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The 2000s saw the rise of several new talents in WWE, such as John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar. While these four later became huge stars, others failed to make a similar impact.
Over the past few years, some of these less successful in-ring competitors have retired from wrestling to pursue other options. As a few of these wrestlers have kept a low profile since leaving the company, many fans are probably wondering what they are up to now.
Here are five forgotten stars of the 2000s and where they are today.
#5. Nidia Guenard
After winning the first season of Tough Enough alongside Maven in 2001, Nidia Guenard signed a contract with Vince McMahon's company. She spent about a year in WWE's then-developmental brand, OVW, before making her main roster debut in June 2002.
For most of her time in WWE, Nidia played the role of Jamie Noble's girlfriend. However, the on-screen couple later split and squared off in a Blindfold Match at No Way Out in 2004.
After Noble cheated to defeat Nidia, the former Tough Enough winner got drafted from SmackDown to Monday Night RAW. Nevertheless, her stint on the red brand was short, as the company released her from her contract in November of that same year.
After her departure, Nidia competed for nearly a year on the independent circuit before retiring from professional wrestling in 2005. The 43-year-old is a mother of two. She now works in the real estate business, as she described to Fightful in November 2020:
"I'm a mom. I stay at home. I do dabble in real estate. That's actually a hobby turned into a business type of deal. We built a house and I just fell in love with the process. It's so interesting. It's construction stuff. I was so enamored by it. I would walk around and look at newly built homes and ask questions. I even got offered jobs doing that because I liked it so much. Afterwards I kept looking and looking and we rehabbed some houses. That's our retirement plan, where we have houses and then we will rent them. That's my passion right now, and the children," said Nidia.
Nidia last appeared in WWE six years ago when she attended the 2016 Hall of Fame ceremony.
#4. Former WWE Tag Team Champion Rico
In March 2002, Rico made his main roster debut in Vince McMahon's company. He spent nearly two years as an active competitor, and he won the WWE Tag Team Championships alongside Charlie Haas and the World Tag Team Titles alongside Rikishi. However, the company released him from his contract in November 2004.
Rico then joined All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he competed for only a month before retiring.
After hanging up his boots, Rico worked as a police officer for a while. In a recent interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted, the former World Tag Team Champion disclosed that he now has a new job:
"I retired from the police department, like I told you. In July, an opportunity came up to work for an insuarance company. So, I'm their road supervisor, accident investigator, risk management, and loss prevention. And I said 'that's pretty good'. (...) I work a swing yard. I call it 'swing yard,' 4 p.m to at least 4 a.m if not further, depending on an accident or an insurance problem," he said. [2:21 - 3:25]
During the same interview, the 60-year-old admitted that he was enjoying this line of work.
#3. Marc Copani
Marc Copani's run in WWE was controversial to say the least. Copani (fka Muhammad Hassan) made his main roster debut in 2004, portraying a heel Middle-Eastern character. His gimmick, however, was met with a lot of criticism. Under pressure from UPN and the public, the company decided to drop the persona and take Copani off TV.
Copani returned to developmental in 2005. Later that same year, the company released him from his contract. The 40-year-old then decided to retire from wrestling. In an interview, he explained that the circumstances surrounding his WWE departure were heartbreaking.
"I was heartbroken. I put everything I had into the WWE, and had it all taken away from me. I just withdrew from wrestling all together," Copani told Syracuse.com.
After leaving WWE, Copani returned to college. He then worked as a world history teacher for a few years at Hannibal High School. The former WWE Superstar later moved to Fulton High School, where he became the assistant principal. He is currently the principal of Fulton Junior High School in Fulton, New York.
In 2018, Copani came out of retirement to compete at a few charity events. However, he revealed that he did not enjoy wrestling like he used to. For this reason, he decided never to wrestle again.
#2. Former WWE Hardcore Champion Chris Nowinski
Like Nidia Guenard, Chris Nowinski also participated in the first season of Tough Enough. Although the Harvard graduate did not win the competition, the company still decided to sign him.
Nowinski debuted on the main roster in mid-2002. During his time in Vince McMahon's company, the 43-year-old shared the ring with several legends, including Scott Steiner, The Dudley Boyz, and Booker T. He also won the Hardcore Title twice. However, he left WWE in 2003 due to suffering from post-concussion syndrome. Nearly a year later, he retired from professional wrestling.
After he left the business, Nowinski earned a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Boston University School of Medicine. He wrote the investigative book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis and authored more than 30 scientific publications.
The former superstar also held the position of co-director of the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy between 2008 and 2014.
In recent years, Nowinski co-founded the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank and the Concussion Legacy Foundation (FKA Sports Legacy Institute), where he is now the CEO.
#1. Gene Snitsky
About a year after signing a developmental contract with WWE in 2003, Gene Snitsky made his main roster debut. Although he spent nearly eight years as a regular competitor in Vince McMahon's company, the 52-year-old failed to win any titles. In December 2008, the company released him from his contract upon his request.
Following his departure, Snitsky competed for nearly a decade on the independent circuit. He also had a very short stint in IMPACT Wrestling. In 2019, the former WWE Superstar retired from wrestling altogether.
The 52-year-old currently runs his own store, Priority One Surplus, in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. He sells outdoor and sporting goods as well as military equipment.
Over the past few years, Snitsky has also pursued an acting career. He is currently working on several movies.
