Sean Waltman (X-Pac) Shoot Interview

The career of Sean Waltman has always been surrounded in controversy. Whether he was making headlines by himself or with the group of people he associated with, Waltman has been right in the middle of wrestling history. During his original run in the WWE as the 1-2-3 Kid he became known as a member of the very political behind the scenes group called the “Kliq” with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, & Shawn Michaels. While he was not in WCW when Hulk Hogan, Hall, & Nash formed the NWO, Syxx was always considered an original member. He returned to the WWE as X-Pac in Degeneration X and joined the group that changed the censorship rules in sports entertainment forever. This interview was conducted in the early morning hours on October 20, 2002. The actual interview last over 3 hours. Here is a list of some of the topics we discussed: -Getting into pro wrestling -Training with The Malenkos -Who came with with the name Lightning Kid -Memories of his series of matches with Jerry Lynn -Memories of his match against Sabu at NWA Grandslam -Behind the scenes stories from Global -Thoughts on Joe Pedicino -How is was offered to work a tour for New Japan -Working tryout matches for WWE & WCW -Why he wasn’t hired by WCW -Thoughts on the 1-2-3 Kid name -Memories of his matches with Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) -How did his friendshlip with Hall, Nash, & Michaels start? -Thoughts on being called “The Kliq” -How much power did The Kliq really have -How did the rest of the locker room react to them -Thoughts on Bret Hart at the time & how did he change -Thoughts on the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels conflict -Opinion on Shane Douglas -What happened between Douglas & The Kliq -Memories of wrestling against Shawn Michaels -Thoughts on the comment that a lot of people say that Shawn Michaels faked a lot of injuries when it came time to drop titles -How did he end up in drug rehab? -Thoughts on Hunter being puished for the Kliq Curtain Call at MSG and who knew ahead of time that they were doing it -Getting his release & going to WCW -How did Hogan treat him when he same in -What were Sting & Lex Luger like -Thoughts on Vince doing the fake Razor & Diesel and Scott Hall’s phone call to the WWE -Thoughts on wrestling Jericho, Rey Misterio Jr, Juventud Guerrera, Dean Malenko, & others. -Memories of wrestling Eddy Guerrero at Souled Out in the ladder match what problems they had in that match -Discusses having his neck broken and still wrestling -Dealing with Scott Hall and his problems -What type of backlash did the NWO receive for doing the skit immitating the Four Horsemen -What happened behind the scenes leading to the match in Charlotte with Hall, Nash, & Syxx vs. Flair, Piper, & Kevin Greene -His feelings towards Ric Flair -Dressing room politics -Problems between Hogan, Hall, & Nash -His opinions on adding other guys to the NWO -What games were being played behind the scenes that led to him being fired while sitting at home being injured -His real feelings on getting fired -Thoughts on the Hogan & Bischoff comment about “Syxx not cutting the mustard” -Memories of showing up on Raw and doing the angle to form DX -What things from that night does he regret happened -Did he think Road Dogg & Billy Gunn would fit in with the DX gimmick -Memories of the DX skit where they showed up at the WCW show in Norfolk and how close were they to getting in the building -What happened off camera when DX went to CNN Center -What happened when he found out he was wrestling Jeff Jarrett in a hair match at SummerSlam -Did past problems between The Kliq & Bret Hart have any influence on matches at that time between Hunter & Owen Hart -Memories of doing the skit where DX immitated The Nation and what was The Rock’s reaction -His initial reaction when he found out he would be wrestling Shane McMahon -What did they do to prepare for the match -What did all the agents tell him before the match took place -What was the original finish & why did he agree to change it -Thoughts on splitting up DX -Did he think it was time and thoughts on eventually putting them back together -Memories of the night Owen Hart died -Did he think the show should have continued & what he would have done if hadn’t already wrestled -What did the wrestlers think about Vince giving himself the WWE Title -Thoughts on being paired with Justin Credible & Albert as X-Factor -What he thought went wrong & why they stopped pushing the group -What happened in the locker room after the buyout with WWE and WCW wrestlers -Who had heat and why -Full details on what happened between The Undertaker & Diamond Dallas Page -Initial thoughts when he heard Hogan, Hall, & Nash were returning to reform the NWO -Why he wasn’t with the group -What was Hogan’s opinion on him being in the NWO -Which person was reportedly working behind the scenes to prevent him from being put back in the group -What was going on behind the scenes with Steve Austin -Put all the rumors to rest and actually reveals for the first time ever WHO cut the hair of Michael Hayes -What happened at Raw the next night -What happened when he passed out at the airport before Raw in Philly -Who was responsible for putting the match together that night and the injury to Kevin Nash -Thoughts on the NWO “tough love” storyline and the creative team -Why did Vince kill the NWO -He responds to the stories about himself & Kevin Nash getting storylines changed -What happened the night that it was supposed to put Booker T over on Raw and told them he was injured -Why did he ask for his release -All this and a lot more.