Sean Waltman Cleared For In-Ring Return

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer is aiming to return to the ring in early 2022.

by Andrew Pollard
X-Pac Lightheavyweight Champion
WWE.com

In some hugely intriguing news, Sean Waltman has revealed he's now been medically cleared for an in-ring return.

Speaking on WWE's The Bump, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer confirmed that his surgeon has given him the "go-head" and "green light" to get back in the ring following knee surgery. That surgery was to repair a torn ACL the former European Champion had been dealing with since 2008.

As well as fixing up his knee, Waltman - known to wrestling fans as X-Pac, Syxx, 1-2-3 Kid, Lightning Kid and certain other monikers - revealed late last year that he had been cured of Hepatitis C. Following that, his plan was to undergo knee surgery and then see what the lay of the land looks like.

Advertisement

From Waltman himself, he'll be ready to return to the squared circle early next year.

Already, Ricochet has responded to this news on Twitter by telling Waltman to "bring it on", whilst others have long speculated that this genuine trailblazer may well make an appearance in the 2022 men's Royal Rumble.

The last time Waltman competed between the ropes was at WrestleCon 2019's Mark Hitchcock Memorial Show, where he teamed with Jushin Thunder Liger and Shane Helms to take on Caleb Konley, Jake Manning and Zane Riley.

Advertisement

Nowadays 49 years of age, the Minnesota native has regularly talked up in recent years how he wants one more match, and how he hopes that comes under the WWE banner. If and when that happens, we'll have to wait and see.

For those wondering what sort of shape Sean Waltman is in these days, the nWo and D-Generation X star posted this photo of him looking shredded this past September.

In this post: 
Sean Waltman
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.