In WCW, The Wall was this basic but odd presence who managed to become involved in actual storylines faster than the guy he was a bodyguard for—Alex Wright.
The Wall came out of the Monster Factory and was mentored by fellow Monster Factor graduate Bam Bam Bigelow. He began his career in 1994 as Hellraiser.
What I didn’t know was that he actually trained at the WCW Power Plant years before his debut in 1999.
The Wall’s Career
I can best describe him as a big man who was a decent enough brawler. He had a really good chokeslam but also had personal problems that caught up with him in 2003.
As mentioned above, he came in as a bodyguard for Berlyn—or Alex Wright. The Berlyn gimmick was run in the wake of the Columbine Shooting so that’s gimmick death.
The Wall managed to weather this as a singles competitor with feuds against the KISS Demon, Vampiro, David Flair, and Crowbar.
Personally, I enjoyed these feuds. They were basically the hardcore portion of WCW’s flagship shows. You guys know I love brawls and mayhem.
And I don’t mean the bad WCW game by EA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beIKeOHtVNg
I guess I shouldn’t mention Misfits In Action where he was Sgt. AWOL. He was there and active in the faction’s feuds but Chavo, Hugh Morrus, and Lash LeRoux were the stars in that faction.
The Wall wouldn’t appear on the national stage again until he joined TNA as Malice. There, he was the main heavy of James Mitchell’s Disciples of the New Church.
Of any run he’s had in his career, his few months in TNA were probably his best. Unfortunately, it would come at the end of his life.
Salvaging The Wall
Now, The Wall is one of the easier salvage jobs. Big men tend to be easier to salvage because depending on the period, the expectations are lower.
For instance, I’ll never have to do a Wrestling Salvage Yard on Sid Vicious. While he was far from the best in-ring, the guy had an incredible look, charisma, and intensity to him.
The Wall had the size and a chokeslam. That’s actually all he needed as a base to work with. Hell, his singles run post-Berlyn and pre-Misfits In Action wasn’t bad.
Honestly, that’s all his WCW run should’ve been: a top talent in the hardcore division. Tag team action was a possibility for everyone in the Salvage Yard.
The best usage for Jerry Tuite had to be his few months in early TNA as Malice. He was viewed as a short-term main event threat and actually did well in the role.
All he needed to do was brawl, look menacing, and pop his chokeslam through a table. He had a gimmick that he couldn’t mess up.
Salvaging him successfully involves a mouthpiece who could sell The Wall. He had that in James Mitchell. A shorter WCW run and a run in late-ECW would’ve benefited him as well.
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