10 Wrestlers You Completely Forgot Competed In WWE During The Attitude Era

More than even the Hulk Hogan years, WWE’s biggest, most lucrative period was the Attitude Era, known for its in-your-face, edgy TV product. But also crucial to WWE’s success in that time were the company’s roster, which included top stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, Sable, and Mankind along with popular tag teams like Too Cool and The New Age Outlaws.

But not everyone in any era of wrestling can be memorable, and even in the Attitude Era there were some wrestlers who showed up in WWE whose presence has gone completely forgotten. All of the below performers are recognizable stars, and many have even gone on to work for WWE, but their contribution to Attitude Era programming is quite surprising.

10 Super Crazy

Known for having awesome matches in ECW with Yoshihiro Tajiri and becoming a part of WWE from 2005 to 2008 as part of the Mexicools, Super Crazy also showed up in WWE during the Attitude Era in a couple of gimmicks as part of the company’s working relationship with Mexico’s AAA. First, Crazy worked under a mask as Histeria, wrestling some extremely WCW six-man tag matches as well as bouts with Pantera and Brian Christopher. As “Super Loco,” he worked without a mask and even took on Mr. Aguila (a.k.a. Essa Rios) in the tournament to crown the first Light Heavyweight Champion.

9 Devon Storm (a.k.a. Crowbar)

Crowbar is remembered by WCW fans for his run in the last couple of years of the company as part of a group with David Flair and Daffney, but as Devon Storm he was a respected indie wrestler who performed for ECW in 1996. In WWE, Storm wrestled occasionally from 1997 to 1999, sometimes tagging alongside Ace Darling, his indie tag team partner as The Extreme. Like Super Crazy above, Storm also took part in the Light Heavyweight Title tournament, losing to Taka Michinoku in the quarter finals.

8 Tracy Smothers

A great performer in the Southern wrasslin’ style, Tracy Smothers was a solid tag team wrestler in WCW and a top star in Smokey Mountain Wrestling before he signed to WWE in 1996. There, he worked as jobber named Freddie Joe Floyd, racking up losses on Monday Night Raw and Shotgun Saturday Night in 1997.

In 1999, Smothers began wrestling under his real name again, but still as a jobber on minor shows like Shotgun and Jakked. After leaving WWE, Smothers developed a strong reputation on the indie scene, where he helped train talents like Brian Danielson and Chris Hero.

7 Yoshihiro Tajiri

Nicknamed “The Japanese Buzzsaw,” Tajiri joined the WWE roster as part of the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline and stuck around through Ruthless Aggression, becoming a three-time Cruiserweight Champion and a thorn in the side of William Regal. But in 1997, he had yet to wrestle for ECW when he showed up for some WWE matches during the Attitude Era. He even had some matches on Raw, losing to Taka Michinoku, Brian Christopher, and even The Godwinns in one bout.

6 Brooklyn Brawler

One of WWE’s most enduring jobbers, the Brooklyn Brawler’s big WWE run would be in the early to mid 1990s, where he’d not only wrestle as his main persona, but also fill various roles like Kim Chee and Doink the Clown. He’s more associated with previous eras, so it’s easily to forget that he also wrestled in the Attitude Era, appearing on Raw and SmackDown as well as the minor shows. Of course, Brawler barely won, but he did get to beat Just Joe on an episode of Jakked.

5 Pirata Morgan

Fans in North America might not know the name very well, but Pirata Morgan is a pirate themed luchadore — who was actually missing an eye, so the eyepatch was real — who over the course of his career proved to be a decorated champion in AAA, CMLL, and beyond. As part of AAA, he showed up for two matches on WWE television in 1998. While one was a singles match with Aguila on Shotgun Saturday Night, the other would be a tag match alongside Brian Christopher against Aguila and Taka Michinoku.

4 Christopher Daniels

“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels started his in-ring career in 1993, so he was a pretty well-seasoned veteran by the time he made his big splash in Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling. But he also had a brief developmental deal going with WWE in the late 1990s, wrestling on WWE television and has been rumored to have been a choice for The Undertaker’s mysterious “Higher Power” in that storyline.

Daniels would prove to be a legend, but his WWE run had him as a jobber on Shotgun Saturday Night, Sunday Night Heat, and Jakked, where he had matches with Jerry Lynn, Droz, and Kaientai.

3 The Rock 'n' Roll Express

The glam rock themed 1980s tag team The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton, are the least Attitude Era guys possible, so it’s understandable that fans may have forgotten that they showed up in WWE as part of the 1998 NWA Invasion angle. During this period, they defended the NWA World Tag Team Championship on WWE television, and dropped the belts to the Headbangers on an episode of Raw. They even had a WrestleMania 14 appearance as part of the tag team battle royal.

2 Abismo Negro

A top star in AAA in the 1990s with an iconic mask, the Judge Dredd inspired Abismo Negro was a major rudo in the promotion and specialized in using the incredibly illegal Piledriver maneuver. As part of AAA’s relationship with WWE, Abismo had matches on Raw and Shotgun Saturday Night, doing lucha libre six-man matches alongside the aforementioned Super Crazy. His success in Mexico would continue into the 21st century, but Abismo Negro would die under mysterious circumstnaces in 2009.

1 Samoa Joe

Given that he’s known for many other things including a 2015-2021 run with WWE, it may come as a shock to find out that Samoa Joe had a WWE match during the Attitude Era. Back when he wrestled for WWE developmental territory Ultimate Pro Wrestling in the early 2000s, Joe took on Essa Rios (a.k.a. the aforementioned Mr. Aguila) on a March 2001 episode of Jakked. Joe wouldn’t get signed in that decade, but would instead make a name for himself wrestling on the indies and rack up legendary bouts in Ring of Honor and Impact.