Grading the Ohio Valley Wrestling Class of 2002
In the 2000s, Ohio Valley Wrestling served the purpose that WWE NXT fulfils today. Wrestlers were sent to OVW to be trained for television in 'the WWE style'. OVW was led by head booker Jim Cornette, owner 'Nightmare' Danny Davis and head trainer Al Snow. They were helped and overseen by the Head of Talent Relations in the WWE, Jim Ross, who brought these recruits to the promotion.
All the debuts that happened in 2002 would ultimately change the very face of wrestling as we know it today. Who exactly were the members of this illustrious class?
Before we begin, there were many people part of this group, however they made their debuts in 2003 and 2004, so we will just give them an honorable mention here.
Rene Dupree: Debut- April 28, 2003
Eugene (Nick Dinsmore): Debut- April 5, 2004
The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny): Debut- May 29, 2003
Matt Morgan: Debut- October 30, 2003
#6 Rico Constantino
Debut: March 21, 2002
Easily the least succesful member of this class, Rico was 40 when he debuted on SmackDown as the stylist of Billy and Chuck. He had a very colorful gimmick, being portrayed as a homosexual stylist to the heel tag team.
He won the Tag Team Championship with Rikishi, which would be the only title in his very short career with the WWE. He retired in 2005, having had just a three year stay on the roster. In OVW, Rico was a big player, winning the Tag Team Championships with a wrestler called The Prototype (someone we will cover later on this list).
He could be considered a successful manager, as he managed to work an over-the-top gimmick with the crowd and provided very entertaining television during his brief stay on the roster. He is 56 now, and has not wrestled since 2012.
Grade: C