8 Unfairly Maligned Wrestlers From The Monday Night Wars

When the Monday Night Wars reached a conclusion in early 2001, X-Pac was one of the most unpopular wrestlers in WWE. Unfortunately, he was not generating the kind of heat that draws money.

Fans no longer despised the character, they despised the mere presence of X-Pac on their television. The phenomena of ‘X-Pac heat,’ as it came to be known, is a divisive one.

It could be argued that any kind of visceral reaction is better than no reaction at all, but X-Pac’s overexposure drew the ire of a wide cross-section of wrestling fans. It was not just the early internet community that despised his continued presence at the expense of more worthy prospects, as audible ‘X-Pac sucks’ chants could be heard at shows throughout 2000-01.

Many believed that X-Pac, undoubtedly an integral player for the WWE following his defection in 1998, had maximised his usefulness and the time was right for the recent influx of talent from WCW to be given an opportunity. This didn’t happen, as X-Pac seemed to rack up wins week after week.

Unfortunately for the performer, the term ‘X-Pac heat’ has become part of wrestling lingo. However, that should not detract from his impressive career throughout the nineties and beyond. Having exploded on to the scene as 1-2-3 Kid, the jobber in disguise, X-Pac’s consistent body of work over the next seven years makes him a contender for one of the best week-to-week television wrestlers of the decade, and is worthy of a serious reappraisal.