In the period following WWE’s acquisition of WCW, a re-alignment took place for the company. The Attitude Era had ended, and now with an influx of new talent the company struggled as to what to do next.

Following the ill received Invasion angle, which fell flat because fans by and large knew that McMahon owned all three brands involved (ECW, WCW, and of course WWE) they began to look for a new direction.

Many of the new wrestlers on the roster were hungry for success. The attitude flowed through the entire company and soon everyone was more aggressive figuratively and literally. The WWE dubbed this new era the “Ruthless Aggression Era.”

The RAE produced many major stars, some of whom are still on the WWE roster. John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and CM Punk are just a few of the names who went on to become world champions.

However, there are many Ruthless Aggression era stars who fans have by and large forgotten. This is partially due to the passage of time, but also due to the fact that many of the wrestlers did not resonate with fans, or performed poorly.

Here are ten Ruthless Aggression Era stars who almost no one remembers.

#1 Kenzo Suzuki

A decade before WWE started bringing in an influx of Japanese talent like Hideo Itami and Shinsuke Nakamura, there was Kenzo Suzuki.

Originally he was going to play a WWII esque villain named Hirohito. However, Suzuki’s wife–who spoke much better English than her husband–informed them that such a gimmick would be offensive to the Japanese people.

Instead he was brought out under his own name, and given a stereotypical garb and gimmick. Suzuki was far from a great technical wrestler, and was simply a bit dull given all of the competition for television time.

#2 Zach Gowen

Ever hear the cliche about a one legged man in an ass kicking contest? Well, that cliche come to life is Zach Gowen.

After cancer took his leg, Gowen decided to become a pro wrestler anyway. While man applauded the young man’s bravery and determination, the fact was his missing limb severely limited his in ring work. WWE refused to allow any of their ‘intact’ wrestlers lose to him, and after an unimpressive run he was let go.

#3 The Mexicools

Sometimes you have to shake your head and wonder ‘what were they thinking?’

The Mexicools may not be the most offensive gimmick in wrestling history, but it comes close. Psicosis, Super Crazy, and Juventud Guerrera were major stars in Mexico and the United States from their appearances on ECW and WCW Nitro.

However, instead of pushing them as lucha stars WWE inexplicably played into disgusting racial stereotypes and made them the yard-work enthusiasts Mexicools. They even rode lawn mowers out to the ring, as if to hammer home the typecasting nail that much harder.

#4 Gene Snitsky

Despite limited mobility, poor technical skills, and non existent charisma WWE tried like mad to get Gene Snitsky over.

He was booked into a high profile feud with Kane and Lita almost out of the gate, which contained a very distasteful angle involving a miscarriage. Snitsky’s ‘it’s not my fault’ catchphrase didn’t do anything to get him over, either.

Finally, Vince McMahon decided that since Snitsky was unpleasant looking they would shave his body hair and display his misshapen form for all the world to see. Unfortunately, he still had no skills or charisma, and he eventually faded away.

#5 John Heidenreich

An ex NFL player, Heidenreich was hand picked by Vince McMahon to be a future world champion. Unfortunately, he never made the transition to wrestling very well.

Heidenreich came across as a bad actor reading scripted lines off a cue card rather than the relentless engine of destruction they intended. As fans continued to be uninterested in him, WWE tried an offensive male rape angle with Michael Cole, making him a Road Warrior along with Animal, and finally turning him into a joke character who asked everyone to be his friend.

None of it worked, and most people don’t even recall his run today, and if they do it’s not for good reasons.

#6 Rodney Mack

Most people only recall Mack as ’that guy who had a necklace tattooed on his skin.’ Sadly enough, he never really accomplished much in the sport despite being trained by Junk Yard Dog and having legit MMA skills.

Rodney Mack was given several pushes, but while his in ring work was solid enough he just failed to resonate with fans.

#7 Simon Dean

Simon Dean the fitness trainer seems like he belonged more in the New Generation era, with the other occupation gimmick wrestlers (TL Hopper the wrestling plumber, The Repo Man, etc.)

Dean wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest wrestler, and his gimmick shrouded what little charisma he had behind lame scripted lines and a purple track suit.

#8 Mark Jindrak

Trained by Paul Orndorff and pushed onto WCW television quickly, Jindrak had incredible athleticism but struggled to gain any momentum. When WWE bought out WCW, they were intent upon pushing him as a major star. In fact, he was originally the fourth member of Evolution before being replaced by Randy Orton.

Jindrak’s personality issues and drug problems were blamed for him being removed from Evolution before the stable even debuted.

#9 La Resistance

Evil foreigners invading America played out well during the Cold War, but by the early 2000s by and large most members of the WWE Universe had moved beyond such cheap heat machines.

World politics were more complicated, so WWE decided to create a villainous tag team from one place where citizens are rarely offended; Canada.

Fans couldn’t overlook the fact that Rob Conway was actually an American, and the fact that the team pulled its name from a seven year old animated film that many of the youngsters in the WWE audience couldn’t have watched in the first place.

The team was dissolved, and the singles push for Conway went dead on arrival.

#10 The Basham Brothers

Pushing two unrelated wrestlers as brothers is nothing new. Ole and Arn Anderson were, in fact, not related to each other at all, for example. The Dudley Boys gimmick essentially pokes fun at this phenomenon.

However, while you can take two men of the same race and generally push them as somehow related, taking two men who look quite different from each other and claiming they are identical twins is a bit much. Fans resisted this early attempt at ’twin magic’, and despite having a great deal of in ring talent the Bashams were shuffled off television and the WWE altogether.

There you have it; Ten Ruthless Aggression stars almost no one remembers. If you have comments please leave them after the article, and thanks for reading!

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