Sean O'Haire: A Retrospective

On Tuesday 9 September Sean O'Haire was reported dead. The following day the cause of his death was given as suicide. O'Haire had hanged himself in his home in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was 43.

Back in 2000 I would do something pretty unfashionable for the time and watch WCW. Worldwide had a pretty enviable late afternoon spot on Channel 5 at the time and Nitro was shunted around very late night slots on Bravo. I'd tape that when I could. Overall the shows were unengaging and confusing, being heavy on nonsense storylines and past their prime names. But I watched it because I was desperate for as much wrestling as possible.

In amongst the paternity tests, pole matches and reformations of groups I was given no reason to care about were a handful of guys being presented as rising stars. Amongst them was Sean O'Haire. When I first saw him he was teaming with Mark Jindrak. By the time Worldwide was scrubbed from 5's afternoon line-up and Nitro became even harder to locate with a TV remote he was teaming with Chuck Palumbo.

Neither of these teams was amazing. The latter clearly had more promise because Palumbo was a more capable guy than Jindrak, which was the point of the shift. A constant across both pairs was the impressiveness of O'Haire. He was a six foot six inch dude who could do spin kicks and planchas and he used the Swanton bomb (dubbed the Sean-ton bomb because wrestler's are obliged to cram their name into move names whenever possible) as a finisher. Mixed with the more expectable power offence and a fair amount of energetic dashing about it was clear that O'Haire was a very athletic man who would go far in wrestling.

Sadly, he never did.

When the WWF purchase of WCW happened in the spring of 2001 O'Haire was one of the performers who made the move for the invasion storyline. It seemed a promising move. O'Haire had the size and look that the Fed traditionally liked in their featured stars. It was fair to assume that he would be a key player in the invasion storyline, especially with an increasing number of recognisable WCW names opting to sit it out in favour of continuing to get paid by AOL Time Warner.

Along with Palumbo he appeared on WWF television, wrestled at the InVasion pay-per-view, and entered a lopsided feud with The Brothers of Destruction. Palumbo and O'Haire lost the WCW tag team titles to Kane and 'Taker in a poor cage match on the August 9 2001 SmackDown. They never regained them. Worse still, they were dropped down the card with O’Haire ultimately plummeting to the developmental level, deemed not polished enough for the bright lights and heady highs of Monday Night RAW.

It's true that O'Haire (and Palumbo for that matter) were not as good as many of their peers but they were better than they had been a year before. They were also in an established team, which was helping to disguise their lack of polish. But that didn't matter. They were demoted.

O'Haire made his return in January 2003. He'd grown out his hair, gotten some more tattoos, adopted a spider motif for his tights, and taken to wearing a long leather jacket. He was also doing a devil's advocate type gimmick with the catchphrase 'Hey, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.' It was a character that had potential to go somewhere and set O’Haire apart.

Unfortunately, through no fault of O’Haire’s, the character bombed. WWE clearly had no plans for it beyond the introductory vignettes and O'Haire found himself paired up with the washed up Roddy Piper. He worked in an enforcer role for a while, with the devil’s advocate aspect entirely forgotten beyond token remarks from the commentary desk, before Piper left the company and he found himself a regular on weekend show Velocity. Later in the year he was injured in a bike crash. He would return to action in OVW in February 2004. In April he asked for and was granted his release from the company.

I never saw O'Haire wrestle after he left WWE. He appeared for a few indies and apparently worked some New Japan shows, but he achieved nothing of note. He dabbled in MMA too, but didn't make much of an impression there either. He won't go down as one of the all-time greats, but he was never really given the chance to do so. He peaked early in WCW and WWE never did anything much with him after seemingly tiring of him during the invasion. I'll always think of O'Haire as a guy that showed promise and deserved more of an opportunity than he was ever given. But hey, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

Indy Raiders

WWE have been recruiting from the independent wrestling scene for a few years now. Well, technically speaking, they’ve been recruiting from the indies since the territories went away and the independent scene sprang up to replace them. It’s more accurate to say that WWE have refined their taste in indy stars over the last several years.

In a sense the company’s stance on indy standouts and veterans changed when they signed CM Punk. Anyone who’s watched the Best in the World DVD will know this. It’s spoken about openly there. Punk was going to be let go at one point because nobody in a position of authority knew what to do with him. He stayed employed because of Paul Heyman being desperate to use him in WWECW.

Why was he signed to begin with? There’s no obvious answer to those of us not in the know but I imagine his look, clear understanding of how to wrestle, and passion stood him in good sted. Once he’d made it to then developmental league OVW his glowing reputation hindered his progress, resulting in the near firing. Anyone who’s achieved a level of notoriety before heading to WWE is essentially a target, the perception of the road agents seeming to be that the guy will believe in their own hype and only know how to work the indy style, as opposed to the much vaunted WWE style.

Basically, nobody in WWE expected Punk to become as big as he has and he was originally signed because certain influential people in the company (most likely Heyman and Jim Ross) appreciated the potential he had. I certainly can’t imagine John Laurinaitis had the wherewithal to approach him.

Punk’s success despite WWE’s booking is probably what made them change their opinion on guys like him. If he could succeed in spite of efforts to hold him down as a mid-carder then logically there would be a chance that the guys he came up with on the indies could possess that same talent. That, I imagine, was the thought process employed by Vince McMahon, Triple H, and their cadre of advisors.

I could be reading too much into things of course. It’s true that sooner or later WWE were going to have to sign some of the top stars from the indies instead of the likes of Gunner Scott, Eric Escobar, Sylvester Terkay, and Orlando Jordan. Perhaps that point was simply reached and they decided to sign good guys, rather than average ones, as opposed to their being some big revelatory moment revolving around CM Punk.

 

This brings back happy memories for precisely no one

 

The signing of Bryan ‘Daniel Bryan’ Danielson was the first indication WWE were going to pursue peers of ‘The Second City Saint’. He’d be regarded for years as the best wrestler on the North American indy scene and so he was a natural guy to approach once the “let’s de-push indy stars” mentality was dropped.

Bryan became a star for WWE too. Okay, he’s not reached the heights of Punk and it’s possibly that he never will, but he’s done far more than anyone thought he would. That’s important. He was given a chance to do well and proved that he could. He showed that Punk wasn’t an anomaly, that guys from “the indy generation” (or should that be “the ROH generation”?) could adapt their approach and get over in The Big Leagues.

The last few years have seen WWE snatching up indy talent like they’re going out of style. Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero, PAC, El Generico, and Sara Del Rey have all signed up to get a new ring name and take on various roles within WWE. There’s recently been talk that Mike Bennett and Sami Callihan are on the cusp of inking developmental deals, and it was announced on May 26^th that Samuray Del Sol has signed a contract.

 

Please pair this man with Sin Cara. Thanks

 

It’s pleasing to see that WWE are routinely scouring the independents. It means they’re finally willing to admit that there are very talented wrestlers out there who don’t work for a sports entertainment organisation and that their product will be better with said wrestlers involved. It’s not the best situation for the indies to be in, but it’s been proven time and again over the last couple of decades that a new batch of talent can always be found when there’s a mass exodus for WWE.

This approach is best for everyone involved. WWE gets the best talent to display on the most watched wrestling shows in the world and the younger stars just starting out get to prove their capable of following in the footsteps of their predecessors. It’s almost like the circle of life.

Almost.

CM Punk: Best in the World (DVD Review)

Reviewing DVDs isn't usually something I'm terribly interested in. When you buy a wrestling DVD you largely know what you're getting. It will either be an event that's already happened with a few extras tossed in for good measure (usually taking the form of short, bland interviews and an extra match) or a biography of a star, perhaps with some matches thrown in again. There are shoot interviews, fantasy booking plans, historical accounts, and various other oddments out there but for the most part a wrestling DVD is going to fall into one of those first two camps.
 
The CM Punk: Best in the World DVD falls into the second camp. It is a look at the career of the current WWE champion from the beginning of his career until the present. I wanted to write something about it because there has been a lot of anticipation for it and it's one of the few WWE DVD releases I've bought in a long time. WWE and Punk himself have done a great job hyping the release.
 
Despite not buying many of these releases I'm aware of the usual format. A selection of WWE road agents and wrestlers talk about the star of the release, glossing over or ignoring their shortcomings and embellishing or just plain lying about their accomplishments and abilities. Some truth gets mixed in too, but not as much as you'd think. Talking head footage is spliced with match highlights, promo clips, and childhood photos along the way.
 
This DVD immediately stands out as different because it’s clear Punk has been given the creative control he was promised on the release. The interviewees are far more relevant than on your standard release with all of them being important figures in Punk's personal or professional life. Not all of them are under contract to WWE either, which is out of the ordinary. Colt Cabana and Ace Steel both pop up, as does developmental talent Kassius Ohno under his former ring name Chris Hero. All three provide insight on the young Punk's beginnings in the wrestling business.

Clips are shown of what seems like dozens of different clashes between Punk and Cabana, and highlights are shown of a particularly wild TLC tussle between Punk and Hero. It's acknowledged that the latter helped Punk and Hero gain bookings all over the country and that Punk and Cabana wrestled each other hundreds of times over a two or three year period.
 
Thought has gone into the WWE staff that are interviewed. Kofi Kingston, Bryan 'Daniel Bryan' Danielson, Joey Mercury, Michael Hayes, Zack Ryder, William Regal, and, inevitably, John Cena all crop up. As noted above the standard approach is for the star of the release to be endlessly lauded. That doesn't happen here.
 
Joey Mercury admits that when he first met Punk he didn't like him. By the end of the documentary we know the two are very close now (and that Punk was instrumental in getting Mercury rehired for the Straight Edge Society) but such candidness is rare on a WWE DVD. John Cena states that when Punk first signed he heard a lot of hype about him but he felt underwhelmed when he watched him wrestle.
 
Perhaps most interesting is Michael Hayes. He had been on the writing team the entire time Punk has been with WWE and he admits that the reason Punk spent so much time in then-satellite federation Ohio Valley Wrestling was because Paul Heyman was singing his praises. The writing team’s logic was that Heyman couldn’t be trusted and it was believed he had selected someone mediocre in an attemp to sell them as better than they were. It was believed Heyman would go to those lengths in order to display his prowess as a booker and wrestling creator. An admission of wrestling politics existing on a WWE DVD? Yes, it happened!
 
Paul Heyman's comments are a predictable highlight. His opening statement is that he was “salivating at the opportunity to work with him.” He talks about being aware of Punk's work prior to meeting him in OVW and pushing him even though the office wanted others prioritised. He acknowledges that Punk was the first guy he asked for when put in charge of the revived ECW "brand". He apparently had to fight for that, despite the RAW and SmackDown writers admitting they had no plans to use him themselves. Heyman also gives Punk high praise when he says he wanted to make him the heir of the ECW legacy.
 
It's that section of the DVD that provides the most insight into Punk behind the scenes in WWE, as well as WWE's developmental process. Hayes, Heyman and Jim Ross all acknowledge that Punk was just killing time in OVW and the belief was that he would be released from his contract as a cost cutting measure before debuting on RAW or SmackDown. That WWE had a talent like Punk in developmental and had people in positions of power considering firing him because they didn't know what to do with him shows what sort of dreadful state the system is in. Why was he signed in the first place if there was never any intention of using him?
 
Punk took the opportunities working alongside Paul Heyman presented to him. He attended open sessions every week where they (and anyone else in attendance) would talk about TV storylines and character development. It's interesting to note that Punk refers to this as him "helping to write the show". Later on in the doc Michael Hayes mentions that the higher up the card Punk has risen the greater amount of creative input he has sought. It's an interesting insight into both Punk and the WWE system, which is often criticised for not allowing its stars a loud enough voice.
 
Punk's time in Ring of Honor is covered well and the group deserves credit for contributing a significant amount of footage. It's clear that Punk very much enjoyed his time there and anyone who is unfamiliar with it should get a sense of how highly Punk was regarded by the group's fans.
 
The way in which Punk's first several years in WWE are presented is a strength. It’s acknowledged that Punk was not treated terribly well during his first World Heavyweight title reign, and a fair chunk of time is given over to Punk’s feud with Hardy and the Straight Edge Society gimmick. It’s fascinating to hear that the SES came about as a result of Punk being insulted that the writing team didn’t have anything planned for him after he’d dropped the World title to the Undertaker. Instead of treading water he wrote fourteen weeks’ worth of television for himself and gave it to Vince McMahon. According to Punk the angle only began going downhill after the writing team began scripting the group.
 
The documentary is not without its faults. “Punk was wrestling guys like Raven because all these older guys who were good at interviews they wanted to work with him. His interviews were so fresh, so exciting,” says Daniel Bryan. This is not entirely accurate. Raven stated in numerous interviews in 2003 (and several since) that he saw nothing in Punk when he first came across him. Punk talking about Raven sitting him down to discuss ring psychology sounds more like a disgruntled veteran trying to install old school values in a young guy than a passing of the torch.
 
Comments from John Cena are predictably stupid. Probably his most absurd statement is that Punk “built a name for himself like, I guess, the last territorial wrestler.” Cena does not qualify this remark and the interviewer naturally doesn’t push him on it.

For some reason Cena seems to think of himself as having an eye for young talent, hence his comments about not seeing anything in Punk after he'd heard him talked up so much. Cena has his strengths, chief among them knowing how to market himself. This does not qualify him as an assessor of young talent. His comments and Punk's subsequent success make me hope that Cena doesn't stick around as a road agent after he hangs up his boots (or sneakers).
 
Considering Punk had free rein when it came to match selection I find some of his choices odd. Punk v John Morrison, Punk v Mysterio and Punk v Hardy are all excellent but his ECW debut against Justin Credible and outing opposite Chris Jericho from WrestleMania XXVIII are utter clunkers (although in fairness the debut match needed to be included for its significance to Punk’s career).

Perhaps better bouts are being reserved for future releases (although shouldn't a man claiming to be "the best in the world" be producing enough scorchers over the next few years to make it necessary to cram in everything now and leave room free on later sets?). The lack of indy and ROH bouts is understandable and it's nice that we get something from Punk's stay in Ohio Valley. That was the only bout I hadn't seen before and I thought it was an enjoyable display.
 
On the whole I'd say this is one of WWE's best releases in a long time. It provides a comprehensive overview of Punk's career so far and features interviews with relevant people. His childhood friends are a particularly welcome addition as their views haven't been expressed to wrestling fans before. We find out what drives Punk, how close he was to walking before Money in the Bank 2011, and what he enjoys outside of the ring.
 
I'm still not convinced Punk is the best wrestler in the world. But he certainly has the best DVD.