The Patriot ( wrestler ) Del Wilkes ( born December 21 , 1961 ) is an American retired professional wrestler , better known by his ring name , The Patriot . Over the course of his nine year career , Wilkes wrestled for the American Wrestling Association , the Global Wrestling Federation , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and the World Wrestling Federation . Professional wrestling career . American Wrestling Association ( 1988 – 1991 ) . Del Wilkes started out in the American Wrestling Association in 1988 under his real name for a year , before wrestling under the ring name “ the Trooper . ” He wrote his opponents tickets after beating them as part of his police gimmick . The Trooper won the AWA World Tag Team Championship with D . J . Peterson on August 11 , 1990 at the final AWA television taping . They were the AWA ' s final World Tag Team Champions before it folded that year . Alongside Paul Diamond , Wilkes also headlined the AWA ' s near - annual supercard / former PPV , Superclash 4 . In a cage match , they were victorious over the Destruction Crew , Wayne Bloom and Mike Enos . Global Wrestling Federation ( 1991 – 1992 ) . Wilkes went onto Global Wrestling Federation as a fan favorite and became " the Patriot , " where he was crowned the first GWF Television Championship in a tournament in 1991 . Soon afterwards , the Patriot feuded with Al Perez over the GWF North American Heavyweight Championship , which he won initially on Aug . 10 , but the victory was disputed . He won the title again in a rematch against Perez two weeks later . He held the title for five months before losing it to his nemesis , the Dark Patriot , Doug Gilbert . All Japan Pro Wrestling ( 1992 – 1994 ) . In 1992 , during his stint in the GWF , Wilkes went to wrestle in All Japan Pro Wrestling . He had success with Jackie Fulton who wrestled as " The Eagle " to match Wilkes ' Patriot gimmick . On June 2 , 1993 , The Patriot and the Eagle defeated Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship . The Patriot would hold onto the titles for three months , eventually losing them on September 9 , 1993 to Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat . In late 1993 , The Patriot and The Eagle entered the 1993 World ' s Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 7th place with 4 Points . World Championship Wrestling ( 1994 – 1995 ) . In 1994 , Wilkes signed with World Championship Wrestling to form a team with Marcus Alexander Bagwell called Stars ' n ' Stripes . They feuded with Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma over the WCW World Tag Team Championship . The two teams battled for the titles and exchanged victories in non - title matches for several months . One week after losing the titles at Fall Brawl 1994 , Stars and Stripes defeated Pretty Wonderful on September 25 , 1994 on WCW Saturday Night . Stars and Stripes held the titles for a month but lost them back to Pretty Wonderful at Halloween Havoc 1994 . On November 16 , 1994 , at Clash of the Champions XXIX , Stars and Stripes regained the titles for the second time in a match where Patriot ' s mask was on the line . Three weeks later , on December 8 , Stars and Stripes lost the titles to Harlem Heat ( the match would air on January 14 , 1995 edition of WCW Saturday Night ) . Wilkes continued wrestling for WCW for several more months until leaving in May 1995 . Return to AJPW ( 1995 – 1997 ) . After no - showing the Slamboree pay - per - view in May 1995 , he returned to AJPW . He quickly formed a tag team with Johnny Ace . On August 30 , 1995 , Wilkes and Ace challenged The Holy Demon Army for the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship but lost . The two then entered the 1995 World ' s Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 4th place with 13 points . On January 2 , 1996 , Wilkes won All Japan ' s yearly January 2 Heavyweight Battle Royal to give him his second All Japan achievement . For the battle royal victory , Wilkes ended his team with Ace and went into the midcard with little direction . In the spring of 1996 , Wilkes entered the 1996 Champion Carnival where he finished in 9th place with 6 points . In the summer of 1996 , Wilkes formed a tag team with Kenta Kobashi , on October 12 , 1996 , they challenged Steve Williams and Johnny Ace for the AJPW World Tag Team Championship but they came up short . In November 1996 , Wilkes and Kobashi entered the 1996 World ' s Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 3rd place with 16 points , Wilkes even scored a pinfall victory over Toshiaki Kawada . In early 1997 , Wilkes and Kobashi reunited with Johnny Ace and the three formed the stable : GET ( Global , Energetic , Tough ) . Wilkes involvement with the group only lasted a few months as he left All Japan in July 1997 . World Wrestling Federation ( 1997 ) . Wilkes made his TV debut on the July 14 , 1997 episode of " Raw " and feuded with Bret Hart . The premise of this feud was that Hart had just started his anti - American Hart Foundation , and the Patriot was , as the name implied , a man who stood up for America . He wore a mask with American stars and stripes and carried the American flag . He defeated Hart on television in a match on July 28 , 1997 after interference from Shawn Michaels . Wilkes went on to challenge Hart for the WWF title at where Hart forced him to submit with the Sharpshooter . At , Wilkes teamed with Vader against the Hart Foundation ' s Bret Hart and The British Bulldog , but lost the match . Following Badd Blood , Patriot was scheduled to team with Vader , Goldust , and Marc Mero as part of Team USA at Survivor Series 1997 but suffered a torn triceps weeks earlier , he was replaced by Steve Blackman . He was released in early 1998 . During his tenure in the WWF , Wilkes used the song " Medal " , which would be later popularized by Kurt Angle . The Patriot gimmick . Supposedly , the Patriot gimmick was sold by Wilkes to Tom Brandi , who claims to have paid Wilkes . Brandi maintains he owns the rights to use the trademark gimmick , which he continues to do so wrestling at independent shows in the Northeast wearing a similar mask and attire . Wilkes denies ever selling the gimmick . In a 2008 interview , Wilkes stated that Brandi is simply using the gimmick and trademark without his permission . Wilkes says he has not communicated with Brandi nor has seen him since 1994 . Personal life . After leaving the WWF , Wilkes retired due to a broken collarbone . Since leaving the business , Wilkes admitted that he had used steroids and cocaine during his career , starting with his college football days . He spent nine months in prison in 2002 for forging a prescription due to his addiction to painkillers . As of July 2007 , Wilkes has since quit drugs and is a car salesman in Columbia , South Carolina . In a July 25 , 2007 interview with WACH reporter Justin Kier , Wilkes discussed his career , steroid use , the Chris Benoit tragedy , and various other topics . Kier ' s last two questions involved saying goodbye to the fans and giving advice to youngsters in the wrestling business . Wilkes urged young wrestlers to " learn from our mistakes . " He said that 50 people who he once worked with in the wrestling business are now dead .