Please…Don’t Hate 5.4.08: Sean Waltman (The Wrestler)

Posted by Julian Bond on 05.04.2008

In this special “Reader’s Request” edition, we look at one of the significant members of both the NWO (New World Order) and DX (Degeneration X) whose outside reputation is more notorious than his in-ring abilities. We cover the man formally known as X-Pac, Sean Waltman.

Welcome everyone to Please…Don't Hate, the weekly column which takes a look at some of the most hated on and complained about wrestlers, companies, and topics within the wrestling world. This is the first edition of "Reader's Request" in which I take a reader's suggestion for a topic and cover it for the column. For this week, I picked out a wrestler suggested by reader [e-mail]. They write:

I've never understood why there was so much heat on Sean "X-Pac" Waltman I mean he was a talented wrestler, decent on the mic when he needed to be, and he sold the Underdog appeal better then even Rey Mysterio did with some of the beatings he took from much larger men. I've just never understood why there was so much heat always thrown toward X-pac.

So the topic of the week will be Sean Waltman…the wrestler. I say Waltman the wrestler and not Waltman the man because there's some hate aimed towards him for his notorious reputation outside of the ring. From his reported abusive relationship to Joanie Laurer (Chyna) to his frequent drug/alcohol abuse, the man has definitely done some dirt in his personal life. For this column I really want to separate the wrestler from the man. I definitely don't condone his behavior nor do I want to ignore it, but for the purposes of this column I wanted to set it aside and take a look at why people have hated on the man as a wrestler throughout the years, despite his achievements in the ring. But first….

Reader Reverb
This is the section where two reader comments, one being for the weekly topic and the other being against, are chosen and I give my two cents on them.

Last week's topic: "Stone Cold" Shark Boy

Dave (Guest) comments:

Stone Cold Shark boy is Funny. I don't think he should be in the world title scene, but an X Division reign would be okay. he is a good little guy wrestler and he does Stone Cold's moves effectively. I like him.

Oh and Hater who are against imitation. Here's a bit of trivia. Ric Flair: wearing the flashy robe, Using the Nickame "Nature Boy". Is a rip off of an older wrestler named Buddy Rodgers. If Flair could be so awesome imitating another wrestler and making his gimmick his own, why shouldn't Shark boy be successful. I'm not saying he's a legend in the making but I don't see a problem with him being over on the midcard.

Interesting comment you made about Ric Flair essentially borrowing the gimmick from Buddy Rodgers and making it a separate identity of his own. While this example may not seem comparable to the Stone Cold Shark Boy gimmick, they do share a major similarity. While Shark Boy is mainly seen as a direct parody of Stone Cold, he's doing little but major things to make it his own identity, as with Flair starting out with the same flashy robes as Rodgers, but making that much more elaborate and that much more his own persona. I will never ever say that Shark Boy will become greater than Stone Cold based off of this gimmick (!), but he is trying to be original with an already used idea. Also, I agree on the notion that the man shouldn't all of a sudden rise to main event status solely based off of this gimmick, but again it's MILES away from his constant jobber status that he seemed to be stuck in forever.

Moneymaker Matt (Guest) comments:

I don't hate Sharky for playing this character as much as I hate Russo for doing it. How can you take a guy seriously who was basically a jobber for years and all of a sudden he starts acting like Stone Cold and is now an ass-kicker. As much as Jay Lethal rips off the Macho Man character he was never a jobber like Sharky. Russo is so obsessed with ripping off things that worked in WWE years ago that he loses sight of what fans of today want. Having the VKM "declaring war" on a rival company? The Black Reign/Goldust charcter? What about letting wrestlers own personalities and ability dictate the direction of the company? TNA has plenty of guys with charisma and athletism to have to resort to junk like this.

The question I have about this comment is why blame the Shark Boy character on Vince Russo when it could of possibly came from Shark Boy himself. This harps on the same complaints that are aimed towards anything from TNA, because in my opinion it's easier to blame Russo for every single solitary thing wrong with TNA than looking at the individuals and organization as a whole. The man seems much more motivated than he would be if Russo had forced him to do so against his will. The thing about Russo (which I will cover extensively as an upcoming topic) is that he sometimes creates gimmicks, like others do as well, that are a homage to the ones of the past. The Stone Cold Shark Boy gig doesn't seem intended to take a crap on the originator, but instead is giving props to it by making it something different. I think that Sharky had taken a risk in wanting to stick to his original gimmick while also wanting to add on something that has been done. I think that the risk has been worth it.

Before the "X-Pac Sucks" chants begins....



Why People Hate On…Sean Waltman (The Wrestler)

-Memories of very tiring X-Pac character
-Performs the same moves for every match (Bronco Buster, X-Factor)
-Has a track record of average to below-average matches
-His real life out-of-ring antics (drug use, Chyna relationship, etc) have made him a notorious "jack-ass"

My Reasoning for Not Hating On… Sean Waltman (The Wrestler)

To start this conversation off, I will state the brief history of Waltman's travels throughout the major wrestling companies. When Sean Waltman first came on the scene in the WWE he made an immediate impact as the 1-2-3 Kid by pulling one of the, if not the, biggest upsets in the wrestling world by beating then major superstar Razor Ramon. After becoming known for being the underdog he continued to carry this persona having notable matches with the likes of Bret Hart and Bob Holly, before turning a 180 and going to WCW and becoming the bad-ass NWO member Syxx. After a semi-successful run there, and then being unceremoniously fired, the man came BACK to the WWE for another run this time as the rebel known as X-Pac in the "genesis" of DX.

During the next couple of years he found great success rolling with Degeneration X, and then was taken of action in the summer of 2000 with a neck injury. So when he came back a few months later there was no DX gimmick for him to pair with anymore and thus the crowd totally turned against him. From that point on no matter what match or feud he was involved with (heel OR face), the very loud "X-Pac Sucks" chants started up and would never end until the man's match was over. So why has the man garnered so much hate and loathing from that point on in his career. My theory is that with the grand combination of not fresh gimmicks, sets of average to sub par matches, and bad outside real-life reputation the crowds just plain hated him and lost total interest of seeing him wrestle in general. Here is why I think that this shouldn't be the case.

While his last tenure in the WWE was remembered (lack therefore of) for not being so good people forget that the man has an excellent track record of matches before and after this run. In every company Waltman has wrestled in he has had a good set of memorable matches and feuds that showcased his superb in-ring skills. In WCW he was a unqiue addition to the already stacked Cruiserweight Division, fighting with guys like Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko, and even had a nice NWO/4 Horseman feud with Ric Flair, and forming a underdog/big dog tag team with Kane, all before the heavy booing began. Even years later in TNA, he put on a great series of matches (King of the Mountain, Clockwork Orange Match) that ended up being the surprise highlights of the PPVs in 2005.

Waltman (or any other wrestler in a similar situation) shouldn't be constantly dissed just based on a specific period of their wrestling career. The only reason someone should remotely start thinking about heavily hating on someone is if that person is currently continuing the accused crappiness of their way. So as far as I know (with last seeing him in TNA and Wrestling Society X) I'm assuming that he isn't in the same boat as he was in his last stint in WWE. Instead of harping on the negative points in the man's career the focus should be turned more to the good he has brought to the squared circle.

Good Reasons to Love…. Sean Waltman (The Wrestler)
Stint in WCW

As one of the major founding members of the New World Order (NWO), Waltman as Syxx had a number of good feuds and matches against a number of cruiserweights in the division. One notable match was with the up and coming Rey Mysterio Jr.

(Syxx vs. Rey)


Stint in WWE (As X-Pac)

After the initial fresh feeling of DX wore out and before the string of semi-bad groups (X-Factor, NWO version 3.0) X-Pac had a very good run with big red machine Kane. They made an interesting big man-little man tag team, which won a few titles, and then had an equally interesting feud with each other thereafter.

(Kane/X-Pac Rivalry)


Stint in TNA

When Waltman came back for a second stint in TNA in 2005 he seemed to have resorted to his younger cruiserweight self. His matches with Raven, A.J. Styles, and Jerry Lynn, along with his participation in the first King of the Mountain match, were some of the major highlights on the TNA PPVs for that year.

(1st King of the Mountain Match)


Despite Waltman's personal downfalls outside of the ring and bad runs of unmotivated matches, the man undeniably has great mat skills. When you look back upon his work in the ring years from now he should be noted for contributing a great deal to every major wrestling company he has worked at. So before you make your final conclusion on continuing to hate on "Pac" please look in between the lines of the constant Bronco Busters and "Suck It" gestures to really examine an excellent mat technician who can probably turn up the heat in the ring at the drop of a dime.

On The Next Episode of…"Please…Don't Hate"
After talking about the former X-Pac I'm feeling a little nostalgic for the good old days of Degeneration X, so I want to cover some of the other members in the group for the next couple of columns. I will soon cover one of the heated topics of hating today with the King of Kings, Triple H, but first for next week we will look at the now former tag team of B.G. James and Kip James aka the former Voodoo Kin Mafia aka the former New Age Outlaws.