Steve Bradley was the standout on the New England independent scene when he was signed to a WWE developmental contract in 1998. Seemingly as soon as he showed up in Memphis, he was also being touted as the best all-around performer in the developmental system.

In Memphis, he became the regular opponent of Kurt Angle, who was being trained from scratch. Bradley was so instrumental in Angle’s development as a pro wrestler that even ten years later, Angle told ESPN that “Dory Funk and Tom Prichard started teaching me, but I'd have to say that Steve Bradley, an independent wrestler from the northeast, he was the guy who was with me every time, no matter where I went because WWE sent him there to help me. He was always teaching me. He was a phenomenal wrestler who really taught me a lot.” Angle was sent to the main roster in November 1999. In the meantime, Bradley was sent to IWA Puerto Rico so he could get experience in a more major league promotion with bigger crowds.

He got lost in the shuffle. Puerto Rico is not for everyone, and former WWE announcer and office worker Kevin Kelly noted that when Bradley called the office to ask when he could come home, it was clear that he had been “forgotten about” after being on the island for too long. He ended up back in Memphis, with Victoria as his valet. When WWE bought WCW and sent much of the younger WCW talent to the developmental system, they were high enough on Bradley that he was one of the few wrestlers in Memphis that were kept on and sent to the HWA in Cincinnati. Even with Angle being around as a top star who could theoretically be his rabbi to the office, he never got a shot and was released in 2002, around the time that WWE cut ties with the HWA.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer noted (subscribers-only) that while there are plenty of reasons commonly given for why Bradley was fired (knee injury, an increasingly worse drug problem, an average physique by WWE standards of the time, and his resemblance to the recently signed Rob Van Dam), the impression he was given that none of those were the case. More likely, asthma limiting his stamina and the idea that there was no room for a “Bull Durham” type in WWE were more responsible.

On the surface, Bradley was seemingly doing well after his release. When he was fired, he told HWA promoter Les Thatcher “Don’t be sorry Les, I’m free at last.” He started his own wrestling school and independent promotion back home in New England, where he was in demand as a trainer and local wrestlers wanted to be on his shows, all because of the insight that his time in WWE’s developmental system gave him.

In reality, his drug addiction worsened. He couldn’t manage the finances of his business and turned down opportunities for well-paying tours of Japan. Eventually the school closed and he fell off of the radar of the pro wrestling business. On December 4, 2008, he was found dead in the parking lot across the street from the former location of his wrestling school. Due to the circumstances, the belief at the time was that he had intentionally overdosed.