Why The Internet Hates Him: X-Pac, like Mysterio, was another pre-internet darling in the mid-to-late 90s. He was young, exciting and routinely put on great matches. The consummate underdog, fans loved to get behind X-Pac (then billed as the 1-2-3 Kid) against his much larger opponents. Then fans really started to get behind him as a member of DX version 2.0. Pac, along with Triple H, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and Chyna were one of the hottest things in the business during a true boom period. When X-Pac split for his DX brethren, fans began to give him a much colder reception. By mid-2001, fans were seriously sick of X-Pac. Not in a 'we don't like you because you're a bad guy' kind of way, more of a 'we don't like you because we're sick of seeing the same old s*** kind of way'. Edge referenced this in a promo when he told the Kliq member that '1998 called and they're sick and tired of you. So feel free to join us in the year 2001 any time you want'. The term was dubbed 'X-Pac Heat' (basically 'go away' heat). The main issue was that he had been doing the same routine for way too long and fans were bored by it. Internet fans also weren't happy with the fact that he was using his backstage connections to improve his spot on the card, such as becoming a member of the 2002 version of the nWo. Why They're Wrong: X-Pac heat is a myth, an allusion. It is a creation of the internet. Sean Waltman is a professional, and a damn good one. Chris Jericho tells a story in his second autobiography about how management told him that if he couldn't have a great match with X-Pac, he pretty much sucked as a worker. So he was a great worker, and richly deserved a spot on the card. Could he have changed up his image and character a little bit more? Sure. He did change things up in 2002, switching to short trunks and making other modifications to his ring style. In the years since, X-Pac has become somebody whom longtime fans wish to see make a special appearance and have another WWE match. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
