Derrick Bateman on "The USA Guy" Character He Almost Debuted

Michael Hutter, who wrestled for WWE under the name "Derrick Bateman," recently spoke about a character he nearly debuted for WWE TV called "The USA Guy." It seems like a fitting story in honor of the 4th of July holiday in America.

Michael Hutter aka "Derrick Bateman"

Bateman, who previously appeared on WWE shows including NXT and SmackDown briefly, spoke to PWTorch in an exclusive interview about his release and the character plans. He told Pat McNeill of PW Torch:

"I was approved to do things like put the videos on the Internet. There were a couple times where it seemed like it was about to debut, kind of out-of-the-blue on Raw. But, that never happened."

Bateman added as to why the character never went forth:

"I then blew out of my knee in a match with Antonio Cesaro on a Saturday Morning Slam. From there, that pretty much ruined my life because we never saw 'The USA Guy' after that. You know, I got hurt and things happen when you get hurt. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't get hurt."

Bateman also added that he had help from John Cena in terms of coming up with the idea, and also with pushing the character forward. Bateman said the character nearly had a magical debut on WWE Raw, but unfortunately his injury got in the way.  Despite the tough circumstances and his WWE release, he has found humor in it all. Bateman, who is now wrestling for an independent organization said:

"Even coming back, there was still a way to work it in, but, alas, it didn't work out for me. Not a big deal; I'll just trademark the name and make a billion dollars off it in Japan."

Could Bateman's "USA Guy" have been one of the coolest patriotic characters since, "The Patriot" and "Mr. America"?



Happy 4th of July to all fans celebrating the patriotic holiday!

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)