Braden Walker's "Knock Knock" promo (lost original pre-tapes of WWE backstage segment; 2008)

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The infamous Knock Knock backstage segment.

Status: Lost

Chris Harris is a professional wrestler who competed in WWE in 2008 for its ECW brand under the moniker Braden Walker. Walker's brief time in the organisation was universally panned by professional wrestling critics, including for an infamous backstage segment where he confronted Armando Estrada. The segment was conducted live and is widely publicly available. But interestingly, the segment was originally recorded multiple times prior to the show, with Harris being given multiple names before settling on the Walker moniker.

Background

Chris Harris is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) from 2002 to 2008, including teaming with James Storm to form America's Most Wanted. During his time with the company, he and Storm became six-time NWA World Tag Team Champions.[1] In January 2008, Harris was released from his contract,[2] and on the 29th that same month, had signed a contract with WWE.[3]

Harris debuted for WWE's ECW brand on 8th July, where he faced and beat Armando Estrada.[4] Prior to the match, a backstage segment was televised, where Estrada requested ECW General Manager Teddy Long give him another chance to earn an ECW contract. Long ultimately agreed to this by introducing Estrada to his opponent, announced as ECW's latest signing. Here the opponent introduced himself as Braden Walker and made a now infamous Knock Knock joke where the punchline was "Braden Walker and I'm gonna knock your brains out."[5] In a 2017 Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast interview, Estrada revealed that many pre-tapes for this segment were recorded, containing different dialogue for Harris and various names for him to utter out. However, a decision was made that instead of inserting one of the pre-tapes into the final broadcast, the segment would be performed live with Harris stating he was Braden Walker.[6]

Walker would wrestle one more match on 5th August, defeating James Curtis,[7] before being released from his contract two days later.[8] Walker's run was universally panned by professional wrestling critics for a multitude of reasons, including for an unremarkable moniker; generic music and ring gear; underwhelming matches and segments; and Harris gaining 20-25 pounds which allegedly put him on bad terms with WWE management for seemingly showing a lack of motivation.[9]

Availability

The live promo can be easily found online, including via YouTube and the WWE Network. However, the scrapped pre-tapes have never publicly surfaced. WWE typically keeps its media within its video library.[10] Therefore, there is a possibility that the pre-tapes of Braden Walker's introduction may still exist. However, because neither Harris nor Estrada have worked for WWE since 2008, combined with Walker's poor brief run with the organisation, it is unlikely WWE will publicly release them.

Videos

Braden Walker's entire WWE run.

Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast segment where Estrada discusses Braden Walker and the backstage segment pre-tapes.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Solie's Vintage Wrestling listing the NWA World Tag Team Championship's history, including America's Most Wanted's reigns. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  2. ↑ Last Word on Sports noting TNA released Harris from his contract in 2008. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  3. ↑ Archived Official Chris Harris website, where Harris announced he had signed with WWE. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  4. ↑ Cage Match noting Walker beat Estrada on 8th July, 2008 edition of ECW. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  5. ↑ WrestleCrap discussing the backstage segment. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  6. ↑ Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast interview with Estrada, where Estrada discussing the multiple pre-tapes the backstage segment received. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  7. ↑ Archived Online World of Wrestling page stating Walker defeated James Curtis. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  8. ↑ WWE announcing it had released Braden Walker. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  9. ↑ The Signature Spot discussing why Walker's run failed. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
  10. ↑ Wrestlezone article by Nick Paglino noting WWE's video library, giving the possibilities the pre-tapes may still exist. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
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