The Importance of…9.12.08: Sean Waltman

The 411 Chinvitational
Quick notes on the past week in wrestling

-I have very mixed feelings about the turns in the Raw main event scene coming out of Unforgiven. As much as I’m a CM Punk supporter, there’s really no denying that his title reign wasn’t going anywhere. Hopefully this will be somewhat like Edge’s first title run—begun under dubious circumstances, short enough not to mean a lot, but nonetheless important enough in the arc of the man’s career to ultimately elevate him to permanent main event status. I’m afraid, though, that it might be more like the Rey Mysterio title run everyone seems to be comparing Punk’s push to—an unsuccessful arc for which management places the blame on the man, rather than the poor booking around him. Regardless, the way in which Punk lost the strap—by not being able to compete—protected the character pretty well, so there’s reason for optimism about the man’s future.

As for Y2J as champion, it’s hard to argue against that decision. He’s probably one of the five most talented guys in the company, he’s over, and he has been on a red hot streak with the Shawn Michaels program. I just wish there had been a more logical way of inserting him into the title picture, than having him be the arbitrary surprise replacement for Punk. You take the good with the bad, I suppose.

-It was pretty fantastic to get to see Evan Bourne in action this Monday. I’ve been reading about the guy since before he came to the E, and have been meaning to watch ECW for the specific purpose of seeing him in action, but my schedule has not cooperated. Anyway, the point is that Bourne was awesome, and my kudos to Rey Mysterio and/or the bookers for helping him get over by letting him have the spotlight for so much of his Raw debut, including getting the win with that swank shooting star press. Bourne is a star in the making, to be sure.

On to our regular column…

He has gone by many names, from The Lightning Kid, to The 1-2-3 Kid, to Syxx, to X-Pac, to, of course, Sean Waltman. Waltman was one of wrestling’s best-known, most established mid-card acts from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s. While his name may have lost a bit of its luster since his hey-day, Waltman remains among his generation’s of most important performers.

After enjoying his fair share of success on the independent circuit, Waltman started with WWF, appearing to serve as nothing more than a jobber, complete with different variations on his “Kid” name from week to wee. Young Waltman enjoyed a meteoric rise, though, in 1993 when he pulled off one of wrestling’s most famous upsets in a victory over uppercard heel Razor Ramon. This fluke victory led to a unique storyline in which Ramon used increasing sums of money to lure The Kid back into the ring with him, before eventually taking the Kid’s side in a feud against Ted Dibiase and Irwin R. Schyster. Waltman’s mainstream career was off to a solid start in these early programs, and developed further in a very good match against Bret Hart on one Raw, and through his multiple tag team efforts.

The thing about Waltman was that he wasn’t an underdog just because he was booked to lose so often in the early-going of his WWE run. With his string bean build, he legitimately looked tiny beside anyone on the main roster. In succeeding, he redefined the wrestling underdog, and with his heavily aerial, and martial-arts oriented arsenal of moves, he helped redefine what fans could expect to see in a mainstream ring. While it’s arguable that Waltman was not as talented as many of the fantastic little men to rise in the US mainstream afterward—from Mysterio, to Benoit, to Guerrero, to Malenko—it’s still fair to say that the way in which he got over helped pave the way for this different brand of stars to get their opportunities to shine.

Waltman took on a darker persona upon his arrival in WCW, with the punny new name of Syxx (the misspelled sum or product of “1-2-3”) and aligned himself with the NWO. It was in this context that Waltman established himself as a staple member of cool stables, showing off some attitude and personality to match his flashy moveset. Waltman had the opportunity to shine in the cruiserweight division, and establish himself as an upper-mid-card talent, which is right where he picked upon his return to WWF, where he played much the same character as part of Degeneration-X.

As well-known as he may have been, as much as he grew as a magnet for attention, many fans came to dislike the man himself, taking it upon themselves to regularly start “X-Pac Sucks” chants. The WWF didn’t help the situation in their booking of Waltman, as he was consistently portrayed as competitive against men such as Kane, which simply did not make sense, given the booking history and physical stature of the parties involved. And so, “X-Pac Heat” was born, in which, regardless of how we was booked—face or heel, underdog or favorite—he drew negative reaction from the crowd.

X-Pac disappeared from the mainstream for a bit, before coming back to a lukewarm reception, and doing little of note beyond starting his X-Factor stable. Waltman was a good heat magnet and foot soldier for the NWO, DX, and even a brief run in the Million Dollar Corporation. The guy didn’t have the star power, though, especially at that stage of his career, to lead an effective group of his own, and Waltman, Justin Credible and Albert went nowhere with the gimmick.

Waltman against slipped from the mainstream again, before surfacing in TNA, where, on name value alone, he arrived toward the top of the card. Waltman’s best days were behind him, though, as his trademark innovative offense failed to measure up to rising stars like AJ Styles and Alex Shelley. From there, he made stops in MTV’s short-lived WSX, Mexico’s AAA, and in some NWA shows.

Since disappearing from US television, Waltman’s most notable endeavor was an ill-conceived sex tape with Chyna. I’d say that this tape taught the world an important lesson about with whom, how and when to make a sex tape, but, well, I think the answers to all of these questions fall under the realm of common sense, and don’t think I need to explain why it was a bad idea for Waltman to get busy in that foreign land with the cameras rolling.

And so, Waltman is now on the fringe of wrestling consciousness. He’s able-bodied enough to still compete, and a big enough name that I wouldn’t be shocked to see him surface in WWE or TNA at least once more before he hangs up his boots. Then again, he’s also burned enough bridges with alleged no-shows, drug problems, and general attitude issues that major companies may not see the value in taking another chance on the guy.

Regardless of his present or future, Waltman’s past has carved him an important place in wrestling history. He was a pioneer among American lightweights. He helped redefine the underdog, specifically in his first WWF run. In bouncing between major companies, he helped define the free agent market in wrestling that was really prominent during the Monday night wars. In developing a unique, negative relationship with the fans, he was the founder of “X-Pac Heat.” For better or worse, Waltman is one of the most recognizable figures from one of wrestling’s most high profile eras, and so, stands out as a figure of great importance.

That’s all for this column. Next week, we continue our series on DX alumni, with a look at the importance of Shawn Michaels.