Sometimes the biggest stories in WWF/E happen off screen rather than on screen. In 1994, we learned that Jacques Rougeau had a retirement storyline in Montreal, Gangrel appeared as "The Vampire," and Vince McMahon had a really bad year in court. Moving on to the next installment of this series, we take a look at 1995. On screen, this was one of the least exciting years in WWF/E history. The year was dominated by Diesel as WWF Champion, and saw rise to King Mabel as the top heel in the company. The best on-screen story was the rise of Shawn Michaels as one of the top babyfaces in the company, a role he would hold for the next two years. But even as 1995 came across as rather boring, there were still some interesting trivia nuggets that came out of this year. Let's take a look at the best 10.
10. Balls Mahoney Was Xanta Claus
Years before he became the Hardcore Chair Swingin Freak in ECW, Balls Mahoney had a brief stint in the WWF. But he played a very unusual character: an evil Santa Claus. When the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase had to retire from wrestling full-time with a back injury in 1993, he remained in WWF and formed The Million Dollar Corporation in 1994, which became the top heel stable in the company. However, by late 1995, the Corporation had all but dissipated. Dibiase needed a new protégé, and tried to prove he could buy anybody, even Santa Claus.At the December 1995 In Your House Pay Per View, Santa Claus came out with the Smoking Gunns to give away toys. Later in the night, Dibiase claimed he could buy Santa Claus, and did so, having Santa attack Savio Vega (who would go on to feud with Steve Austin, managed by Dibiase. Balls, as Xanta Claus, went on to have a couple of matches before the gimmick was dropped altogether and Balls left the company. It looked like the WWF had figured out that an evil Santa Claus gimmick wasnt going to last past December. Balls would return to WWE 11 years later during the ECW revival.