Happy Birthday To Underrated WWE Hall of Famer X-Pac

Happy birthday to the man known as X-Pac, Syxx, the 1-2-3 Kid, or his legal name, Sean Waltman.

Waltman was born on July 13th, 1972 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was trained by WCW legend Dean Malenko's father Boris, before getting his first WWE (then WWF) tryout in 1993. In his first match, on May 3rd, 1993, he lost to Doink the Clown. He went by names like The Kamikaze Kid, The Cannonball Kid, and just The Kid before he beat Razor Ramon on Monday Night Raw. At that point, it was probably the biggest upset in WWF history. Razor Ramon was one of the biggest names in the sport, and some "kid" just beat him.

At that point, he became known as The 1-2-3 Kid. A name he would carry for a large chunk of his career. Under that identity, he would have two reigns as WWF Tag Team Champion, once with Bob Holly, and once with Marty Jannetty.

Eventually, Watlman would leave the WWF for WCW, and a place with the hottest new faction in all of pro wrestling, the nWo. He first appeared on an episode of WCW's Monday Nitro just sitting in the crowd. Eventually he stood up to use a remote control to release nWo propaganda from above the arena, which clearly showed he was the newest member of the group.

His nWo name was Syxx, which was a reference to him being the sixth member of the group, and was also a callback to his 1-2-3 Kid days. The 1-2-3 reference was tied to the sum of the numbers 1,2,3 added together equaling six.

Sadly, his nWo run only lasted about a year due to injury. But in that year, he had an incredible run. Feuding with Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio, Jr. During that time, he also won the WCW Tag Team Championship as a member of The Outsiders with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, and also won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

Waltman made his return to WWF in March of 1998, debuting as the first member of the new incarnation of D-Generation X. That new evolution of the group would be recognized as The DX Army, and Waltman would become known as X-Pac...which would become his most recognizable name in the pro wrestling atmosphere.

Under his X-Pac identity, he would solidify his position as a future Hall of Fame member. He would go on to win 2 European Championships, a reign as Cruiserweight Championship, 2 runs as Tag Team Champion with Kane, and would be the last man to hold WWF's Light Heavyweight Championship.

In 2019, Waltman was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X. In 2020, Waltman became the first wrestler to ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in consecutive years, when it was announced that he would be inducted as a member of nWo. Though that induction had to be put on hold due to the global pandemic.

Waltman was a workhorse in the ring. He was a guy that you knew was always going to deliver entertainment when he stepped through the ropes. Between his championships, and Hall of Fame status, it's safe to say Waltman is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time...even though he's highly underrated by many.