rookies and coaches are, and spawned the meme of Derrick Bateman becoming the next Steve Blackman.
Outside of that highlight, his first run in WWE was not too impressive. Due to this, once he would rise to prominence within TNA Wrestling, Vince McMahon would suddenly be interested. Here was this jacked heavyweight with good looks and better charisma.
As told by EC3 during an interview with WrestleTalk, he’d recall a story he heard about this time.
“There was a meeting and they were watching Impact and I came out and I dont even remember who told me, but somebody in creative, and Vince was like ‘Who is this guy? We should get him.’. They’re like, “Derrick Bateman.” He’s like, “who?”
EC3 Should Have Been A Star The Second Time
With a clear interest in EC3 from the owner of the company, it’s baffling that his second run in WWE was arguably less notable than the first. He came into NXT with serious hype, got off to the right step with the tremendous North American Championship ladder match, had a fun feud with Velveteen Dream. Then he left NXT for Monday Night RAW.
Here was a guy who could go out and fill the same role as The Miz, able to cut 10 minutes promos just as good as he could wrestle a 10 minute match. They then decided he shouldn’t be given microphone time, face Dean Ambrose on his way out of the company as the intended babyface, and scrapped plans for Drake Maverick as his manager.
Things should have went better the second time, but clearly Vince just wanted another toy that he had no intentions to use. EC3 is back in Impact Wrestling, and looking better than ever, so that should make up for the lost time.
Are you shocked EC3 never worked out in WWE? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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