10 Wrestlers You Didn’t Realise Were Vitally Important To Their Promotions

4. The 1-2-3 Kid

Dustin Rhodes
WWE.com

If 'Test' was one of the most endearingly nonsensical ring names in WWE lore, it would have made far greater sense, were it applied to Sean '1-2-3 Kid' Waltman. As Kevin Nash so eloquently put it on Twitter, you "don't know sh*t" if you besmirch his good name.

The Kid was so skilled in the ring, and was so enormously sympathetic, that it was deemed virtually impossible to have a bad a match with him. He took a an absolute pasting in there - his legendary win over Razor Ramon is doubly infamous as both shocking breakthrough and sickening squash - and his bumping was unrivalled for his generation. He looked like he'd been physically assaulted.

Even a talent with a level of buzz and skill as Chris Jericho was programmed with X-Pac early into his WWF run for this exact purpose. Jericho credits X-Pac for helping him make the transition to the preferred in-house style. The Kid wasn't just vitally important to the WWF. He was vitally important to the future complexion of the industry.

A very slender performer, he was so good as to be transcendent; his pioneering level of work ushered in a new breed of performer in the land of giants.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!