5 WWE Superstars born in the wrong era who never got a chance to shine

#3 The Patriot

Too patriotic for the Attitude Era?

The Patriot is another one of those WWE wrestlers who initially looked to be destined for great things. He was a literal personification of Americana, something that normally works wonders when trying to get yourself over with the US audience. He also shared the ring with guys like Bret Hart and The British Bulldog and even briefly teamed with Shawn Michaels.

The problem was, 1997 wasn't exactly the right time to be singing praises of the United States. The wrestling business as a whole was quickly moving away from the Hogan era format where heroes were heroes and villains were villains.

In the 80s, coming out wearing the American flag on your person was a guaranteed crowd pleaser. To get over in 1997, the idea was to rebel against authority and everything the older generation wanted you to be.

The Patriot was given his opportunity after Bret and the rest of the Hart Foundation turned into an Anti-American faction. While the gimmick did help them attract heel heat, it just wasn't the same as when the Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff used to do it in the 80s. People booed Bret mostly because of his rivalry with Steve Austin, the fastest growing babyface in the company at the time.

Hart did have quite a lot to say about the US, but the crowd would only really respond when he talked about how the likes of Michaels and Austin were portraying the country as a place for common degenerates - which, ironically, is what people liked about them.

If The Patriot had people like Volkoff to work against, perhaps his fortunes would have been greater. Even in the post-Attitude Era scene, he could have taken on people like Rusev and Lana or Jinder Mahal.

It is unfortunate that such a convenient gimmick failed to get the man over, but that just goes to show what a different time the Attitude Era was for the WWF.