Loss Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 According to the Observer and the Torch, Sean Waltman has resurfaced just as his immediate family was on the verge of filing a missing persons report. No one knew where he was for a week. TNA was pretty upset because they wanted to feature him prominently on the Spike TV show, and from all accounts, he's been having a career renaissance lately in the ring. No explanation was given for his whereabouts, but this comes at a pretty bad time for him, because WWE was starting to show interest in rehiring him and TNA was willing to go out of their way to keep him. Who knows what will happen now, but I fear that he is another Scott Hall or Jake Roberts case, where you can only get so many second and third chances before every promotion out there finally gives up on you for good. I never wanted that to happen to Waltman. While his latter days as X-Pac were pretty crappy, the guy at his best is a big asset. It's sad when wrestling makes someone a has been who's only in his early 30s, but that's sort of the perception of him. Unfortunately, he doesn't have anyone to blame but himself. Maybe as details surface about where the hell he was, he'll end up back in the good graces of TNA at least. He's an odd case, because he's been wrestling since he was a teenager so it's really all he knows, and if he's on the road and has a purpose, he's far less likely to self destruct. I wanted to ask -- do you think wrestling promotions, when they sense someone has talent and can contribute but they also have some personal problems that could potentially get in the way, have any obligation to keep them busy? I don't think it's the job of a wrestling promotion to act as a charity case, but Waltman did a far better job staying out of trouble when he was wrestling a full schedule. He didn't really start slipping until he went to WCW and his schedule was reduced while his pay was increased, and he became lazy and stagnant as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Didn't he turn up that night at the hotel in his ring gear? That would seem to be a sign of what happened to him, but you can't jump to conclusions. I would think he'd be better off staying in TNA, they'd have a bigger stake in keeping him healthy than in WWE where he'd be just another washed up addict they gave a contract to and ditched the moment his problems bubble up again. I don't think any company has an obligation to keep anyone busy so they don't screw things up, but TNA does have an interest in keeping any name talent they have as healthy as possible as they enter into a nationwide TV audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Man in Blak Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 I wanted to ask -- do you think wrestling promotions, when they sense someone has talent and can contribute but they also have some personal problems that could potentially get in the way, have any obligation to keep them busy? I don't think it's the job of a wrestling promotion to act as a charity case, but Waltman did a far better job staying out of trouble when he was wrestling a full schedule. He didn't really start slipping until he went to WCW and his schedule was reduced while his pay was increased, and he became lazy and stagnant as a result. I'd say Waltman did a far better job of staying out of trouble before he stepped into the Clique and bad influences galore. One can only imagine how much of an impression that Scott, Shawn, and Kevin made on him as a teenager. Ultimately, it's sad, but it's not surprising. The wrestling industry is a cruel business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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