Why Sean Waltman Was Fired From WCW, Explained
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Sean Waltman arrived in WCW as the sixth member of the nWo, and he took on the name Syxx to emphasize that fact. The original members went after the big titles, with Hollywood Hogan battling for the world title while Scott Hall and Kevin Nash went after the tag team titles. For Syxx, he went after the Cruiserweight Championship, making sure that the nWo had their sights set on the entire roster. All four had huge success and made their mark in WCW.
However, while Hogan, Hall, and Nash enjoyed a long stay on top in WCW, Syxx ended up getting fired. What was most interesting about Sean Waltman's time in WCW was that he was fired more than once. The first time, he was instantly rehired, but the second time marked the end of his run in WCW. It also opened the door for Sean Waltman to return to WWE, take on the name X-Pac, and become a future Hall of Fame star in Degeneration X and the nWo.
RELATED: Sean Waltman's Final Run Halted Due To Injury, Surgery Required
The First Time WCW Fired Sean Waltman Was Because Of A Ric Flair Match
Anyone who has watched The Nature Boy Ric Flair wrestle during his time in the NWA has probably seen his butt more than once. However, the one time that Waltman exposed Flair's butt on national television, Eric Bischoff fired him on the spot. Of course, that probably wasn't a firable offense without previous problems, but he had gotten in trouble more than once in WCW. In an episode of his X-Pac 1,2,360 podcast, Waltman explained that he had gotten in trouble before that because of his language.
Waltman and Scott Hall were competing against Harlem Heat. Sean said he spin-kicked Booker T and started to get fired up. He turned and started crotch-chopping Stevie Ray before yelling some obscenities at him. Waltman said, in this case, the cameras were right on him when he yelled the obscenities. After the match, Eric Bischoff asked what he was thinking. Two weeks later, when he pulled Flair's trunks down in a match, exposing his butt on television, Bischoff fired him on the spot for "breach of contract." That only lasted a few minutes because Diamond Dallas Page told Bischoff that Waltman was supposed to put him over, so Bischoff hired him back to do the job. However, this was the beginning of the end.
RELATED: Why Hulk Hogan Left The nWo In WCW, Explained
Eric Bischoff Fired Sean Waltman Via FedEx
If there is one thing that Eric Bischoff takes a lot of slack for, it was for his tendency to fire people via mail instead of doing it face to face. He fired Steve Austin in that manner and Austin went on to become the biggest star in WWE. He also fired Sean Waltman the same way. In an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff remembered when he fired Waltman from WCW. Bischoff said that he had a handshake agreement with Waltman and a letter of intent for a new deal. Bischoff said that the contract finalization was moving slowly because of the people on top of Turner. If it had completed quickly, Sean would have stuck around WCW with his new deal.
The problem came when Bischoff said that Sean Waltman's agent, Barry Bloom, balked at the contract in the final stages. Bloom wanted the contract renegotiated and Waltman had just taken two weeks off to heal a neck injury. According to Bischoff, he threw in the towel and decided to make an example of Sean Waltman for the other wrestlers, specifically Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who Bloom also represented. This caused Bischoff to send the termination papers to Waltman via FedEx, letting him go. Bischoff admitted that it was a mistake on his part, that he was mad at Bloom, and also credited Waltman for the nWo picking up steam in their early days.
As for Sean Waltman, he was angry at the release, knowing Bischoff was making an example out of him. Waltman said on his X-Pac 1 2 360 podcast that he only made $250,000 a year and felt he deserved more because of his spot on the card. He said that when his agent asked for the raise, Bischoff said that Waltman had "reneged" on his contract, which Waltman said was impossible because the deal was already done. Waltman also revealed the termination said it was for "non-performance," which Waltman said wasn't fair because he was rehabbing his neck injury. Waltman got the final revenge, jumping back to WWE, becoming X-Pac, and working with DX to help WWE win the Monday Night Wars.
