5 Real Reasons Why CAN'T MISS Wrestling Prospects Bombed
2. Sean O'Haire
The failed push of Sean O'Haire in 2003 was a steep learning curve for fans of a certain age that genuinely felt like they had seen everything from North American pro wrestling during the mid-90s boom.
The Monday Night Wars brought a pace and zip to weekly television that hadn't existed before, and realistically needed to be scaled back in the aftermath. For a while, Raw and Nitro moved at the speed of light and it was the primary function of the star wrestler to hold on for dear life 'lest they be left behind. Sean Waltman was cursed so cruelly by this that "X-Pac Heat" became shorthand for describing that very specific feeling of boredom one felt when a wrestler was a little-too-familiar. This hit him hard in 1999, all of 12-18 months following the introduction of the new DX member, and all while he was the grand old age of 27. Compare that to 2026, where main events are the preserves of a 40+ crew who've been in the same or similar spots for decades (!) and suffer none of the derision. Different times and not ones built to last, and never was that more evident than at the start of 2003. A barren wasteland for star power, the show was being carried by The Rock in career-best heel form either side of his permanent Hollywood exit, as evidenced by a WrestleMania XIX show that featured all the biggest names of a generation but drew the lowest buyrate for the show in six years. Change was viewed as an absolute necessity, with the pushing of new talent viewed externally as the sure-fire route back to the promised land.
Sean O'Haire's new gimmick was capital-T capital-A The Answer.
A Natural Born Thriller for World Championship Wrestling during the aforementioned era for pro wrestling, O'Haire was one of several from the stable that carried the burden of the company's failure rather than their own. Viewed as prodigies, the youngest and coolest from the dying days of WCW had left a mark on the fanbase writ large, and WWE's burial of the entire Alliance in 2001 galvanised protest groups within the audience to back these wronged performers to the hilt when they finally got their opportunity. With his inch-perfect wrestler physique, great overall look and uncharacteristically impressive aerial game (nobody forgot their first look at the Seanton Bomb), O'Haire never left fans' lips despite WWE's attempt to give him an out-of-sight out-of-mind run in developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling after the Invasion bombed.
The vignettes that aired for O'Haire in early-2003 were the wrestling dictionary definition of "opportunity". Having not appeared on screen once in 2002, the skits felt like atomic bombs smashing up lousy shows that were in dire need of the scorched earth restart. A suited-and-booted O'Haire appeared against a purgatorial white backdrop preaching on societal matters of Sex, Taxes, Religion Dieting and Vices before rounding each speech off with a killer "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know" catchphrase as some foreboding and dramatic music reached a thrilling crescendo. Given the "devil's advocate" label by an enormously enthused online audience who immediately spotted the references and cinematic overtones, the next step was the most important - tweaking the character slightly into something that could work in the live setting.
It failed horribly, and that's probably not telling you anything you don't already know.
For messaging that felt so big in the build, O'Haire slotted into SmackDown as a small-scale disruptor only. The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were around on SmackDown at the time but a guy associated with end-of-days damage didn't get anywhere near any of them. Outgoing WWE Champion Kurt Angle would have been a statement target for this dangerous new presence, but the two didn't once share the screen. Then, either by accident or design, much of his rabble-rousing was just around wrestlers getting naked. He convinced Brian Kendrick to reenact a popular Nike advert of the day and dart nude through the building, while talking Dawn Marie to expose her breasts on television to make up for losing a Playboy spot to Torrie Wilson. It was WWE's typically tropey take on "mind games" featuring characters seemingly born without brains, and when neither resonated meaningfully with the crowd, the good idea went from botched to outright abandoned.
He was inexplicably paired with an out-of-form Roddy Piper for his ongoing nostalgia war with Hulk Hogan/Mr America, but none of the legend-dust sprinkled onto the doomed O'Haire's broad shoulders. He was the constant number two for Piper, eating pins and beatdowns from the babyfaces in programmes that didn't really appear designed with him in mind. His look - pleather trench coat and trunks - couldn't have been more divorced from the original aesthetic, reducing him in stature further as he tumbled down the card into a passing Velocity spot that didn't even come with a guaranteed win. Injuries from a motorcycle accident in November kept him out until February, where he ended his WWE career entirely via one last short stint back in OVW.
His wrestled just seven more times, spending the next decade dealing with a host of personal problems before he sadly died by suicide in 2014.