Sean Waltman is a wrestling legend. He was a pioneer of the cruiserweight style who rose to national prominence in WWE before the Monday Night War. He got to another level working for WCW as a noteworthy early member of the New World Order, and then did his most famous work of all back in WWE, rounding out the D-Generation X line up as X-Pac.
Not all of Waltman’s work was equally successful, though. While he is no doubt a worthy Hall of Famer, he did have his moments when the fans turned on him, and he was cast in roles that didn’t serve him all that well.
10 Leader Of X-Factor
X-Factor was a pretty lackluster faction in 2001 WWE. There was underwhelming heater Albert grouped with Justin Credible who wasn’t much more over with the WWE audience, and they came to the ring to theme music by Uncle Kracker that didn’t exactly sell them as cool or intimidating. Then there was the group’s leader, X-Pac.
X-Pac was a veteran and pretty bankable mid-card act for WWE at that point. However, he’d never jived with fans beyond that point, and the idea of pushing him as a top guy, leading his own stable named after his finishing move didn’t do much for the crowd. Accordingly, the group faded into the background the InVasion angle took center stage, quietly disbanding within its first year.
9 The Million Dollar Corporation Run
The 1-2-3 Kid worked heel for the first when he turned on longtime ally Razor Ramon to join Ted Dibiase’s Million Dollar Corporation faction. The Kid was immediately pushed toward the top of the stable, feuding with former allies like Ramon, Marty Jannetty, and Savio Vega.
The heel Kid undermined everything that had gotten him over in the first place as an exciting underdog. He wound up a heel who was difficult to buy as particularly menacing the way he’d been booked up to that point—an underwhelming addition to a stable that never accomplished much, despite its high profile position on the card.
8 The Lightning Kid
WWE fans first saw Sean Waltman in action as The Lightning Kid, a carryover from the gimmick he’d used on smaller stages, including the Global Wrestling Federation. In the WWE ring, he was a jobber.
From week to week, the company carelessly relabeled him as The Cannonball Kid, The Kamikaze Kid, or just The Kid, though his trunks still made reference to lightning. Though he was far from a featured performer, his skill and agility allowed him to work effectively as an enhancement talent, effectively putting over bigger opponents. Accounts are muddled as to whether his initial string of losses was without a plan or done to set up his upset victory over Razor Ramon.
7 Heel DX Leader
When Triple H abandoned D-Generation X at WrestleMania 15, it set up X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws to fend for themselves. This version of the group was short on main event fire power, though X-Pac humanizing and teaming up with Kane had promise. That is until X-Pac turned on The Big Red Machine.
This led to X-Pac as the de facto heel leader of DX, with Tori by his side and The Outlaws backing them up. While X-Pac was talented and had a following, fans weren’t ready to buy him as a credible rival to Kane or an upper card heel. This was the dawn of what hardcore fans referred to as “X-Pac Heat” wherein fans didn’t want to just boo him—they really wanted him to go away. The sentiment would only intensify in the years to follow.
6 Hall Of Famer
Sean Waltman had his share of personal demons, between substance abuse, self-harm, and tumultuous romantic relationships. However, he has arrived at something of a happy ending as a legend who appears sporadically for WWE.
That includes getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of DX and making a number of cameo appearances on national television and PPV for reunions with fellow members of DX, The Kliq, and the nWo. Waltman has emerged a better man by all indications as a wrestler who knew his limits in settling into a non-wrestling, very occasional role on screen.
5 The Band
In Impact Wrestling, fans got to see what would amount to the last hurrah for Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman as an on-air unit when they teamed up to form The Band. The trio carried with them nWo overtones as they generated intrigue as to whether or how they might be linked to Hulk Hogan as a newly established authority figure.
The Band went on to a high profile run, albeit one of mixed quality. Walman stood out as the best worker in the group. Despite being past his prime, the agility and ring work talents that had brought him to the dance still held up to a reasonable degree, whereas the larger Hall and Nash came across all the more blatantly as shells of their former physical selves.
4 Chikara Star
The 2010s saw Sean Waltman appear for independent wrestling promotion Chikara on a recurring basis, most often under The 1-2-3 Kid moniker. While Waltman was certainly past his prime, he was still a competent worker in the ring who could pull off most of his signature spots.
Perhaps most importantly, he did his name proud in a truly symbiotic relationship. He was a big enough star to elevate Chikara’s profile, while it was about as significant of a stage as Waltman could work on that point. This run bridged the gap between Waltman’s last run as a national level full-time wrestler with Impact Wrestling and returning to the WWE fold for backstage work and a part-time role on screen.
3 The 1-2-3 Kid
The 1-2-3 Kid accomplished the unthinkable when he, in a seemingly un-noteworthy Monday Night Raw performance, pinned Razor Ramon. He’d go on to become a popular underdog face.
Besides being a compelling character for his era, The Kid was ahead of his times in incorporating aerial maneuvers and martial arts into his offense. The mid-1990s don’t get much praise in wrestling circles, but The Kid’s rise to prominence in his original face run with WWE was a true bright spot.
2 Syxx
Sean Waltman defected to WCW and immediately became an important part of the New World Order. In those early days of the faction, Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall starred for the group, and the newly arrived Syxx added an important component piece. He was cool in a way older wrestlers couldn’t quite be. He was in his physical prime in his ability to work a lightning-quick style and fly with the best in the business.
Personal issues would mar Waltman’s time in WCW, including contributing to a run lasting under two years. Nonetheless, he had noteworthy matches opposite exceptional talents like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio, in addition to working high profile tag matches alongside Hall and Nash.
1 The DX Army
After his run in WCW as Syxx, Sean Waltman returned to WWE, rebranded as X-Pac. He made an immediate impact with his debut after WrestleMania 14. While Shawn Michaels was gone from the company, X-Pac arriving as Triple H’s second in command felt like a huge deal for a reimagined DX army.
X-Pac filled his role brilliantly, working in the mid-card and tag ranks, contributing attitude and edge to a provocative young faction. It was X-Pac at his best, cast in the perfect spot, and before he grew over-exposed.