Few wrestlers were as groundbreaking or as innovative as Sean Waltman when finding star power in WWE. An underdog character got over huge thanks to Waltman playing The 1-2-3 Kid perfectly. Other characters like X-Pac and Syxx featured great success at various levels for the biggest wrestling promotions.
Every Version Of X-Pac, Ranked From Worst To Best
Sean Waltman had memorable runs as X-Pac, Syxx, and the 1-2-3 Kid. We look at his whole career to see when he was at his best.Waltman is actually quite tall in everyday life at 6’1’’, but he was considered smaller at the time. Fans were treated to new moves and a faster style than most wrestlers on the roster. Plenty of interesting notes played out in his career. The following things are worth knowing about the legendary Waltman.
Most Unexpected Two-Time WWE Hall Of Famer
Joined A List Of All-Time Greats Making The WWE Hall Of Fame Twice
- Received Two Hall Of Fame Inductions For His Time In Legendary Factions DX & NWO
- Other Names To Join Twice Had Bigger Name Values To Make Him Surprising
- Has Chance At Third Hall Of Fame Induction For Singles Career On His Own
WWE has set a precedent for a smaller percentage of names to make the Hall of Fame multiple times. A different induction is needed for talents getting inducted via a tag team or faction in addition to singles roles.
X-Pac: 5 Best Matches In WWE (& 5 In WCW)
Whether as the 1-2-3 Kid or Syxx, Sean Waltman always delivered great matches. Here are X-Pac's best bouts in WWE and WCW.However, Sean Waltman received both of his inductions for his time in the New World Order and D-Generation X. Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Booker T, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were bigger names to receive the two-time honor.
Tryout Match With Louie Spicolli Got Him Hired
Waltman Felt Appreciative That Louie Cared To Make It Good
- Impressive Tryout Match Helped Waltman Get Job
- Spicolli Did His Best To Make Sure WWE Liked Sean
- Other Tryout Matches Often Flopped Due To The Opponent Not Caring
Wrestlers having tryout matches for big promotions are under the biggest stress. Sean Waltman had this experience when facing lower card talent Louis Spicolli in a dark match meant to see if Sean had what WWE wanted to get hired.
The match impressed and helped Waltman get hired by WWE to play The 1-2-3 Kid character. Waltman felt that Spicolli did his best to make him look good and deliver a strong outing. Other talented wrestlers missed out on WWE due to facing opponents who didn’t care in their tryout matches.
Was Part Of The Original Wolfpac With The Outsiders
Left WCW Before He Could Join NWO Wolfpac
- Kliq Trio Created Specific Name For Their Tag Matches
- Waltman Played Underrated Syxx Character In NWO
- WCW Fired Waltman Before NWO Wolfpac Formed
Fans loved the Wolfpac group in 1998 when the New World Order split into two factions. Kevin Nash led faces like Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage to make the fans accept a face version of the popular heel act.
It gets overlooked that Nash used that name before the official faction formed back when he teamed with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman aka Syxx in trios matches. Syxx was a member of the unofficial Wolfpac since those three were close friends.
Was Meant To Be The Face Of MTV's WSX Promotion
MTV Hoped To Have Waltman Lead Them To Becoming WWE Alternative
- MTV Wanted WSX To Become Alternative To WWE
- Sean Waltman Was Picked To Become Face Of Show
- Show Barely Had Much Momentum Before Getting Canceled
WWE dominated the wrestling landscape with TNA a distant second in the United States during the 2000s. MTV had a project to launch their own weekly wrestling TV show since they felt a gap in the industry could be filled.
Wrestling Society X was an interesting concept with some younger and older names outside of WWE formed a makeshift roster. Sean Waltman was the biggest name used to market the show and try to get viewers. Unfortunately, the project was a bit too outlandish to work for a short run.
“X-Pac Heat” Was Never Planned By WWE
Random Instance Of Fans Hating Wrestling Weekly
- Fans Started Heckling X-Pac Every Week In 2001
- Caused His Light Heavyweight Title Reigns To Flop
- X-Pac Was One Of The Few WWE Wrestlers Booed During The Invasion Angle
X-Pac growing stale on the WWE roster led to fans turning against him, but this fad reached a crazy peak. The term “X-Pac heat” was used to define a wrestler getting booed insanely loudly outside of a storyline.
Fans just started booing and chanting “X-Pac sucks” throughout his matches. No one could have expected this to happen to a random midcard act, but WWE didn’t go with it out of confusion. Today’s climate would see them loving a chaotic and lively crowd atmosphere.
Missed The Infamous Curtain Call For Specific Reason
Would Have Been Part Of Controversy If Not For Rehab
- Kliq Members Became More Hated By The Locker Room
- Curtain Call Led To Triple H's Planned Push Ending
- Waltman Was In Rehab During Time Of The Curtain Call Show
One of the most interesting things about Sean Waltman’s career was his place in the Kliq. The other four members of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were known more for using their power, but Waltman was part of the group.
10 Things Fans Don't Realize About The Kliq
While they were never officially an on-screen WWE stable, The Kliq was a close group of friends that had a major influence in wrestling.Fans often wonder why Sean was not included in the Curtain Call that caused a lot of problems for the other Kliq members. Waltman was in rehab at the time away from WWE and didn’t return until a few weeks later.
Was Responsible For Jeff Jarrett's Haircut In Kayfabe
Jarrett’s Career Benefited From Changing Up His Look
- X-Pac's Babyface Momentum In DX Made Him Important
- Feuding With Jeff Jarrett Helped Get Jarrett Further Over
- Hair Vs. Hair Match Caused Jarrett To Change His Look For The Better
WWE had an underrated midcard feud in 1998 between X-Pac and Jeff Jarrett. Fans loved X-Pac since he was part of D-Generation X at their peak babyface run. Jarrett was getting over as a heel after jumping back and forth between promotions with some struggles.
However, a change was needed to truly cement Jarrett adopting an edgier heel character for the Attitude Era. X-Pac defeating Jarrett in a hair vs. hair match won him the feud and gave him the most cutting off Jeff’s long blonde hair.
Buried WCW In A Rare Shoot Promo On WWE TV
WWE Trusted Waltman To Air Out WCW Grievances
- Had Ugly Departure From WCW Getting Fired In Controversial Way
- Trashed Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff In Shoot Promo WWE Return
- DX Worked Perfectly With New Dynamic Leading To Face Turn
The end of Sean Waltman’s WCW career caused a lot of controversy. Eric Bischoff firing Waltman while injured, and Hulk Hogan burying him in a promo afterwards upset Sean and many of his closer friends in both companies.
Waltman returned to WWE under the new name of X-Pac as part of D-Generation X. WWE gave X-Pac the freedom to cut a shoot promo trashing Bischoff and Hogan for their comments before talking about his mission back with DX.
Was Involved In 4th Ever WWE Championship Match On Raw
WWE Trusted Waltman In Career-Defining Match Against Bret Hart
- Had One Of His Best Matches Challenging Bret For The WWE Championship
- Felt Like A Credible Threat Against A Top Star For The Top Title
- Was Considered Arguably The Best WWE TV Match Ever When It Happened
The idea of title matches on TV has become normal as wrestling grew, but it was once frowned upon. WWE started experimenting with world title matches on TV shows when Raw became the flagship show in a way no other weekly program did before.
1-2-3 Kid received just the fourth ever WWE Championship match to take place on Raw challenging Bret Hart in 1994. Many fans and wrestlers view this as the greatest outing of Sean Waltman’s career. WWE put their faith in Waltman, and he delivered a flawless outing falling short to Bret.
Sami Zayn Pitched Big Comeback Match For SummerSlam 2019
Wanted A Rematch With Waltman From Epic Indie Wrestling Match
- Had Incredible Match Together In Smaller Chikara Promotion
- Sami Wanted To Have Bigger WWE Rematch At SummerSlam
- WWE Turned Down Idea & Waltman Has Not Wrestled There Since
Sean Waltman is respected greatly by many of today’s wrestlers who were inspired by him growing up or faced him on the independent circuit. Sami Zayn fit both labels when he got to wrestle Waltman in Chikara as a match at El Generico that was considered a classic and the last great one from Sean.
Fans would be surprised to learn that Zayn pitched a match against Waltman not that long ago. Sami revealed he wanted to face Waltman at SummerSlam 2019, but WWE shut it down when he pitched it. Their past chemistry could have given Sean one more great match in the spotlight.
