At the beginning of 1999, Wright was kept off WCW television for an extended length of time until May, when Wright came up with his own idea for a gimmick: Promotional spots began appearing on WCW television featuring Wright as a surprising new Rivethead-style character named Berlyn (an intentional misspelling of the city Berlin, the capital of Wright's home country Germany), with a black Mohawk and goatee replacing his blond hair. He was clad entirely in black with a long trench coat and arrogantly refused to speak English. He spoke through an interpreter—Uta Ludendorff—and was accompanied to the ring by a large wrestler known as The Wall. The promos coincided with the aftermath of the Columbine school massacre, which threw a hitch in WCW's plans. Sensing the unintentional similarities in dress between Berlyn and the teenage killers, WCW delayed the debut of Berlyn for several months. During his debut on August 30 on "Nitro", he quickly insulted Americans, debuting the character as a heel.